Tom Richards KC > Chambers of Tom Weisselberg KC and Jane Mulcahy KC > London, England > Barrister Profile

‘Very strong‘ set Blackstone Chambers houses a ‘superb‘ team, which has an excellent reputation for handling a broad range of high-profile employment litigation. Recent activity for practice head Tom Croxford KC includes successfully representing the defendant in Christie v Canaccord Genuity Ltd, a dispute involving a high-value bonus claim and retention award. Robert Howe KC regularly appears in the High Court concerning restrictive covenant claims. Diya Sen Gupta KC is ‘an incredibly skilled advocate‘ with noted strength in business protection, discrimination and whistleblowing cases. Turning to the juniors, George Molyneaux, unled, acted for the respondent in El Fath v Secretary of State for Justice, an Employment Tribunal case involving allegations of whistleblowing detriment, discrimination and constructive unfair dismissal. In a boost to chambers, Tom Richards KC took silk in March 2023.

Blackstone Chambers has ‘a superlative administrative law and human rights practice‘, noted for its ‘incredible strength in depth‘; the team attracts praise as being ‘exceptionally knowledgeable in relation to public and administrative law issues‘. The set has an excellent reputation for its expertise in providing advice on public law issues within a commercial context. In a prominent case highlight, Tom Hickman KC, Jason Pobjoy and Gayatri Sarathy were part of a team in chambers who represented the claimants before the Divisonal Court in R (HM) v Secretary of State for the Home Department, a challenge to the legality of the government’s secret and blanket policy to seize, search and retain data from the mobile phones of persons arriving the UK by small boats; the court ruled that the policy breached Article 8 ECHR and data protection laws. In another high-profile case, Lord Pannick KC and Monica Carss-Frisk KC appeared before the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal in Q & Tse v Commissioner of Registration, a case concerning the jurisdiction’s policy on the issuance of ID cards to transgender individuals who had not undergone qualifying gender reassignment surgery – the case also involved issues of the jurisdiction’s rules of temporary admission of English barristers. Paul Luckhurst is ‘an excellent litigator with a fierce intellect‘ who is sought after for his strength in human rights law. The senior end of the group was bolstered by the elevation of Tom Richards KC to silk in March 2023. Sir James Eadie KC, in his role as treasury devil, is the government’s first-choice outside barrister.

Blackstone Chambers has ‘strong expertise in telecoms matters‘, with an excellent track record in representing prominent regulators and communication operators. In a prominent matter, James Segan KC appeared before the Supreme Court for the respondent in R (VIP Communications Ltd) v Secretary of State for the Home Department, a case concerning the Home Secretary’s direction to Ofcom not to exempt GSM gateways from individual licensing requirements due to national security concerns. The Supreme Court ruled that the Home Secretary had acted lawfully. Emily Neill provides ‘robust, commercial and clear advice‘ to regulators and regulated entities, including fixed line and mobile telecommunications providers. In March 2023, Tom Richards KC was elevated to silk.