Naomi Madderson KC, Crown Chambers, Hull

When Naomi Madderson was appointed King’s Counsel in 2025, she became both the first female silk in Hull and the first family law silk ever appointed in the region. It was a landmark moment, both personally and professionally. For Naomi, this honour was not merely an accolade but a profound responsibility. She spoke with deep humility of the women who came before her, those who challenged barriers and opened doors for others that led her to this moment: “To follow in their  footsteps is a huge privilege and a great responsibility,” she reflects.

While her appointment made headlines, it came as no surprise to those on the North-Eastern Circuit, where Naomi’s reputation for excellence was already firmly established. Indeed, in the 2024 competition alone, two other women were appointed, reflecting the growing diversity and strength of advocacy in the region.

Naomi’s early childhood was spent in Venezuela, in a close-knit and supportive family with rich cultural and mixed-heritage roots. Growing up in such a vibrant and diverse environment shaped her worldview and, ultimately, her advocacy.  Her parents made extraordinary sacrifices to ensure she had access to the very best opportunities. With the help of her paternal grandparents and a scholarship later in her academic life, Naomi attended a private school for girls where she flourished academically. She remains deeply aware of how transformative education can be, describing it as “the foundation upon which all my later opportunities were built.”

The family’s move to Middlesbrough marked a profound shift. The contrast between Venezuela and the UK was stark, not only in climate and culture but in the freedom of expression and political plurality she encountered for the first time. Naomi remained connected to friends and family back in Venezuela. Hearing and witnessing their stories of life under a dictatorship, of scarcity, fear, and curtailed freedoms, was often painful. These memories strengthened her resolve to work in a profession dedicated to justice and fairness. This experience gave Naomi an abiding appreciation of the British justice system.

Her Venezuelan relatives were “proud beyond words” when she took silk, moved that she had reached such a pinnacle in a system so different from their own.

 Naomi read Law at the University of Liverpool, graduating with a 2:1. She then completed her Bar Professional Training Course in 2003, achieving Outstanding. Joining 37 Park Square as a junior tenant, Naomi initially had no plans to specialise in family law. But, as she puts it, “family case papers just kept coming my way.” What began almost by happenstance soon became a passion. She quickly discovered the intellectual rigour and profound human impact of family law, finding herself drawn to cases that directly touched people’s lives.

As her practice developed, Naomi was increasingly instructed in the most complex and sensitive matters, many of which took her to the High Court. These cases demanded not only exceptional legal skill but also integrity, empathy, and unflinching judgment. Her work now spans the most serious and high-stakes matters; non-accidental injury, fabricated or induced illness, sexual abuse, domestic abuse, and cases of chronic neglect, often involving intricate medical and forensic evidence.

Among her professional achievements, Naomi is especially proud of her advocacy in a 2021 case which established a precedent for the treatment of pregnant women in family proceedings. This decision has since been adopted into the Judicial College’s Bench Book as a standard of best practice.

 In 2020, Naomi and ten colleagues took a bold step, leaving their former set to establish Crown Chambers. What began as a leap of faith has since grown into a thriving, modern set of over forty members with door tenant silks.  The chambers’ physical space reflects its ethos: open, inclusive, and dynamic. But more importantly, its values are lived rather than merely displayed. Under Naomi’s leadership, the set has committed itself to genuine equality and diversity, not simply “to the optics,” as she puts it.

Appointed Head of Chambers at just thirty-nine, Naomi used her position to create a space where excellence and diversity coexist. Today, Crown Chambers has a 60% female to 40% male balance, an achievement Naomi views not as a quota but as evidence of what can happen when people are given the space to thrive.  “It always has to be about excellence,” she says, “but excellence flourishes when people are supported and allowed to grow.”

Through this journey, Naomi has learned deeply about leadership; about having vision, creating opportunities, and lifting others as you rise. These lessons, she says, were vital preparation for the weighty responsibilities of silk.

Like many women at the Bar, Naomi hesitated before applying for silk. The outreach-work which King’s Counsel Appointments was now carrying out was extremely important, for example in ‘myth-busting’ and when it came to the time when you felt you might be ready to apply for silk. Naomi says that you should not shy away from drawing on the assistance that current silks, you will find, are only too happy to give and also that of professional mentors.  They will help you decide whether you are ready to apply.  This was Naomi’s experience.  She credits both her husband and parents as pivotal voices, urging her to stop prevaricating and simply take the leap: “You’ve just got to get on with it,” her father told her.

Naomi’s first silk application was unsuccessful, largely, she believes, because she froze during the interview “like an out-of-body experience,” she recalls with a wry smile. Rather than being defeated, she treated the setback as a lesson. “You learn when you falter,” she says.

Her second application, in the 2024 competition, was a very different experience. That year, she was also caring for her step-father-in-law alongside her husband, a responsibility that, paradoxically, brought clarity. “I realised there is no perfect time to apply for silk,” she reflects. “You are what you carry, and growth often comes when you allow yourself to be uncomfortable and authentic.”  This mindset shift gave her a calm focus during the process. She prepared thoroughly, clearing space in her diary, revisiting her application form, and reflecting deeply on her experiences as an advocate.  In all this, Naomi recognised that it was vital not to lose sight of your real self, particularly when it came to the interview. Naomi said that she felt “fully prepared, grounded, calm and well able to speak with confidence about the advocate I had become.”

Naomi found the interview panel warm and encouraging, intent on drawing out her best. She stresses to future applicants that perfection is not expected. What matters most is honesty – about successes, challenges, and how you have learned from them. “The time just flew by,” she says.  “It was such a positive experience, so very different from my first interview.”

 Though Naomi’s title has changed, the core of her work remains the same: navigating profoundly difficult human stories with skill and compassion.  Family law, especially at its most serious end, brings exposure to trauma. Naomi emphasises the importance of boundaries, of not being engulfed by the suffering you encounter, while never losing your humanity.  Vicarious trauma, she notes, is now increasingly recognised. The North-Eastern Circuit has resources to help barristers cope, including access to a counsellor who provides free sessions, workshops, and seminars. Crown Chambers also has a non-denominational chaplain. Yet perhaps most essential of all, Naomi says, are the bonds of trust and camaraderie between colleagues.

The silk ceremony was a day of joy and profound emotion. Naomi was accompanied by her three-year-old daughter, fifteen-year-old son, husband, extended family and colleagues.  “Their pride was almost palpable,” she recalls.

For Naomi, the day was more than a personal triumph. It was a moment of recognition to her family, to her colleagues, to those who paved the way for women like her.  “My overwhelming emotion was one of humility and deep, abiding gratitude.”