Practice Profile

David joined Chambers in January 2012 after successfully completing pupillage under the supervision of Gregory Jones QC, Philip Petchey and Hereward Phillpot.

During his pupillage, David gained broad experience across Chambers' specialisms, including public, planning, and environmental law. He has recently appeared in his own right in High Court judicial review hearings, and in a village green inquiry.

Practice areas: Public and Administrative; Planning Law; Environmental Law; European Union Law; Torts; Discrimination Law; Contract Law; Property Law.

Planning Law

David has been involved in a variety of planning matters during his pupillage. In particular, he gained experience in the following areas:

• Section 288 and 289 TCPA challenges
• Judicial review
• Appeals to the Secretary of State against refusal of planning permission by local authorities, including in particular policies concerning "enabling development", retail and housing provision, the Green Belt, and Gypsy/Traveller accommodation.
• Advertising control
• Tree Preservation Orders (assisted pupil supervisor with Wilkson Properties Ltd v Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea [2011] J.P.L. 1083).
• Enforcement matters including public inquiries and prosecutions for breach of enforcement notices.
• Certificates of Lawfulness and Permitted Development Rights.
• Section 106 agreements and related litigation.
• Highways

Environmental Law

During pupillage, David has gained experience of environmental matters including:

• Aarhus Convention and the law on public participation in decision-making;
• Environmental impact assessment, including Strategic Environmental Assessment of plans and programmes, Environmental Impact Assessment of individual projects, and Appropriate Assessment of impacts upon protected sites;
• EU Habitats Directive, Birds Directive and domestic species protection law;
• Town and Village Greens and other public open spaces;
• Statutory nuisance;
• Private nuisance and Rylands v Fletcher;
• Public nuisance

David is a member of Chambers' Environmental Crime Group, and has developed a particular interest in water pollution offences.

While a pupil, David assisted members of Chambers in the leading case on disturbance of European Protected Species, R (Vivienne Morge) v Hampshire County Council [2011] UKSC 2. He is co-author (with Charles George QC) of "After Morge, Where Are We Now? The Meaning Of ‘Disturbance' In The Habitats Directive."(chapter to be published in a forthcoming book on the Habitats Directive by Hart Publishing). He assisted his supervisor Hereward Phillpot in the cases of Cornwall Waste Forum St Dennis Branch v SSCLG [2011] EWHC 2761 (Admin), which concerns the extent to which different regulatory authorities are entitled to presume that their counterparts have conducted appropriate assessments; and Britannia Assets v SSCLG [2011] EWHC 1908 (Admin) concerning the relevance of ‘fall-back' permissions in appropriate assessment. David has also advised on the application of the Environmental Impact Assessment and Strategic Environmental Assessment directives.

Public Law

David regularly undertakes work on public law matters including questions of vires, policy and decision-making, consultation, legitimate expectations, pre-determination and natural justice. He recently appeared as a junior to Gregory Jones QC in R(Argos) v Birmingham City Council and Network Rail [2011] EWHC 2639, successfully representing Network Rail in a judicial review of the compulsory acquisition of land for the redevelopment of Birmingham New Street station.

His public law work during pupillage has included subjects as diverse as local authority constitutions, airports, access to information, road traffic regulation and street parking, council tax, public procurement law, school admissions policy, and alleged unlawful detention of a mentally ill patient. He has advised on Human Rights matters, particularly Articles 5 and 8, and Article 1 of the First Protocol.

Other Areas:

David has gained experience of education law encompassing school admissions, challenges to disciplinary action, and suits against universities for discrimination on grounds of race, sex and disability. David has also advised in relation to a Health and Safety at Work prosecution.

David's work has covered a wide variety of civil claims, including misrepresentation, breach of contract (especially agency contracts), debt claims, and negligence (personal injury and road traffic accidents).

He has represented both claimants and defendants in the County Courts.

During pupillage, David's work has also frequently taken in property matters. These have included easements, covenants, trusts, and some landlord and tenant matters.

Qualifications and Awards:

• Called to the Bar of England & Wales, October 2010 (Lincoln's Inn)
• Buchanan Prize, Lincoln's Inn, 2010
• Bar Vocational Course (Outstanding), BPP Law School, 2010.
• Lord Denning Scholarship, Lincoln's Inn, 2009.".
• Graduate Diploma in Law (Distinction), City University London
• Lord Bowen Scholarship, Lincoln's Inn, 2008.
• Hardwicke Entrance Award, Lincoln's Inn, 2008.
• B.A. (Hons) History (Double First), Trinity College, Cambridge, 2008.
• Examination Prize, Trinity College, 2008. 
• Senior Scholarship and Examination Prize, Trinity College, Cambridge, 2007.

Associations

• Administrative Law Bar Association;

• Denning Society, Lincoln's Inn