Joshua Hitchens > Chambers of James Counsell KC and Keith Bryant KC > London, England > Barrister Profile

Joshua Hitchens

+44 (0)20 7353 6381 joshua.hitchens@outertemple.com View profile View profile View profile

Work Department

Commercial Litigation, Public Law, International Administrative Law, Sanctions, Business Crime and Regulatory, Financial Services

Position

Barrister specialising in Commercial Litigation, Public Law, International Administrative Law, Sanctions, Business Crime & Regulatory, Financial Services.

Career

Josh was called to the bar in 2018.

Josh acts in high-profile and high value disputes across commercial and public law. He is currently instructed in proceedings concerning the enforcement of a $2 billion arbitration award, a high value cross-border dispute in the High Court and a number of complex civil fraud cases. He has considerable experience of financial services regulation and  litigation having previously spent several months on secondment advising the Bank of England. 

Josh has particular expertise in sanctions and international trade. He is currently instructed as sole counsel in one of the first Court challenges to a decision to designate a person for an asset-freeze under the Russian sanctions regulations. He regularly advises sanctions authorities, companies, designated persons and transactional lawyers on sanctions and export control matters.   

He also has extensive experience in Human Rights Law and is a member of the Equality and Human Rights Commission Panel of Counsel. He regularly appears in public law cases in the High Court, Court of Appeal and Privy Council, both on his own and led by King’s Counsel. He is one of the most junior barristers ranked in both Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners for public law work.  

Josh regularly appears in contempt proceedings, usually arising in the course of commercial litigation. Current instructions include contempt proceedings brought in respect of what is alleged to have been a £3m fraudulent claim against the Ministry of Defence and contempt proceedings for breach of a freezing order in ongoing High Court commercial proceedings.