Mark Henderson > Doughty Street Chambers > London, England > Barrister Profile
Doughty Street Chambers Offices
53-54 DOUGHTY STREET
LONDON
WC1N 2LS
England
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Mark Henderson
Work Department
Position
Mark specialises in media, public and human rights law.
He has acted in numerous leading media, human rights, and public law cases over the last 25 years. Clients have ranged from the Leader of the Opposition to survivors and bereaved in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry. He has developed and acted in strategic litigation in the UK (e.g. winning the right to settle in the UK for thousands of Gurkha veterans) and in Europe (e.g. securing human rights protection for thousands of asylum seekers subject to inter-state transfers under the Dublin regime).
He is instructed as lead counsel against silks in both domestic and international courts. International cases include the landmark European Court of Justice case of McCarthy, in which he defeated the UK’s claim to a unilateral right to suspend free movement rights. He was lead counsel throughout, ultimately appearing against the Attorney General, who told the Grand Chamber that “the issues are of exceptional importance from the perspective of the UK”.
Career
Called 1994; Gray’s Inn. Doughty Street Chambers since 1998.
He has won Legal Aid Barrister of the Year, the citation for which noted “his agility of intellect and encyclopaedic legal knowledge combined with his forensic attention to detail”. Citations in the main legal directories have included: “One of the finest legal minds at the Bar”; “an awesome intellect and really gets into the detail of a case”; “never compromises on standards”; “has usually already thought of every point he is confronted with in court and has a better answer”; “impresses with his top-notch courtroom skills and confidence in both national and international courts”; “his mind is as sharp as a razor blade, and he is a masterful legal tactician”; “An absolute perfectionist”; “a master of tactics and strategy”; “incredibly bright”.
Domestically, he was lead counsel for the Labour Party in one of the most politically important and sensitive cases ever heard by UK courts, in which he led its successful defence of the National Executive Committee’s ruling on members’ entitlement to vote for the incumbent Leader of the Party in a leadership election (the other parties to the litigation being represented by silk led teams).
He is accustomed to making urgent court applications in cases ranging from media injunctions to expulsion.
Memberships
Administrative Law Bar Association
Bar European Group
Immigration Law Practitioners Association
Liberty
Education
Ayr Academy; Oxford (BA Hons, law); Inns of Court School of Law.
Lawyer Rankings
London Bar > Defamation and privacy
(Leading Juniors)Ranked: Tier 2Mark Henderson –Doughty Street Chambers ‘Mark possesses several strengths and qualities that contribute to his effectiveness in advocacy and legal representation. His communication skills are exceptional. He is also very knowledgeable in his area of expertise, providing valuable and insightful advice to clients and attention to detail in his arguments.’
Doughty Street Chambers offers ‘huge strength in depth when it comes to defamation work’, and its barristers practice across a broad offering of media related issues for clients including broadcasters, social media organizations and investigative journalists among others. Recently appointed Silk Jude Bunting KC was instructed by the Guardian, the Times and the BBC who challenged the Home Secretary’s application for public interest immunity concerning documents relating the proposed summary deportation of refugees to Rwanda. Mark Henderson frequently appears in high-profile libel cases, including recently where he acted for former leader of the opposition Jeremy Corbyn, who was alleged to have defamed a pro-Israel social media campaigner, who Corbyn alleged was “disruptive” at public meetings at which the head of the Palestinian Mission to the United Kingdom was speaking.