Anthony Searle

Call 2016

Anthony Searle | Call 2016

Back to Our People

Overview

Anthony is an experienced and confident junior barrister who specialises exclusively in clinical negligence and healthcare-related inquests/inquiries. Highly sought-after and regularly instructed in complex cases, Anthony combines first-class analytical ability with strong advocacy skills and approachability to deliver the best possible results for his clients, whether they are patients, professionals or organisations.

“Anthony is a star and one to watch for the future. He is an outstanding advocate – brilliantly prepared, he reads the court room and the witnesses well and has the most engaging manner.”

The Legal 500

“Anthony Searle is outstanding. His advice is always measured, well thought-through and clear. He is approachable, personable and excellent with clients and experts.”

Chambers & Partners

Overview

Anthony is a specialist in clinical negligence and healthcare-related inquests/inquiries who is constantly in demand for his expertise. He regularly acts in complex and high-value cases in all areas of medicine and surgery. His strategic, robust and detail-orientated approach has led to great success for a wide spectrum of clients, including patients, bereaved families, healthcare organisations, and individual healthcare professionals. He is ranked as a ‘Leading Junior’ and ‘Rising Star’ in these fields respectively.

Anthony’s experience in the fields of clinical negligence and inquests/inquiries is set out in more detail in his specialist profiles.

Outside of his cases, Anthony is the Secretary of the Professional Negligence Bar Association (PNBA) and is pleased to represent and promote the interests of clinical negligence practitioners on a national level. Drawing on his academic background in medical law, Anthony has also contributed to the UK Healthcare Law Blog and other publications on numerous topics arising from important court decisions. He has delivered many seminars to law firms and healthcare professionals since joining Serjeants’ Inn.

Outside of the law, Anthony enjoys travelling, photography, singing and Formula One. He has a deep interest in the future of healthcare, medical technology, and artificial intelligence/machine learning.

Recommendations

Anthony was first ranked in the legal directories in 2021, at just five years’ call. At that point, he was the joint most junior barrister to be ranked in The Legal 500 as a ‘Rising Star’ in Clinical Negligence. He is now ranked as a ‘Leading Junior’ (Tier 4) in Clinical Negligence, as well as a ‘Up and Coming’ (Chambers and Partners) and Band 5 in Inquests & Inquiries for both directories.

This is what the directories have said about Anthony:

  • “His paperwork is great and he is fabulous with witnesses. He is also great on his feet.” – Chambers & Partners
  • “Anthony is calm and composed throughout, ensuring that all witnesses understand the process.” – Chambers & Partners
  • “Anthony is extremely helpful. He is very knowledgeable and leaves no stone unturned.” – The Legal 500
  • “Anthony is a star and one to watch for the future. He is an outstanding advocate – brilliantly prepared, he reads the court room and the witnesses well and has the most engaging manner.” – The Legal 500
  • “Anthony Searle is outstanding. His advice is always measured, well thought-through and clear. He is approachable, personable and excellent with clients and experts.” – Chambers & Partners
  • “Anthony Searle is simply excellent; his attention to detail is second to none.” – Chambers & Partners 
  • “Anthony is a rising star. He works extremely hard, and the quality of his work is far beyond his call. He is a brilliant advocate, calm, measured and impressive.” – Chambers & Partners
  • “Anthony is a tenacious advocate, who is very well prepared.” – Chambers & Partners
  • “Anthony is a formidable adversary, able to predict how the other side might respond and very thorough and diligent in his work.” – The Legal 500
  • “Anthony is very bright and puts witnesses called to inquests at their ease. He is an excellent communicator and an impressive legal brain.” – Chambers & Partners
  • “Anthony is a tenacious advocate, who is very well prepared.” – Chambers & Partners
  • “Anthony has excellent knowledge of inquest law and is a very effective advocate.” – The Legal 500
  • “Anthony Searle is notably experienced in the representation of bereaved families in medical inquests.” – Chambers & Partners
  • “He shows good understanding of the papers and the issues and the cause of the inquest. The clients were supported and listened to, and his questions in advocacy brought out their position.” – Chambers & Partners
  • “Anthony’s key strength is his thorough approach to the case. He is fully prepared for each and every eventuality, and ensures the staff giving evidence are put at ease and are as well prepared as possible. He advocates to a high standard and goes above and beyond.” – The Legal 500
  • “Anthony is always responsive and provides work in good time. He always thinks of the ‘big picture’ when preparing a defence.” – The Legal 500
  • “Punchy, quick, attentive to detail and robust. Instils confidence and gets results.” – The Legal 500

In addition, Anthony’s clients have said the following:

  • “You are a wonderful person and an amazing barrister. …  Without you we would have had no chance in the inquest to get the result we did. You helped us get justice for [LC]. We can’t thank you enough.” – Lay client
  • “He was brilliant in representing the family of [JB] at her Inquest. The family were very impressed with him, as was I. His manner with clients and the Coroner is commendable … You have a star in the making there.” – Partner, leading solicitors’ firm
  • “Anthony was exceptional, not only in representing us as an organisation and assisting the coroner in reaching her conclusions, but also on a very human level helping us to navigate a totally alien and intimidating environment.” – Organisational client
  • “Can I please ask you to pass on my enormous thanks and gratitude to Anthony Searle for his kindness and help. I will always be grateful for his professionalism, understanding and empathy.” – Lay client and retired solicitor
  • “I just wanted to commend you on an excellent drafted defence.” – Associate, leading solicitors’ firm
  • “He did an excellent job.” – Partner, leading solicitors’ firm
  • “The Trust were very pleased with the Defence and commented on how well they thought it had been drafted.” – Associate, leading solicitors’ firm
  • “He has always been very approachable and responded very promptly to questions posed of him. It’s always a pleasure to instruct Anthony.” – Public body client

