Samantha Bowcock QC was one of thirty women (alongside 84 men) appointed silk at the declaration ceremony held in Westminster Hall on 16th March 2020. A Manchester University graduate, Samantha joined her present chambers as a pupil. She was called to the Bar in 1990 and is Winckley Square Chambers’ first ‘home grown’ QC. She is a family and children specialist and regularly appears in the High Court in cases dealing with allegations that death, serious injury or sexual abuse of children occurred at the hands of parents or family members. Her cases include adoption, acting for children and local […]
Melanie Simpson QC is one of thirty women appointed to silk in 2020. Her high-profile criminal defence cases, often involving multiple defendants, attract extensive media interest and Melanie frequently provides legal expertise to media organisations. Melanie’s parents were young adults when they came to the UK from Jamaica as part of the ‘Windrush’ generation. Her father was a bus conductor and her mother worked in a factory. Melanie went to grammar school but felt isolated as one of very few black pupils there. She left at 16 and worked for Rape Crisis and Women’s Aid. This experience brought her into […]