Cornerstone Barristers

Alistair Cantor specialises in commercial and regulatory, property and housing law. He undertakes a broad range of drafting, advisory and advocacy work for private litigants and public authorities. Alistair began his career at UBS Investment Bank, before being called to the Bar in 2011 and has since built a successful practice. He combines his legal acumen with sound commercial expertise when advising his clients. He holds long-standing instructions from the Dobbs Review, the ongoing high-profile independent review into the HBOS Reading fraud. He has a unique specialism in enforcement law, having regularly acted in enforcement proceedings concerning high value and foreign judgments. Alistair is a mentor under the ‘Mentoring for Underrepresented Groups at the Planning, Public Law and Property Bar’ scheme. He is a member of Cornerstone Climate, our cross-disciplinary practice group for climate litigation and advice. An alumnus of University College London, Alistair earned his Graduate Diploma in Law with Distinction at the University of Law and was awarded the Buchanan Prize from Lincoln’s Inn for Outstanding Performance on the BPTC.

Edward Grant

Ed is an experienced barrister specialising in planning law, noted for his skill and expertise as an inquiry advocate. He is regularly instructed by both developers and local authorities to act in relation to substantial residential and mixed-use development including significant town centre regeneration schemes. Some examples of recent cases are: a regeneration town centre scheme in Ashford to include nearly 300 residential units plus commercial and other uses and a new town square, a town centre regeneration scheme in Homsey including eighty residential units, the Chiswick Curve mixed-use scheme which if consented would be the tallest building in West London, and the Syon Park scheme which seeks consent for a housing estate in order to enable long-term repairs to one of the most important Grade I buildings in London. Although the principal focus of his practice is large mixed-use and housing schemes, he is noted for his expertise in planning enforcement matters and is a popular choice for local authorities and resident groups in resisting proposed gypsy and traveller development in countryside and Green Belt sites. Ed is co-author of the book Planning Enforcement, Wildy Simmonds & Hill, 2015.

India Flanagan

India has a busy and growing practice primarily in the Court of Protection and health and social care, but also accepts instructions in a wide range of other areas, including licensing and housing. India has been commended by Judges for being ‘thoroughly professional and capable’, ‘very experienced’, making ‘sensible’, ‘cogent’, ‘focused’ and ‘logical’ arguments, as well as being ‘persuasive’, ‘articulate, structured and effective in her submissions’. India regularly receives repeat instructions, and is noted for her dedication to her cases, as well as quickly establishing a good rapport with her clients. Instructing solicitors have acknowledged her ‘sensitive’, ‘conscientious’, ‘proactive’ and ‘personable’ approach, ‘impeccable work’, ‘extremely thorough’ preparation, forensic attention to detail, being an ‘exceptional advocate’, acting ‘in a way which is far beyond her call’, and that ‘she truly cares about the client and their interests’. Outside of practice, India enjoys contributing to Lincoln’s Inn, and is a regular tutor at Lincoln’s Inn’s students’ residential weekends. She has been noted by a Bencher of Lincoln’s Inn, to have ‘demonstrated a real commitment to the wider role of members of the Bar’.

Jack Barber

Jackson Sirica

Jackson Sirica accepts instructions across all of Chambers’ practice areas, including public law, planning, housing, licensing and property. Before joining Chambers, Jackson trained at the Government Legal Department. During pupillage he gained significant experience in judicial review; planning; property; and housing law. He then spent a year at the Department for Business and Trade, where he advised on numerous areas of law, including freedom of information; company law and financial transparency; insolvency law; WTO law; and international investment law. He also advised on numerous aspects of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill. Jackson also has appeared for the government in public and private law proceedings in the Upper Tribunal and Central London County Court. Call: 2021

Kelvin Rutledge KC

Public law; local government; housing; community care.

Matt Hutchings KC

Matt has a broad practice spanning the full range of chambers’ public law work, property, and commercial and regulatory litigation. He is the ideal barrister to advise in cases involving elements of commercial, property and public law. Matt has several decades of experience in appearing before the High Court in both judicial reviews and commercial trials, as well as of appellate advocacy, including at the highest level. Recent public law cases include Supreme Court briefs in R(Z) v Hackney, McDonald v McDonald, Hotak v Southwark and R(N) v Lewisham. He also appeared in the CJEU in R(Hemming) v Westminster. Matt has appeared before the Court of Appeal on dozens of occasions. Recent trial work includes Rail for London v Hackney, a landlord and tenant dispute in the Chancery Division about the construction of a rent covenant, implied terms and estoppel by convention, Chalfont St Peter v Holy Cross, a claim in unlawful interference/unlawful means conspiracy arising out of alleged planning fraud, Southwark v London District Housing Association & ors, a multi-party claim for breach/evasion of planning obligations and the Building Act arbitration following the Supreme Court decision in Manolete Partners v Hastings. He frequently acts for or against the government as well as in disputes between private individuals and organisations, often in the development sector, and has a keen understanding of his clients’ commercial and strategic aims. Matt is very active across the social housing sector, providing strategic advice to many London boroughs, particularly in the areas of regeneration, property, homelessness, and housing. A significant part of Matt’s practice relates to highways and traffic management. Matt offers advice that is strategic, practical and realistic.

