Paul Harris

Paul is a highly sought-after litigation and appellate Silk, relishing the cut and thrust of commercial litigation, whether in Court or in arbitration. He also sits as an arbitrator in commercial and sports matters. His reputation extends, in particular, to the fields of administrative/public, broadcasting, general commercial, competition, energy, entertainment, European, pharmaceuticals and sports law – and that reputation is reflected in his busy, high-profile practice.

For instance, in 2020 Paul led the successful appeal before CAS by Manchester City FC against the decision by UEFA to ban the Club from the Champions League and succeeded for the Claimant in the Supreme Court in what has been described as the largest ever UK damages action – the Merricks v. Mastercard collective proceedings claim brought on behalf of most UK adults. He also currently (2021) leads the defence for Daimler in two other collective actions (UKTC and the RHA), and in multiple Truck cartel damages actions, and for LSER in a further stand-alone collective action (Gutmann). In 2018, Paul led the defence in an expedited commercial and competition action about the launch of a controversial on-line property portal, OnTheMarket, and led the judicial review challenge by Intercontinental Exchange against the CMA in relation to ICE’s merger with Trayport (2017). He was also Leader in the substantial follow-on cartel damages action (Air Cargo, 2016), was Leader for the successful Respondent in the cutting-edge judicial review about merger jurisdiction of the CMA (Eurotunnel – Supreme Court)(2015), and carried Arriva to success in their abuse of dominance trial against Luton Airport concerning airport bus services (2014).

In the world of commercial arbitration, Paul has acted as advocate in recent commercial arbitrations concerning satellite services and international gas supply and pricing and as arbitrator in disputes concerning boxing, tennis and football.

Paul is established as the leading Silk in the world of Formula 1. He has been Leader for Mercedes GP in two recent, successful International Court of Appeal arbitration cases that have helped to cement their dominance at the top of Formula 1 (‘Pirelli Tyre-gate’ & ‘Ricciardo fuel-flow’) and regularly acts for other teams, managers, drivers and sponsors and regulatory and commercial bodies in the sport.

Paul’s practice includes representing many football clubs – as well as agents, players, directors, regulatory bodies and other commercial entities connected with the sport. Recent and regular clients have included Manchester City FC, Manchester City Womens FC, Leeds United FC, Liverpool FC, Manchester United FC, Hull FC, Leicester City FC, Watford FC, West Bromwich Albion, QPR, Fulham FC, Derby FC, Luton FC, Plymouth Argyle FC, Middlesborough FC, Tottenham Hotspur FC, Chelsea FC, Arsenal FC, Aston Villa FC, Crystal Palace FC and Newcastle United FC . Paul is very experienced in all manner of other sports and sports commercial disputes, in all disciplinary and regulatory fora, including CAS. For example, Paul represents Saracens RFC and has acted regularly for the RFU.

Paul regularly represents overseas clients, in particular from the US, the Middle East, APAC and the EU/EEA, with many of the disputes in which he is involved having a multijurisdictional angle and multi-forum litigation.

Paul remains qualified as an EU lawyer post-Brexit, having been called to the Bar in Ireland in 2018.

Parrs Wood High School, Manchester; Lester Pearson College, Canada; Trinity Hall, Cambridge (1991 Hons 1st); University of California, Berkeley (1993 LLM).