Bar Mess
Essex Bar Mess
Essex
- Courts
- 16
- Area
- Essex
- Crown
- 4
- Magistrates'
- 7
- County
- 4
- Tribunal
- 1
About the Mess
With well over 100 members, the Essex Bar Mess is one of the largest and most active on the South Eastern Circuit. Its membership spans criminal, family and civil practice across the major Crown and County Court centres of Essex — Chelmsford, Basildon and Southend among them — reflecting the full breadth of the legal work that the county generates.
The Essex Bar Mess has a reputation for warmth and friendliness that is widely acknowledged across the Circuit. Its annual dinner, held each November or December, is a highlight of the Essex legal year: well attended by members of the Bench and Bar alike, it offers a reminder that the practice of law, for all its pressures, is at its best a collegial endeavour.
The Mess holds both an autumn dinner and a spring dinner, ensuring that there are regular opportunities for members — at all levels of call and across all practice areas — to meet, talk, and maintain the relationships that make practice in Essex not merely tolerable but genuinely enjoyable.
Upcoming Mess Events
Courts served
4 Crown Courts · 7 Magistrates' Court · 4 County Courts · 1 Tribunal
The full list of courts served by the Essex Bar Mess — with names and addresses — is available to members in the app.
Mess Officers & Representatives
Names and chambers are shown publicly. Members of the Circuit can see contact details in the signed-in directory at /app/home.
Chair
Allan Compton KC
2 Bedford Row
Junior
Marc Brown
Red Lion Chambers
Treasurer
Laura Kenyon
Red Lion Chambers
Additional Representative
Laureen Husain
187 Chambers
Remaining officer roles will be filled as each Bar Mess confirms its election results.
Constitution and Policies
Contact the Mess
Annual dinners: Spring and Autumn.
For matters relating specifically to the Essex Bar Mess, please write to: