There are a lot of barristers running in this Thursday’s City of London elections

Over half of the 22 candidates vying for Farringdon Without ward are lawyers

This Thursday will see the polls open for the City of London elections, and more than half of those running to represent the ward encompassing Temple and Chancery Lane are lawyers.

Twenty-two candidates are hoping to be elected, or re-elected, as councilmen (their terminology, not ours) for the Farringdon Without area, which also includes the Square Mile and Smithfield Market. The lucky ten successful in their election campaign will represent the area in a part-time, unpaid role. Aside from standard local authority-esque tasks like licensing and planning, the councilmen will also have an important part to play in lobbying central government.

So who are these barristers vying for local government glory?

To give you a brief run through, there’s Caroline Addy, who is a barrister at One Brick Court. Then there’s Nicholas Bennett, a partner and divorce specialist at Farrer & Co. Francis Hoar specialises in election law and is based in Field Court Chambers.

Andrew Lomas, who works from commercial litigation set One Essex Court, is also running. A silk since 1991, Julian Malins QC is an international commercial law specialist at his namesake Malins Chambers. Land law expert David Nicholls is at Landmark Chambers, while fellow Farringdon Without councilman hopeful Adam Richardson is a barrister at Warwick House Chambers.

Ruby Sayed is a family law barrister, who works out of One Pump Court. Oliver Sells QC is based in 5 Paper Buildings, while planning law barrister William Upton is from Six Pump Court. Mark Watson-Gandy is a commercial specialist from Three Stone.

It’s not just practising barristers dominating the ballot paper. Alexander Deane is a non-practising barrister and a door tenant in Farringdon Chambers, while Colin Davidson is the director of membership and development for Middle Temple. That takes the grand total of law-loving candidates to 13. A number of the remaining nine candidates are in the butcher business, which is reflective of the markets Farringdon Without covers.

The City of London elections will be taking place this Thursday, with the result expected by Friday. Unusually and interestingly, businesses covered by the Farringdon Without ward, such as Hogan Lovells and Lewis Silkin, are given a number of votes depending on their size. Barristers are self-employed, meaning they are entitled to their own personal votes.

The full list of candidates standing for the Farringdon Without ward can be viewed here:

For all the latest news, features, events and jobs, sign up to Legal Cheek’s weekly newsletter here.