Region Area

Barristers

George Mackenzie

George Mackenzie

Position

George is a leading planning junior (Legal 500, 2023) with a specialist practice in the following core areas:

  • major infrastructure
  • planning
  • compulsory purchase and land valuation
  • rating and council tax
  • property and commercial
  • highways, commons and open space

George has a busy contentious and non-contentious practice, with a focus on the former. His practice involves advice, drafting and advocacy at all levels: he regularly appears (mostly unled, often against silks) in the High Court and Court of Appeal and is well-versed in procedural matters.

He particularly in demand as an inquiry or examination advocate for controversial and complex projects, particularly those involving disputes in technical fields.

George is a huge team player, something recognised by the directories which praise his “ability to see the commercial drivers in the case” and his impressive “ability to work seamlessly with different personalities in the client team.” He makes an effort to ensure that the whole team (client, solicitors, experts) is on the same page, aligned on strategy, and that the ultimate commercial objective is prioritised at all times.

George is both a detail fanatic and a strategic thinker, and is as comfortable with fine-grained disputes about numbers or law/policy as he is with joining the dots between the strategic “big picture”, procedural tactics and the preparation of evidence.

Career

Called 2011; Lincoln’s Inn.

Languages

French, Swahili.

Memberships

PEBA (Planning and Environmental Law Bar Association) UKELA (UK Environmental Law Association) CPA (Compulsory Purchase Association) NIPA (National Infrastructure Planning Association) ALBA (Administrative Law Bar Association) Denning Society for Scholars of Lincoln's Inn

Education

MA (Hons) Jurisprudence (with Law Studies in Europe) – Oxford University Certificat de Droit Français et International - Université Panthéon¬-Assas (Paris II) Attorney General’s ‘C’ Panel of Counsel – 2016 to 2021 Mansfield Scholarship – Lincoln’s Inn (major scholarship) Megarry Scholarship – Lincoln’s Inn Buchanan Scholarship – Lincoln’s Inn Hardwicke Award – Lincoln’s Inn Academic Exhibitioner - Mansfield College, Oxford Scholarship to Oxford University – Oxford and Cambridge Society of Kenya

Personal

George lives in South London with his family. He is a keen surfer and travels extensively to France, Madeira, South Africa, Indonesia and Hawaii to surf. He is a sometime practitioner of Zen and, in the winter, a cold water swimmer.

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