Cornerstone Barristers

Public law, local government, planning and environment, information, housing and licensing law.

Ruchi has a broad public law practice specialising in local government, planning and environment, information, housing and licensing law. She is instructed by a wide range of private and public sector clients, including local and central government and other regulatory bodies. She can also be instructed directly as a public access barrister.

Recent and ongoing notable cases include:

• • Representing Sarah Finch and the Weald Action Group in the Finch Litigation at the Supreme Court. the first time it's ruled on "downstream" emissions.
  • Representing the claimant group challenging the grant of development consent for the Sizewell C nuclear power station.
  • Representing the community group challenging the ‘Jet Zero Strategy’, the Government’s plan to achieve net zero in the aviation industry.
  • Armstrong v SSLUHC [2023] EWHC 176 (Admin): Leading authority on the scope of s.73 TCPA 1990 and whether it extends to a “fundamental variation” of the original planning permission.

Prior to coming to the bar, Ruchi worked as a legal officer at JUSTICE, where she led the civil justice program. Her previous experience also includes human rights litigation in domestic courts in eastern Europe and southern and eastern Africa, and the European Court of Human Rights, while working at Interights.

Ruchi has an LLM from Harvard Law School, where she was awarded a Public Service Fellowship, and an LLB (First Class Honours) from the London School of Economics, where she won several prizes including two for best overall performance in the year. Ruchi was awarded the Stephen Chapman Scholarship from Inner Temple.