5 Unity Street Chambers, Bristol BS1 5HH
0117 906 9789 / 0117 906 9799 (fax)
saoirse.harris@unitystreetchambers.com
Year of Call and Inn
2018 Inner Temple
Professional details
Saoirse joined chambers in 2019 after successful completion of her pupillage.
Prior to coming to the Bar, Saoirse worked as a financial market analyst in the City during which time she acted as a point of contact for institutional clients, being responsible for fostering new relationships and leading negotiations. She also broadcast a real-time audio feed (“squawk”) by microphone to around 30,000 listeners including traders, brokers and research analysts alongside managing the US Equities desk.
Saoirse enjoys a mixed practice and receives instructions in all areas of Chambers’ work:
Family
Saoirse represents parents, children acting via their guardian and interveners in care proceedings. She has conducted cases involving serious allegations of injuries to children and allegations of sexual abuse involving child and adult complainants at interim, multi-day and multi-week final hearings.
Saoirse appears for applicants, respondents and guardians in private family proceedings including those seeking child arrangement orders, non-molestation orders and occupation orders. Saoirse also has experience in dealing with matrimonial finance matters.
Criminal
Saoirse is regularly instructed to prosecute for the CPS as well as defend in the Magistrates Court and Crown Court. She has also been instructed to prosecute on behalf of the Local Authority, the Home Office and Border Revenue.
Civil
Saoirse has experience representing clients at interim hearings and at trial in cases allocated to the Small Claims and Fast Track in matters of housing, credit hire and subrogated recovery claims. She also represents claimants and defendants at MOJ Stage 3 Assessment hearings and Infant Approvals.
Saoirse is a member of the Attorney General’s civil panel counsel: Junior Junior scheme
Notable Cases
S v SSHD (2019) – Appeared successfully for an Applicant against the Secretary of State for the Home Department in the Upper Tribunal Immigration & Asylum Chamber in an application for oral permission to apply for judicial review.
Re: A Child (2019) – Acted for an intervener with learning difficulties accused of sexual and physical assault of a younger sibling in a ten-day final hearing.
Formal Education
2018: BPTC with LLM (BPP Law School, Bristol), Distinction
2017: GDL (BPP Law School, London), Commendation
2010: B.Sc. Chemistry (UCL)
Awards and Prizes
Inner Temple Leonard Woodley Pupillage Scholarship (2018)
Winner, BPP Mooting Competition 2016-2017, at the Supreme Court (2017)
Professional Memberships
Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights
Family Law Bar Association (FLBA)
Interests
Mountaineering including expeditions to the Karakorum mountain of Pakistan to make the 6th ascent of a 6200m+ peak, the Himalayas, Andes, Alps, Dolomites, Telemark and more.
Cycling, surfing, old hockey player, new to rugby. Piano player and listener of trap house jazz.