News
No.18 Chambers welcomes Holly McGahey (2023) and Callan Withers (2025) as they commence pupillage
Holly McGahey (2023)
Holly joined Chambers as a pupil after successful completion of the MLaw Exempting (Bar Course) at Northumbria University. Holly achieved a First Class Honours degree, along with a Distinction in all Bar Course modules. She was Called to the Bar in October 2023 by Gray’s Inn.
Prior to joining Chambers, Holly has worked for Newcastle City Council in their Legal Services department, both in Children’s Social Care and Housing and Litigation. Holly started as a Legal Assistant in Children’s Social Care, which focused primarily on public children law. She gained in-depth experience from a local authority point of view and is keen to grow her knowledge and practice in this area.
Holly then joined the Housing and Litigation team in the role of Assistant Lawyer, dealing mainly with Housing Disrepair cases. She managed a very busy workload, taking cases from pre-action stage through to issue of proceedings and settlement. She also took opportunities to explore other areas, such as anti-social behaviour, when her workload allowed.
To view Holly’s full profile please click here
Callan Withers (2025)
Callan joined Chambers as a Pupil in October 2025. During his pupillage, Callan has been supervised by Sara Chalk, experiencing all aspects of family law ranging from private children matters and ancillary relief to care proceedings.
Callan was called to the Bar in March 2025, having achieved an overall ‘Distinction’ on the BTC, with grades of ‘Distinction’ in advocacy, civil litigation, criminal litigation, and opinion writing.
Before joining chambers, Callan worked as a County Court advocate and took instructions in a variety of civil practice areas including property law disputes, chancery and commercial matters, and personal injury. It was during this time that Callan was noted by County Court Judges for his advocacy and professionalism.
Prior to this, Callan worked with Coram IAC gaining experience in international adoption law. Callan has also worked in employment and discrimination law through his role as a volunteer trade union representative for CAIWU. Alongside his barrister training, Callan worked with Goldman Sachs and the University of Oxford to provide business growth to opportunities to over two thousand UK based small businesses.
To view Callan’s full profile please click here
