Gerald Gouriet KC
Francis Taylor Building 'He is an expert tactician drawn from decades of experience. He can almost always give examples of similar historical situations for reference.'
Francis Taylor Building is ‘one of the premier sets in the context of alcohol licensing and has excellent strength in terms of some of the leading juniors around.’ The set houses barristers who represent nightclubs, bars, restaurants, casinos, betting shops, and major festivals, among others. Gerald Gouriet KC chiefly acted in gambling licensing matters in 2024, but represented Veezu Holdings Limited as an intervener in Uber Britannia v Sefton MBC, a case concerning if private hire platforms who accept bookings are required to themselves enter into a contractual obligation with the passenger to provide the journey. Also of note is David Matthias KC, who is adept at representing local authorities with licensing policies, and has a great deal of experience in this area. Another key name to note is Jeremy Phillips KC, whose ’knowledge of premises licensing is immense‘. The set’s deep bench of juniors includes Leo Charalambides whose ’knowledge of areas around licensing, such as the public sector equality duty’ stands out, whilst also specialising in licensing. Charalambides recently led a challenge in the High Court by a south London nightclub to the lawfulness of holding a remote licensing hearing, during which its premises license was revoked.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'The number of licensing experts sets them apart.'
- 'Without doubt the leading set for licensing and planning matters for the hospitality sector.'
- 'It is a leading licensing set with some of the most famous names in the industry. It has strong depth in the licensing and regulatory field and they have been a joy to work with. Also, the clerks are fantastic. They have been amazing at helping us organise representation and dealing with important issues such as setting dates. They are integral and are very dependable.'
- 'They are normally our first choice for a matters pertaining to licensing and advocacy as they have a wide range of expert legal minds who can be relied upon to provide expert advice with effective insight.'
- 'They are one of the premier sets in the context of alcohol licensing. They have excellent strength in terms of some of the leading juniors around.'
- 'The age range of the available counsel suggests that the next generation of expert licensing counsel will arise from the set.'
- 'The clerks are always very engaging and quick to respond to any enquiry.'
- 'It's always a pleasure to deal with the clerks.'
Silks
Leading Silks
KCs at the very top of their field, with a long-established record of market-defining cases, and widespread endorsement from clients and peers. All silks appointed in the last two rounds are listed further below.
Jeremy Phillips KC
Francis Taylor Building ‘Jeremy is first-class. His knowledge of premises licensing is immense.’
Juniors
Leading Juniors
Leading juniors are those with significant experience of key cases, strong market recognition from both peers and clients, and are seen as future candidates for silk.
James Rankin
Francis Taylor Building 'James is charm personified. His breadth of experience in licensing law is unparalleled.'
Leo Charalambides
Francis Taylor Building ‘Leo is extremely thoughtful and articulate and prepares very well.’
Gary Grant
Francis Taylor Building ‘Gary is one of the pre-eminent barristers in the licensing field. A powerhouse who has a brilliant legal mind coupled with breathtaking advocacy skill.‘
Charles Streeten
Francis Taylor Building ‘Incredibly bright. A rapid grasp of issues and produces well thought out solutions.'