Ian joined 4 New Square in October 2018 following the successful completion of his pupillage and is developing a broad practice across Chambers’ core areas, with a particular focus on commercial litigation, the conflict of laws, professional liability, civil fraud, and construction.
His recent led work includes:
- Acting for a development manager in a multi-party professional liability claim arising out of the procurement and development of a multi-million pound retail and residential project (led by Graeme McPherson QC);
- Junior to Helen Evans in an urgent application for freezing and proprietary injunctions and a Norwich Pharmacal order, arising out of a former solicitor’s fraudulent misconduct;
- Acting for a public sector services provider in commercial litigation against a local authority (led by George Spalton);
- Junior to Matthew Bradley in Ang v Reliantco Investments Ltd [2019] EWHC 879 (Comm), involving a jurisdiction challenge under the recast Brussels I Regulation (in particular, the choice-of-court and consumer contract provisions);
- Assisting with advising a travel and lifestyle services provider upon a jurisdiction challenge under the recast Brussels I Regulation (in particular, the choice-of-court and lis pendens provisions); and,
- Junior to Can Yeginsu as part of a legal team instructed in an international commercial arbitration, under the ICC Rules, arising out of a construction project in South America.
Ian has also been instructed as sole Counsel in a range of matters. He regularly appears in his own right at interim and final hearings in the High Court and County Court, and has advised upon, and settled pleadings in, actions across Chambers’ core practice areas, including professional liability proceedings against solicitors, financial practitioners, and construction professionals.
Given Ian’s background – he originally trained and worked as a journalist before spending five years at Liberty, the human rights organisation, in senior media and campaigns roles – he also has a strong interest in public law, and was recently involved in the filing of an application, engaging (inter alia) Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights (the right to liberty and security), to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
Prior to commencing pupillage, Ian read law at Birkbeck, University of London, where he won the Prize for Outstanding Performance on the LLB, and at Balliol College, Oxford, where he was the 4 New Square Chambers Scholar and achieved a Distinction on the Bachelor of Civil Law. He subsequently completed the BPTC, for which he was awarded the Cunningham Scholarship by Middle Temple and an Excellence Award by BPP University, securing Outstanding grades in all three Advocacy modules and Commercial Dispute Resolution.
Ian has particular expertise in the conflict of laws. He has worked as a teaching assistant on the Conflict of Laws module on the BCL at the University of Oxford, and has delivered tutorials in the same subject to visiting students at St Catherine’s College, Oxford.
He is also an editor of Jackson & Powell on Professional Liability (Sweet & Maxwell, Third Supplement to the 8th edition, 2019).
For more examples of Ian’s recent work, please see the individual practice areas below.
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