Howard Kennedy LLP

Dispute resolution

Specialising in international, appellate and complex litigation,  Mark Stephens has undertaken some of the highest profile cases in the country and abroad.

Mark is a partner at Howard Kennedy. He is a solicitor with an expertise in constitutional, human rights, IP, media and regulatory work, defamation, privacy, media, art and cultural property, data protection and freedom of information, trusts litigation, intellectual property and international arbitration disputes.

Mark has created a niche in international comparative media law and regulation. He acts in judicial reviews, Privy Council cases- Ultimate Appeal Court for parts of the Commonwealth, as well as, regulatory cases and inquiries.

Mark practices before every level of court in England and Wales and also abroad before international tribunals and courts. He is also a Privy Council agent regularly working with a range of overseas lawyers. Mark is a qualified mediator.

He can also assist clients in jurisdictions outside of the UK and has been retained by a number of governments to advise and to represent their interests including, Republic of Cyprus, Jamaica, Libya, Mauritius, and the Russian Republic.

He has been appointed by the Foreign Secretary to the FCO Free Expression advisory board and the Lord Chancellor to be a Champion for the Community Legal Service. Mark became board chair of Internews Europe, an international charity dedicated to freedom of expression and trusted media in 2018.

Mark chairs a number of bodies including, Internews, the Management Committee of the Programme in Comparative Media Law and Policy Wolfson College, Oxford Centre for Socio Legal Studies and the Bianca Jagger Human Rights Foundation. He is former chair of the Contemporary Art Society, Global Network Initiative, Global Witness the University of East London the Design Artists Copyright Society. And former President of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association.

Mark is responsible for innovating the Business & Human Rights portfolio of Cygnet Healthcare in his role as Non-Executive Director. Cygnet is the UK arm of UHS, the largest and most respected healthcare provider in the USA, and provides a wide range of services for individuals with mental health needs, autism and learning disabilities within the UK.

He additionally sits on the board as a Trustee of Index of Censorship, the Bianca Jagger Human Rights Foundation, Commonwealth Lawyers Association and Council of the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute and Human Dignity Trust.

Mark regularly appears in print, on radio and television. Mark also lectures at Universities and Higher Education Institutions around the world.

Mark has contributed to seven books, Miscarriages of Justice: a review of justice in error (1999), International Libel and Privacy Handbook all four editions (2005), (2009), (2013), (2016) published by Bloomberg Press, La Presunción de Inocenicia Y Los Juicios Paralelos (2013) published by Wolters Kluwer (Spain) for the Fundación Fernando Pombo/Universidad Internacional Menéndez Pelayo., Media Law & Ethics in the 21st Century (2014) published by Palgrave MacMillan, This is not a book about Gavin Turk (2014) published by Trolley Books, Media Law and Policy in the Internet Age (2016) published by Hart an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing, Media Law International (3rd Edition) - Specialist Guide for Global Leaders in Media Law Practice (2016) published by Media Law International.

He is also on the editorial boards of Communications Lawyer, Copyright World and European Intellectual Property Review.