4-5 Gray's Inn Square

Richard has extensive experience as an advocate and adviser in commercial litigation. He is an acknowledged expert in entertainment and media law, including intellectual property and defamation.  He specialises in professional negligence work, relating to commercial matters, and clinical negligence.  Popular with clients, he has been described in 'The Lawyer' as "a tenacious character, a steamroller in his arguments, and very, very practical" and clients describe him as "brilliant at absorbing the negative stuff, and extracting constructive proposals... and a great mind which enables him to see through what others might have missed”.

Richard also specialises in professional regulation and discipline.  He acts for regulators, and for professionals in disciplinary matters before their regulatory bodies with thoroughness and understanding.  He has particular experience of chairing, and acting as legal assessor to, various disciplinary panels.

Richard is one of the country’s few leading experts on election law, and edits the leading text books on the subject.

Complimentary to his litigious work, Richard is one of the most experienced and widely regarded commercial mediators at the Bar, and has featured as a leading mediator in the Chambers & Partners and Legal 500 directories, which have described him in the following terms:

• a calm manner that leads you towards a settlement" (Chambers & Partners)
• a ‘big character’, who brings a broad ‘range of skills to bear" (Legal 500)
• excellent mediation practice" (Legal 500)

Regulatory, Professional Discipline & Business Crime

Richard has extensive of professional regulatory and disciplinary work. From 2002-2007 he was Chair or Vice-Chair of the Bar’s Complaints Committee, which handled all complaints of professional misconduct and inadequate professional service against barristers. For many years, he was responsible for liaising with the Legal Services Ombudsman on behalf of the Bar. He acts for solicitors facing compliance and other disciplinary problems with the Solicitors Regulation uthority, and before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal He acts for other professionals who face proceedings before their respective disciplinary panels. Richard has regularly acted for the Conservative Party, and its Board, in relation to complaints of breaches of the Party Constitution and Association Rules, and dealt with disciplinary matters affecting Party members, MPs, Councillors and candidates. He has conducted inquiries into such breaches, and has chaired and acted as legal advisor to various investigatory, disciplinary and appeal panels within the Party. Richard has advised the Party, its Board, and its Registered Treasurers in relation to reviews and investigations by the Electoral Commission into party political funding. He also specialises in healthcare regulation and discipline. He has regularly advised the General Optical Council on registration and constitutional matters, and acted in applications for judicial review against the GOC. He has conducted statutory enquiries and disciplinary appeals in relation to allegations of misconduct against consultants employed by NHS University Health Boards. He is a Legal Assessor to the Disciplinary Committee of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, and has chaired Challenge Committees of the RCVS in relation to challenges to the validity of elections to the Council of the Royal College. He has acted as a Legal Assessor to the Fitness to Practise Tribunals of the Medical Practitioners Tribunals Service. He is recognised as a leading expert in this field in Chambers Directory.

Elections

Richard is a renowned expert in election law. He has acted as standing counsel to the Conservative Party on election law since 1986, but also advises returning officers and their staff on election law problems. He advises the Conservative Party in matters of Party funding. He has acted for the Corporation of London on election law matters, and has advised as to the reform of the City franchise, and the procedure for the election of the Lord Mayor. He has been involved in various judicial review cases involving returning officers, the Court of Aldermen of the City of London, and the Electoral Commission. Editor of Parker’s Law and Conduct of Elections, one of the leading text-books on election law, and was Consulting Editor of Halsbury’s Laws of England, 2007 Re-Issue, and 2013 Fifth edition on Elections and Referendums. He has given talks and seminars on election law to local authorities, returning officers and electoral administrators, and has taken part as an expert in election law on Radio 4’s “Today” programme. His work in this field has also enabled him to develop an expertise in the law of unincorporated associations, particularly as it applies to political parties, and constituency associations. He is recognised as a leading expert in this field in Chambers Directory.

Professional Negligence

Richard specialises in professional negligence litigation in the context of commercial disputes. He has particular experience of valuers’, surveyors’ and solicitors’ negligence (mainly work for major banks and building societies arising out of property transactions), and accountants’ and solicitors’ negligence in the commercial context. He also has expertise in clinical negligence cases (acting for claimants and defendant authorities), with extensive experience over many years in serious personal injury litigation.

Appointed QC - 1996 Accredited CEDR mediator - 1997 Appointed Recorder (civil) - 2004 Master of the Bench of Gray’s Inn – 2002 Civil Mediation Council Registered Mediator Chartered Institute of Arbitrators COMBAR Professional Negligence Bar Association Association of Regulatory and Disciplinary Lawyers London Common Law and Commercial Bar Association Member of the Gray’s Inn Management Committee and Master of the House since 2017