Nick Thornsby

Nick is a Barrister in our specialist advocacy service, 8 DAC Beachcroft Buildings (8DB).

Nick is an accomplished civil specialist with a practice focussed primarily on personal injury litigation, with an increasingly significant multi-track dimension. Nick’s expertise in employers’ liability work is fortified by a background appearing in the Employment Tribunal, and he also maintains a complementary costs practice which is of particular assistance in dealing with costs management and budgeting issues.

Within the personal injury arena Nick has mainly acted throughout his career for defendants, and has developed good relationships with insurers and corporate insureds. At trial Nick has represented clients in the full range of personal injury cases including occupiers’ and employers’ liability, tenancy scenarios and road traffic accidents, both at fast track and multi-track level. Nick’s procedural acumen and strong drafting skills mean he also enjoys a variety of instructions at the initial and interlocutory stages, and particularly values being instructed early in cases in order to work collaboratively with clients and instructing solicitors on litigation strategy.

For many years Nick also practised in employment work, and whilst he no longer regularly spends time in the Tribunals, he has found that his background experience there has given him particular insight and expertise in civil cases brought against employers. That background is of particular assistance in the stress at work claims in which Nick is regularly instructed.

The combination of Nick’s civil background and Tribunal experience in discrimination cases has also led him to develop a successful practice in claims brought in the civil courts under the Equality Act 2010. He has acted for a variety of defendants to claims of this type, including service providers such as retailers, as well as associations. He is happy to be instructed in such cases.

The third aspect of Nick’s practice over a number of years has been costs work, dealing with costs issues arising from the inception of cases up until their conclusion. He has represented clients (mainly, but not exclusively, as the paying party) at a range of costs hearings, including detailed assessments in both the county courts and the SCCO. Given the benefits that flow from maintaining both a costs and personal injury practice, Nick remains happy to receive instructions in relation to costs issues, particularly where they arise in multi-track personal injury cases.

Nick is a member of Middle Temple and PIBA. He also has a role as a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Law, where he teaches on a range of courses focussing on civil litigation, advocacy, personal injury and employment.

Nick  is regulated by the Bar Standards Board (BSB) and holds a current practising certificate. If you are not satisfied with the service provided, please contact BSB.