Matthew Feldman

Matthew Feldman has extensive experience in housing law representing local authorities, registered social providers and tenants in statutory homelessness appeals, possession claims, human rights, discrimination and Equality Act 2010 challenges, statutory succession and right to buy proceedings, claims and injunctions based on anti-social behaviour, unlawful eviction and harassment claims, disrepair, succession and Environmental Protection Act 1990 cases. Recent work Matthew Feldman has acted in several influential social housing cases, including: R (on the application of Nolson) v Stevenage BC - The Court of Appeal considered the procedure for reviewing an application for the provision of relief in the form of interim accommodation in a homelessness judicial review case, following a refusal of interim relief on the papers. Yemshaw v Hounslow LBC - The Supreme Court held that the term 'domestic violence' in section 177(1) of the Housing Act 1996 included physical violence, threatening or intimidating behaviour and any other form of abuse which, directly or indirectly, might give rise to the risk of harm. R (McGarrett) v Kingston Crown Court - The Divisional Court held that the purpose of an ASBO was not to punish, and the terms of the order had to be proportionate to the risk to be guarded against. Further, the order had to be both necessary and justified. London & Quadrant Housing Trust v Ansell – Part of the ‘tolerated trespasser’ litigation for which leave to appeal to the House of Lords was granted, and the case settled on favourable terms shortly before the final hearing.

Nina Pindham

Planning and Environment

Olivia Davies

Olivia maintains a consciously broad practice in most areas of Chambers’ work, including public law, planning and environmental law, commercial law, election law, housing law, licensing law, information law, and inquests. Olivia is a member of the Cornerstone Climate team. Olivia regularly appears before courts, tribunals, public inquiries and inquests for a range of clients, both public and private. Her current private clients include a popular fashion brand in a commercial injunction claim for alleged breach of a licence agreement. Her public work has recently included being part of a team of counsel for three former Post Office sub-postmasters in the Court of Appeal proceedings where their wrongful convictions were overturned after the ‘biggest miscarriage of justice in history’. Olivia’s public clients are often local authorities, whom Olivia represents in a range of cases, from a recent un-led two-week planning inquiry concerning the refusal of permission a 49.9MW solar development on Green Belt land, to complex multi-track possession trials.

Paul Marshall

Commercial litigation/dispute resolution. Financial services litigation, bank mis-selling of regulated financial products to SMEs, commercial fraud, including money laundering, corporate law, equitable obligations and remedies in a commercial context. Recent cases include: Portland Stone Firms Ltd and Ors. v Barclays Bank Pie and Ors. (HQ 16X02619); London Executive Aviation Ltd v RBS (HC2014 02117) (structured interest rate swaps), Trustees of the Centre of Life Church International, Hill and Ors. v Barclays Bank, (HC2014 002102) swap sold to charity; Purrunsing v A'Court & Co. [2016] EWHC 789 (Ch); [2016] 4 W.L.R. 81; [2016] E.C.C. 32; [2016] Lloyd's Rep. F.C. 310; [2016] P.N.L.R. 26; [2016] W.T.L.R.1027; [2016] 2 P. & C.R. DG14 (identity fraud, professional negligence, refusal of relief for breach of trust, s. 61 Trustee Act 1925); Abbey Forwarding and Anr. v Hone and Ors. (No3) [2014] EWCA Civ 711, [2014] Ch 309, [2014] 3 WLR 1676, (damages, cross-undertaking for freezing injunctions); Swain and Ors v Swains Pie and Ors. [2015] EWHC 660 (Ch) (undervaluation of shares and unlawful means conspiracy); West is West Film Distribution v ICON Film Distribution [2013] EWHC 1181 (Comm) (Film distribution licence, property in DVDs), Shilmore Enterprises Corp. v Phoenix Aviation [2008] EWHC 169 (injunction, aircraft). Publications: Atkin's Court Forms Vol 18(1) Equitable Remedies (2018 Issue) editor. [2018] 5 JIBFL, 282 'Disclosure of risk in SME swap transactions: the Court of Appeal wreaks havoc with accepted principles'; [2017] 9 JIBFL 540 'Travels in unreality: hard cases for SMEs and the making of English financial law'; Trusts and Estates Law & Tax Journal, November 2016 (No. 181) 'Consequences of non-compliance'; [2016] 5 JIBFL 266 'Fault Lines in English Financial Law, Thom bridge v Barclays Bank'; [2015] 1 JIBFL 11 'Bailey and Anr v Barclays Bank pie [2014] EWHC 2882 Novating mis-sold swaps: the poverty of narrowly contractual analysis'; [2014] 11 JIBFL 679 Crestsign v Natwest and RBS [2014] EWHC 3043 -'Humpty Dumpty is broken: unsuitable and inappropriate swaps transactions'; Butterworths Corporate Law Service (Editorial Board) Company Law. Atkin's Court Forms Vol 35. A Practical Approach to UK Money Laundering Law and Practice, 3rd Ed. 2015 City & Financial Publishing. Also: The Company Lawyer, Financial Times, LMCLQ.