QUALIFICATIONS

  • Bachelor of Laws (Hons), University of Warwick – First Class
  • MA in Medical Law, King’s College London – Distinction (top of the year)
  • BPTC, BPP University Law School – Outstanding

PRIZES, SCHOLARSHIPS & ACHIEVEMENTS

  • Inner Temple Prize for Outstanding BPTC Results
  • Top of the Year in ‘Professional Discipline (Healthcare)’ (BPP)
  • 2nd in the Year in ‘Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence’ (BPP)
  • Major Scholar of the Inner Temple (2015-16)
  • BPTC Excellence Scholar of BPP University Law School (2015-16)
  • The Eleanor Betsy Scowen Prize for Best Dissertation (KCL)
  • Runner-up, Graveson Cup Moot Tournament (KCL; judged by Foskett J)
  • Winner, Lord Justice McFarlane Essay Competition 2014
  • Winner, Irwin Mitchell National Medical Law Mooting Competition 2013
  • Top of the Year in ‘Medicine and the Law’ (Warwick)
  • Top of the Year in Dissertation (Warwick)
  • Founder and President, Warwick Bar Society (2012-14)
  • Choral Scholar of the University of Warwick (2011-13)

reflections

‘Law governs everything from the embryo to exhumation.’ Professor Gary Slapper
As a barrister at Serjeants’ Inn, it is a privilege to be in a position to help people and organisations deal with issues relating to both the beginning and end of life, as well as countless challenges arising in between. We are involved in areas of law which really do affect people in the most significant ways.

‘In law context is everything.’ Lord Steyn (Daly [2001] 2 AC 532)
My view is that we cannot look at law in a vacuum. In order to get the best results for my clients, I must consider how the law can be used in a practical way to solve the medical, ethical, social and other issues which they are facing.

‘Two reasonable persons can perfectly reasonably come to opposite conclusions on the same set of facts without forfeiting their right to be regarded as reasonable.’ Anne Whyte KC (JF [2017] EWHC 1519 (Admin))
Consequently, I place importance on quickly identifying the arguments which can be made on both sides of a case. Doing this will allow us to be well prepared, to be realistic about how we proceed, and ultimately to persuade a court or opponent that our conclusion is the most reasonable.

‘Certainty is the mother of quiet and repose, and uncertainty the cause of variance and contentions.’ Sir Edward Coke, Serjeant-at-Law
We all aim to achieve certainty for our clients, insofar as it is possible. However, the inherent uncertainty of litigation is daunting. Consequently, I develop a strong team mentality with my clients and solicitors in order to overcome obstacles in a creative and effective way. Sometimes uncertainty can be used to a client’s advantage.

Publications & seminars

Drawing on his academic interest in medical law and ethics, Anthony has written for the UK Healthcare Law Blog (run by Serjeants’ Inn) and contributed to other well-known publications:

  • In 2020, Anthony wrote an article entitled ‘Recovering inquest costs in successful civil claims: is it possible?’ for the Personal Injury Law Journal (available on Westlaw). This considered the circumstances in which pre-action inquest costs can be recovered in clinical negligence and personal injury cases, focusing on the case of Fullick [2019] EWHC 1941 (QB).
  • Anthony co-wrote an academic article which was published in the October 2019 edition of Family Law, the leading practitioner journal and the publication of record in the field of family law since 1970. Entitled ‘Commercial surrogacy: the birth of a new head of loss in clinical negligence claims’, the article focuses on the impact of the important clinical negligence case of XX v Whittington Hospital NHS Trust [2018] EWCA Civ 2832, [2019] PIQR Q4. Anthony was invited to write the article following his considerable interest in this case since the High Court’s decision in 2017. He has also written blog posts on XX for the UK Healthcare Law Blog (here, here and here).
  • In 2019, LexisNexis interviewed Anthony in relation to the Court of Appeal’s judgment in XX v Whittington Hospital NHS Trust [2018] EWCA Civ 2832, [2019] PIQR Q4.
  • Anthony co-authored of the 4th edition of Medical Treatment: Decisions and the Law (edited by Christopher Johnston KC and Sophia Roper KC and written by 27 members of Serjeants’ Inn). The book has been described as the authoritative practitioner text for medical treatment cases in England and Wales. The chapter which Anthony has co-authored is chapter eleven: Assisted Reproduction. Anthony drew on his academic study of, and interest in, the legal and ethical issues surrounding reproduction to provide a comprehensive update to the chapter with his co-author, Claire Watson KC. Given the ever-growing number of scientific breakthroughs in assisted reproduction, this field is particularly complex. It is hoped that this chapter provides a clear framework for both practitioners and academic readers alike.

Anthony has given seminars (online and in person) to claimant and defendant clinical negligence firms, medical defence organisations, and NHS Trusts. He has spoken on the following topics:

  • ‘Contributory negligence: can patients be at fault?’
  • ‘Doctors and Courts: An Introduction’
  • ‘A review of 2020 cases on breach of duty, causation and consent’
  • ‘Material Contribution’
  • ‘Montgomery and Conse(que)nt Cases: Informative or Inflammatory?’
  • ‘Darnley: “Non-Clin Clin Neg”’

MEMBERSHIPS

Professional Negligence Bar Association – Member (10/2017 to present) and Secretary (02/2022 to present)

Privacy

Anthony adopts and adheres to the provisions of his privacy notice which can be accessed here.

FURTHER INFORMATION

For further details of Anthony’s practice please contact a member of the clerking or client service team.

Bar Council Membership No: 68176
Registered Name: Anthony Searle
VAT Registration No: 311 1509 59