Practice Overview
Rhys joined Chambers in September 2010 and following the successful completion of his pupillage under the supervision of Ruth Henke QC (family and admin) and Sarah Waters (crime and civil) he became a tenant in September 2011.
Rhys has a wide and varied practice which has a particular emphasis on family and civil litigation.
He has a rapidly expanding practice in private and public Children Act proceedings and regularly acts for parents and local authorities. Since taking tenancy, Rhys has been instructed as a second junior for a local authority in a multi-handed case involving numerous allegations of sexual abuse with children involved as both alleged victims and perpetrators. Most recently, Rhys acted for a parent in a finding of fact hearing concerning allegations of non-accidental injury where the local authority failed to prove threshold and the child was returned following cross-examination of the appointed paediatrician. In addition, Rhys is regularly instructed in Family Law Act applications.
Rhys has a rapidly expanding personal injury practice and is happy to receive instructions on a conditional fee basis in a wide-range of areas (such as road traffic accidents, occupiers liability, workplace injuries and slipping/tripping claims) and has secured numerous repeat instructions from local solicitors. He is regularly instructed in small claims hearings as well as in matters allocated to the Fast Track. He also has experience of both claimant and defendant credit-hire disputes. Most recently, Rhys successfully defended a landlord and tenant matter allocated to the multi-track.
In respect of his immigration practice, Rhys has an excellent record in dealing with immigration and asylum appeals before the First and Upper-Tier Tribunals and will always prepare skeleton arguments for appeal hearings and grounds of appeal if appropriate. He has particular experience of preparing and presenting appeals concerning Gurkha soldiers and their families.
In crime, Rhys was able to establish a reputable Crown Court practice in his second six months’ of pupillage and continues to secure notable results in the criminal courts, having succeeded with a number of technical defences. He has particular experience of defending in motoring cases.
Prior to coming to the Bar, Rhys interned at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague having secured a scholarship from his Inn. During his time in The Hague, Rhys worked for the team that assisted the trial judges in the case of Gotovina et. al. Furthermore, Rhys also worked at a law firm in Cardiff prior to pupillage where he was able to qualify as an accredited police station representative and gain significant experience of working in a Solicitors’ practice.
Education