Peggy Etiebet

Peggy's strong practice in social housing is complemented by her expertise in the Administrative Court, principally for community care, and the Court of Protection. Peggy is an experienced social care practitioner, advising and representing local authorities in all aspects of social care work undertaken by adult social services, children's services and housing departments. Her work has included: public law challenges to individual needs assessments and care plans; duties under the Equality and Human Rights Acts; public law challenges to powers/duties owed under sections 17 and 20 and the leaving care provisions; interrelation between Children's Act and the housing legislation: interrelation between Children Act and adult social care; section 117 residence disputes; mental health services; interrelation with NHS duties/powers.

Richard Ground KC

Richard appeared in recent large Planning Inquiries including. Cribbs Causeway major called in inquiry into very substantial retail expansion. Four QCs appeared at Inquiry. South Oxfordshire housing inquiry which involved a detailed housing land supply argument where Richard’s clients were successful. Bramshill Mansion and Registered Park inquiry. This was substantial inquiry over 5 weeks involving 3 QCs into highly significant and complicated applications for very sensitive Grade I heritage assets where Richard appeared for Historic England. Chiswick Curve. This was recovered jurisdiction inquiry into the tallest proposed building in West London at 32 storeys. This was a 4-week inquiry with very significant effects on large parts of West London. R (oao Cotham school) v Bristol City Council [2018] EWHC 1022 (Admin) Richard’s clients successfully challenged decision to register village green.

Richard Hanstock

Public law; infomation law; licensing; regulatory.

Robert Williams

Public law; planning and environment; property.

Ryan Kohli

Administrative and public law: Ryan has extensive experience representing government departments and local authorities in public law proceedings including a leading case on the meaning of “clearly unfounded” in the asylum context. Examples include R (on the application of FR Albania) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2016] EWCA Civ 605. Landlord and tenant (including social housing): Ryan has been involved in significant cases in the social housing sphere on the application of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights and s. 15 of the Equality Act 2010. Examples include Paragon Asra Housing Limited v Neville [2018] EWCA Civ 1712; Hackney LBC v Haque [2017] EWCA Civ 4 and Thurrock Borough Council v West [2012] EWCA Civ 1435. Planning: He regularly represents clients in significant planning cases including those concerning air quality and the interpretation of the General Permitted Development Order. Recent examples of his work include: appearing on behalf of the Secretary of State in R (on the application of Durham and Hartlepool) v SSLUHC [2023] EWHC 1394 (Admin) which concerned the jurisdiction of planning inspectors to determine solar farm appeals which are, or might amount to, a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project; representing Cheltenham Borough Council in what is thought to have been the first planning appeal in which planning permission was refused for a major housing scheme solely on climate change grounds.

Sarah Salmon

Sarah Salmon specialises in local government, housing, and property law. She has represented public bodies (including the police), charities, local authorities, housing associations, individuals and companies in her specialist areas. In relation to housing, Sarah’s caseload includes all aspects of housing management, possession, homelessness and allocations, Equality Act 2010 duties, welfare benefits, anti-social behaviour, unlawful eviction and housing conditions. Recent housing work Sarah Salmon’s recent advisory work has included: the allocation of social housing and reviewing an allocation scheme; issues associated with homelessness applications and how an authority provides temporary accommodation pursuant to duties under Part 7, Housing Act 1996; proposed adaptations of a property and the interaction between an authority’s policy and a disabled facilities grant under the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996; reviewing a reasonable adjustment policy for a social landlord; and, EU Settled Status and the impact on a possession claim. She has also successfully acted in a number of appeals including those under section 204, Housing Act 1996 appeals and an appeal by a local authority against the dismissal of a possession claim based on allegations of subletting.

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