Bradford’s newest top judge is the latest in a line of eminent legal professionals to have cut their teeth at a city centre barristers’ chambers which combines its long heritage with a modern approach.

Judge Roger Thomas, the Recorder of Bradford, started his legal career at Broadway House Chambers on Bank Street in 1976.

Broadway House has been the only chambers in Bradford since the 1960s following the flight of professionals to Leeds, and has been operating in the city since 1926.

It is one of the leading chambers in the North of England and opened a second office in Leeds around 20 years ago while retaining its Bradford base. It accommodates more than 50 – known as tenants – who divide their time between the two cities and operate throughout the North of England and beyond.

Leading employment lawyer David Jones recently completed his first year as head of chambers and is proud that Broadway House has signed up three prestigious ‘door tenants’ – barristers based elsewhere who can be called on when their specialist expertise is needed. They are leading criminal lawyer Jamie Hill QC, along with family law specialists Georgina Clark and Matthew Stott.

Recently-recruited full-time tenants include legal heavyweights Rodney Fermand and Richard Mansell QC, who joined as part of the continuing expansion of the Bradford chambers.

The chambers includes five QCs, and Broadway House has more advocates recommended in the professional ‘bible’ Legal 500 for criminal work than any other set of chambers on the North Eastern Circuit. Its barristers have expertise in homicide, serious sexual offences, organised crime, fraud, revenue offences and money laundering.

They regularly appear in high-profile cases in the Crown Court and in the Court of Appeal. Broadway House barristers appear both as prosecutors and defence counsel. Members also cover a range of other legal areas including family, employment, civil and immigration law.

Mr Jones is keen to ensure that Broadway House moves with the times and ensure that lawyers and the legal process should be more accessible. Personally, he feels that barristers should not wear wigs in court, but the profession overall wants to keep this tradition While he remains frustrated that many lawyers are loathe to change, Mr Jones believes Broadway House is a good example of a 21st century chambers. He highlights the fact that its members include a high ratio of women and ethnic minority barristers.

They include Michelle Colborne QC, the only female criminal silk on the North Eastern circuit, and Tahir Khan QC, the only Asian Muslim silk to be a full tenant of a chambers in the area.

David said: “We believe that our tenants better reflect today’s society and their diversity demonstrates a modern approach to the way we operate. The scope and breadth of our work has also changed and expanded since the 1990s when our focus was two-thirds on criminal cases.”

David himself is one of the country’s leading employment law barristers, representing both corporate and individual clients. A year ago he successfully represented an appellant at the Supreme Court in an age discrimination case where the judgement in favour of his client could shape employers’ future retirement policies.

While not the sexiest area of the law, the outcome of employment cases – from tribunals to the Supreme Court – have significant implications for society as a whole and, as David observes, will be increasingly decided by the European Union.

“While the UK has a strong record on employment issues, including being the first country to introduce equal pay legislation back in 1970, it’s now the EU that is driving things forward and will be in the vanguard of law-making in this important area,” he said.

David is keen to maintain Broadway House Chambers’ policy of encouraging new people into a profession which has not been immune from recessionary times. Broadway House recruits one or two pupils (trainee barristers) a year and is also looking to widen its team up to QC level.

Cuts in legal aid funding also pose problems for the profession and fewer people will get help in meeting the cost. Mr Jones said 80 per cent of people would in future not qualify for legal aid, while the rich could afford legal representation and the poorest should still qualify for support.

Meanwhile, he believes Broadway House is in a strong position to continue developing and expanding, both in Bradford and Leeds, where it moved into larger offices to accommodate future growth.

Judicial review cases, in which a judge reviews the lawfulness of a decision or action made by a public body, is an area he wants Broadway House to become more involved in.

Broadway House Chambers ended 2012 on a high after retaining its top-tier status on the North Eastern Circuit for the third successive year and receiving the most recommendations in Legal 500, which recommended 26 members as leading practitioners in their fields – the highest number of individual recommendations of any chambers on circuit, including bigger rivals.