Outer Temple Chambers

Public Law, Commercial Litigation, International Arbitration and Adjudication, International Law

Barrister specialising in Public Law, Commercial Litigation, International Arbitration and Adjudication, International Law.

John was called to the bar in 1999 and took silk in 2016.

John practises in public and commercial law.

After taking silk in his late thirties, he has led teams before the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, the Queen’s Bench Division, Chancery Division, Family Division, the Commercial Court, the Court of Protection, the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, the Privy Council, the Scottish courts and in many arbitrations. The hallmark of his written and oral advocacy is precision and clarity, making the complicated straightforward. He provides his clients with pragmatic, commercially orientated advice. Over the course of his practice he has led in over 100 reported cases and in six cases that have been litigated before the Supreme Court.

He has been involved in many high profile cases. He represented the Hospital Trusts in the much discussed public law case of Bell v Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust [2021] EWCA Civ 1361, represented the Official Solicitor in a landmark case concerning capacity before the Supreme Court in A Local Authority v JB [2021] UKSC 52 and acted for the Hinduja family in long running proceedings which culminated in the Court of Appeal case of Hinduja v Hinduja [2022] EWCA Civ 1658. He has more recently been heavily involved in a number of sanctions matters and has provided advice to law enforcement officials in a offshore jurisdiction which led to the seizure of billions of assets and has advised banks and individuals on the implication of UK sanctions.

John has a strong international element to his practice. He was the Attorney General of the British Overseas Territory of Anguilla for two years and continues to have strong connections in the Caribbean and appears before the Anguilla and BVI courts. A fluent Spanish speaker he has long standing connections in Latin America and has worked in Mexico, Colombia, Nicaragua and Panama. He is the author of the Latin American and Caribbean chapter of Lissack and Horlick on Bribery. He also works as a consultant on legal projects for the World Bank, the InterAmerican Development Bank, the EU and others. He is a Vice Chair of the Bar Council’s International Committee.

The directories have described him in multiple areas of law as: “a brilliant and persuasive advocate“; “one of the best practitioners in the country“; “a ferocious, skilled, efficient advocate, with a wide-ranging practice” and “he …is very persuasive and articulate, and first rate with clients. Exceptionally bright, he can just take instructions and come up with a plan the next morning. He’s a bit of a magician in that way, and he’s brilliant to work with“.

He sits as a Deputy High Court Judge, a Recorder, a judge of the Court of Protection and a panel Deemster in the Isle of Man. He previously spent 5 years as a Tribunal judge and arbitrates, adjudicates and mediates in a wide range of disputes. He is also a sanctions appeals officer to the Caribbean Development Bank.

John is a Master Bencher of the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple.

Spanish

Attorney General, Anguilla, 2016-2018 Tribunal Judge, 2010-2015 Independent Adjudicator, Marine Stewardship Council, 2017 Member of the Anguilla, BVI and Scottish Bars Executive Council Member, Commonwealth Lawyers Association COMBAR ALBA FLBA CPBA

London School for Economics (LLB); Oxford University (MSc).