In the recently launched Legal 500 UK Bar 2023, Monckton Chambers secured a record number of rankings totaling 141. This includes 60 individual barristers from Monckton listed across 20 practice areas, and 27 new entries into the tables this year. Congratulations to all members listed.

Monckton Chambers has been recommended, as a TOP-TIER set in the following five practice areas:

• Competition ‘Monckton Chambers is an exceptional competition law set. It has depth of competition specialists at all levels of seniority and experience and is involved in most of the major competition cases, breaking new ground in a fast developing and complex field.’
• EU law ‘Monckton has an outstanding range of barristers in EU law. I have encountered many of them in cases in the European Courts.’
• Telecoms regulation ‘Monckton Chambers are a leading set-in telecoms work. ‘
• Public procurement ‘Monckton are at the top of the public procurement Bar.’    
• Tax: VAT and excise ‘The set is well known for VAT, customs and excise and its particular expertise in EU law and its application in the indirect tax world. ’

The Set has also been ranked in a further three areas:

• Administrative law and human rights
• Data protection
• Sport

Individual members were also recognised as “Leading Individuals” in:

• Commercial Litigation
• Consumer
• Education
• Energy
• Fraud: civil
• Group Litigation
• Immigration (including business immigration)
• International arbitration: counsel
• Public international law
• Professional Negligence
• Social housing
• Asia Pacific: The English Bar – Commercial

Congratulations also to our clerking team who are praised for being ‘Always helpful and available ‘prompt and responsive’ and provide a ‘good and personal approach.’   

Professor Panos Koutrakos is mentioned in the Opinion by Advocate General Medina in Case C-407/21 Union fédérale des consommateurs – Que choisir (UFC – Que choisir) Consommation, logement et cadre de vie (CLCV) v Premier ministre, Ministre de l’Économie, des Finances et de la Relance.

This case is a reference to the Court of Justice by the French Council of State (Conseil d’État). It is about the COVID 19 pandemic and the right of national authorities to introduce temporary derogations from consumer legislation governing package travel contracts. The dispute was about French legislation dealing with the pandemic and which allowed travel package organisers to issue travellers with vouchers instead of a refund as a means of managing their immediate liquidity problems. The issue was the compatibility of such measures with EU law, in particular Directive 2015/2302 on package travel.

In her Opinion, delivered on 15 September 2022, Advocate General Medina referred to the book edited by Panos Koutrakos (along with N Nic Shuibhne and P Syrpis), Exceptions from EU Free Movement Law- Derogation, Justification and Proportionality (Hart Publishing, Oxford, 2016).

Professor Koutrakos has written and advised on EU law, including free movement of goods, services, and persons, as well as various aspects of the relationship between EU and international law.

Monckton Chambers is delighted to have been recognised and shortlisted for this years upcoming Chambers UK Bar Awards 2022.

The set has been nominated for ‘Competition/ EU Set of the Year’ and five members shortlisted for individual awards:

• Commercial Litigation Junior of the Year – William Hooper
• Competition/ EU Junior of the Year – Nikolaus Grubeck
• Competition/ EU Silk of the Year – Ronit Kreisberger QC
  
• Media, Privacy and Information Law Junior of the Year – Julianne Kerr Morrison
• Tax Junior of the Year – Brendan McGurk

The shortlists are a result of extensive objective research by over 200 analysts. The lists reflect achievements over the past 12 months including outstanding work, impressive strategic growth and excellence in client service. They honour the work of Chambers across the country based on the research for the most recent edition of Chambers UK Bar.

Thank you to our professional clients for their ongoing support and for taking part in this year’s research cycle and congratulations to all those shortlisted.

The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on 17th November 2022.

The full shortlist can be seen here.

We are pleased to announce that Conor McCarthy has been promoted to the Attorney General’s “B” panel and Will Perry has been newly appointed to the “C” panel of Junior Counsel to the Crown.

Conor’s practice encompasses public law, civil claims, and international law. He is regularly instructed in complex disputes, both public and commercial, across chambers’ core areas of work. He has particular expertise in the areas of competition law, data protection and in claims involving issues of public or private international law or civil liberties.

Will has a busy practice in competition, consumer, data protection and privacy, environmental, EU relations, human rights, information, procurement, public and regulatory law. He acts for both claimants and defendants, including major businesses, NGOs, regulators, central government departments and legally aided individuals.

The Attorney General maintains four advisory panels of junior counsel to undertake civil and EU work for all government departments. There are three London panels (an A panel for senior juniors, a B panel for middle juniors, a C panel for junior juniors) and a regional panel. In addition, there are three Public International Law Panels.

