Ian joined 4 New Square in October 2018 following the successful completion of his pupillage, and is developing a broad commercial practice across Chambers’ core areas.
During pupillage, Ian assisted in a variety of domestic and international disputes, including:
- an application for a worldwide freezing injunction, arising out of a multi-million pound fraud;
- an advice on service out of the jurisdiction in a large multi-jurisdictional action for deceit;
- a UNCITRAL arbitration relating to a concession agreement in respect of an international airport;
- a three-week Technology & Construction Court trial in a claim for breach of contract and misrepresentation; and,
- professional negligence proceedings against an investment management company.
Ian has also settled pleadings in a range of matters, including actions against solicitors, surveyors and financial practitioners. He regularly appears in his own right in the County Court, and was recently instructed in an adjudication in a construction dispute led by Garry Borland QC and Hugh Saunders. Given his background – Ian 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.
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 BCL. 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 a keen interest in the conflict of laws. Alongside his practice, he is studying part-time for a DPhil in Law – focusing on common law defences to the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments – at Brasenose College, Oxford, under the supervision of Professor Andrew Dickinson, for which he has been awarded the Peter Birks Memorial Scholarship. During pupillage, he also taught BPTC Commercial Dispute Resolution classes on jurisdiction and foreign judgments at BPP University, and won The Bar Council’s Law Reform Essay Competition for his paper “One rule for all: An end to the Abouloff double standard on fraud and foreign judgments”.
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