Marie Demetriou KC KC > Brick Court Chambers > London, England > Barrister Profile

Brick Court Chambers continues to handle a steady stream of complex and high profile contentious EU mandates. Recent instructions include Marie Demetriou KC acting for the appellant in British Sugar v Secretary of State for International Trade, a judicial review challenging measures adopted by the UK Government under the post-Brexit UK General Tariff Regime. Jemima Stratford KC has been kept busy handling financial and pharmaceutical related matters, and Sarah Abram KC is ‘across all of the major claims and her knowledge cannot be bettered‘. Among the juniors, Tim Johnston regularly advises local authorities and government departments on a range of EU matters, and Richard Blakeley KC is sought after for his expertise in handling sanctions issues.

Brick Court Chambers continues to handle the leading cases in the field of competition law, advising both claimants and defendants across the spectrum of competition areas, from state aid and cartels to abuse of dominant positions and contested mergers. Mark Hoskins KC leads, among others, Sarah Abram KC, who took silk in 2022, in acting for leading mobile operators, including O2 and Telefonica, in a damages claim brought by Phones4U for around £800m; the retailer collapsed into administration in 2014 alleging that the networks conspired to drive it out of business. Marie Demetriou KC continues to lead Victoria Wakefield KC among others in Merricks v Mastercard, the first collection action certified by the CAT, with more proceedings in 2023 following the success in the Court of Appeal in late 2022 – the case seeks damages for virtually every adult in the UK, who allegedly paid inflated prices owing to the payment network’s interchange fees. In Allergen & Ors v CMA, Robert O’Donoghue KC led Emma Mockford when acting Cinven – previous owner of a business now forming part of Advanz Pharmaceuticals – in its appeal against the regulator’s 2021 decision that drug companies overcharged the NHS for hydrocortisone tablets.

Brick Court Chambers’ members in the group litigation space includes instructions in Lloyd v Google, Alex Neill Class Representative Ltd v Sony, and Merricks v Mastercard, in which Marie Demetriou KC continues to act for a claimant group, effectively including almost all adults in the UK, concerning the card networks’ interchange fees on all card transactions. Sarah Abram KC is instructed in emissions litigation for BMW, as well as in BSV Claims v Bittylicious & ors, an application for collective proceedings on behalf of investors in a cryptocurrency derived from Bitcoin, including allegations of collusion via public statements on Twitter. Tony Singla KC is acting for Barclays in a case brought by hundreds of shareholders under sections 90 and 90A FSMA for allegedly false and misleading statements.