Both appointments will commence from 1 September 2022 for five years.

The full list of Monckton Chambers panel members is:

• A Panel: Andrew Macnab, Raymond Hill, Alan Bates, Ben Lask, Brendan McGurk, Azeem Suterwalla, Ewan West, Peter Mantle.
• B Panel: Fiona Banks, Julianne Kerr Morrison, Conor McCarthy, Michael Armitage.
• C Panel: James Bourke, Jack Williams, Imogen Proud,  Khatija Hafesji, Will Perry.
• Public International Law A Panel: Thomas Sebastian.
• Public International Law C Panel: Nikolaus Grubeck.

Professor Panos Koutrakos is mentioned in the Opinion by Advocate General Emiliou in Case C-372/21 Freikirche der Siebenten-Tags-Adventisten in Deutschland KdöR joined parties: Bildungsdirektion für Vorarlberg.

This case is a reference to the Court of Justice by the Austrian Supreme Administrative Court. It is about the application of the principles of free movement of services in a context where a religious society, established in an EU Member State, recognises as a denominational school a private institute in another Member State where it requests public funding. The dispute is about Austrian legislation which makes the subsidisation of denominational private schools subject to the recognition of the latter as a church or religious society under domestic law.

In his Opinion, delivered on 7 July 2022, Advocate General Emiliou referred to the analysis by Panos Koutrakos entitled  ‘Healthcare as an economic service under EC law’ which was published as a chapter in Dougan, M. and  Spaventa, E. (eds), Social Welfare and EU Law (Hart Publishing, Oxford, 2005) pp. 105-130.

Professor Koutrakos has written and advised on EU law, including free movement of goods, services, and persons, as well as various aspects of the relationship between EU and international law.

The Legal 500 Bar Awards UK seeks to recognise chambers as a whole and individuals (barristers of all levels of seniority), clerks, other chambers professionals and arbitrators from London and across England, Scotland and Wales.

The shortlist for the 2022 awards has just been announced.

Monckton Chambers and its members have been nominated for awards in six of the practice areas: Competition, International Law, Public Law, Sport, Tax and Technology and Data. The Set is nominated for four practice areas and nine members are shortlisted for individual awards:

 

Competition set of the year

Competition silk of the year: Daniel Beard QC, Jon Turner QC, Josh Holmes QC

Competition junior of the year: Ben Rayment

 

International law set of the year

 

Public law junior of the year: Brendan McGurk

 

Sport set of the year

Sport silk of the year: Paul Harris QC

Sport junior of the year: Fiona Banks

 

Tax silk of the year: Melanie Hall QC

 

Technology and data set of the year

Technology and data junior of the year: Ben Lask

 

The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on the 5^th October 2022.

 

The full shortlist can be found on the Legal 500 website.

The members of Monckton Chambers congratulate pupil barrister Jenn Lawrence on being invited to join Chambers following successful completion of pupillage. All are delighted she has accepted.

Prior to coming to the Bar, Jenn worked in venture investments and was also an investment banker at Morgan Stanley for two years. Before that, she completed a BA in Classics at Yale University and an MPhil in Ancient Greek and Roman History at Corpus Christi College, Oxford.

Jenn Lawrence will become a tenant on 4 October 2022.

In December 2020, the European Commission called for applications in connection with the renewal of the pool of arbitrators and the separate pool of trade and sustainable development (TSD) experts for dispute settlement panels under trade agreements to which the EU is a party. Candidates were examined to confirm their suitability for appointment.

Christopher Vajda QC has been appointed to the ‘List of Candidates Suitable for Appointment as Chairpersons for Arbitrations’ and Professor Panos Koutrakos appointed to the ‘List of Candidates Suitable for Appointment as Arbitrators and TSD Experts’.

The Commission will draw on this list to make proposals for the appointment of chairpersons for arbitrations and arbitrators and TSD experts in a specific case or for pre-agreed lists (rosters) under the relevant bilateral agreements with third countries.

Further information and the full lists can be found here.

Monckton Chambers is pleased to share the news that The Queen has approved Sir Christopher Bellamy QC’s appointment as a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Ministry of Justice in the House of Lords. Her Majesty has also been pleased to signify Her intention to confer a life peerage upon Sir Christopher.

Sir Christopher is a door tenant at Monckton Chambers. He is a former judge and recently chaired an independent review of the criminal legal aid system that reported in December 2021.

While a Minister, Sir Christopher will not be accepting any work through Monckton Chambers.