Meet Kevin Leigh

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I have been a barrister since 1986, specialising in planning and property law, and approved for direct access (also known as public access) since 2006. I work with solicitors, direct-access clients, and local authorities. I qualified as a mediator in 2011. 

Outside the Bar, I have been a consultant to developers and the planning director of a property development and construction company group. I have my own property development business. I also work with various charities as a trustee and advisor.

I bring professional expertise and real-world experience to make a positive difference in achieving the best outcome, working hands-on with clients and any team helping them. I work quickly and add practical and commercial value to any dispute or project. I go the extra mile to achieve the right result. I am available by phone, email, and video conference to suit the needs of my professional and lay clients. I also visit sites when required.

I am a member of Thomas More Chambers as a specialist within the Property and Planning teams.

Before university, I was a paralegal in New York then London, working for Wilson, Elser, Edelman & Dicker and Herbert-Smith & Co. In 1985, I graduated from Leicester University where I read law (including planning law) and wrote a thesis examining airport development with an emphasis on London airports following the then recent Stansted Airport Inquiry and the report of Graham Eyre QC. The late David Hughes incorporated this into the first edition of his book Environmental Law published by Butterworths. I was called to the Bar when I was 22, achieving a mark in the top 3% of my year. 

I completed a planning pupillage in 1987 and became a tenant in Gray’s Inn that year, where I began growing my planning practice before joining 10 King’s Bench Walk in June 1991 to develop its planning team. In 1998, I was invited to join 6 Pump Court to create a planning and environment group until I left in 2007 to spend six months as the planning director of a group of development and construction companies. I was also a founding member of Regency Chambers in Cambridge and Peterborough and a specialist door tenant at Westgate Chambers in Lewes. 

I joined No.5 Chambers in 2008 when I returned to full-time practice as part of London's planning / environment and chancery / commercial teams. In March 2019, I moved to 33 Bedford Row to head up the property, planning and environment group, which I left in November 2024 to pursue a more focused career in my specialisms which led me to join Thomas More Chambers in 2025.

I also own a property development company, specialising in obtaining permissions and building schemes.

I give talks to audiences of lawyers, other professionals, local authorities and developers on matters related to both substantive and procedural planning law and development issues including preparing for and participating effectively in planning appeals. 

I also answer practical questions for the LexisNexis website on its property, planning and litigation panels.

I have helped Jewish communities obtain planning consents for synagogues, schools, mikvehs, and an eruv on a charitable basis. I continue to help pro bono communities in Southend, London, and Manchester.

Memberships:

• Chancery Bar Association
• Planning & Environment Bar Association
• Property Bar Association

Appointments:

• Vice-chair of the Bar Council committee (later panel), which dealt with public and licensed access for many years
• Sitting for over 12 years on The Disciplinary Tribunal of the Council of the Inns of Court as a judge dealing with professional complaints against barristers
• Chair of former chambers’ complaints committee for two years
• Re-appointed in 2024 for another three years to sit as a judge on the RTPI Conduct & Discipline Appeal Committee
• Approved instructor for the Inns of Court College of Advocacy and former Council of Legal Education
• Mentor at the Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn