Henderson Chambers

Barrister

Douglas is a commercial barrister whose practice spans commercial and group litigation, product liability and safety, property, environmental, banking and consumer law, and public law (in particular cases concerning the right to property under Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the ECHR (“A1P1”): the subject of his book, The Human Right to Property (Hart Publishing, 2022)). Legal 500 ranks him as a “rising star” at the London Bar.

Group litigation: Douglas has a busy group litigation practice with experience across matters in multiple jurisdictions concerning environmental pollution, mass torts, product liability, consumer rights and human rights. He acts for the Porsche Defendants in the Pan-NOx Emissions Litigation (led by Geraint Webb KC) (one of The Lawyer’s Top 20 Cases for 2025), including in Various Claimants v Mercedes-Benz Group AG and others [2026] EWHC 1753 (KB). He also acted in the Grenfell Tower Civil Litigation and in a proposed mass tort claim concerning alleged historic pollution to land, rivers and groundwater in another jurisdiction.

Property: Douglas is ranked as a “rising star” in Legal 500 2027 for property litigation. He advises and acts across the full range of property work, with particular expertise where A1P1 is engaged and the crossover between property, planning and environmental law in relation to contaminated land, pollution and forever chemicals. Recent instructions include matters arising from the remediation of the former Olympic Village in London, advising multiple entities on all aspects of leasehold reform, acting for a landlord in a dispute over the mutual enforcement of absolute covenants, a disrepair claim concerning a luxury development in central London and assisting on a matter concerning Aqueous Film-Forming Foam (“AFFF”). He has been invited to give evidence to the Irish Government’s Housing Commission and to several parliamentary committees of the UK Parliament on human rights and property issues. He was recently cited in the HCLG Committee Pre-Legislative scrutiny of the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill.

Environmental: Douglas is experienced in environmental law matters and has been instructed pre-action in a proposed mass tort claim concerning historic pollution in another jurisdiction, in nuisance claims concerning alleged noxious odours, in confiscation proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 arising from environmental pollution and in the full spectrum of issues concerning contaminated land, dilapidations and related environmental, property and product liability issues arising from the use of PFAS (forever chemicals).

Product liability: Douglas has experience acting in complex regulatory and criminal matters concerning product safety, including recalls, enforcement actions and potential prosecutions. His experience covers (among others) construction products, cosmetics, children’s toys, medical devices and motor vehicles.

Public and Administrative law: Douglas has experience in matters concerning A1P1, Articles 2, 6 and 8 of the ECHR. Instructions include human rights issues arising from the operation of the Building Safety Act 2022, acting for a proposed interested party in the judicial review of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024, an appeal against the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions concerning A1P1, and acting for the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government in relation to the Covid-19 Inquiry.

Banking and consumer: He regularly acts for banks and financial institutions in claims concerning allegedly undisclosed commissions, consumer rights, data breaches, and alleged mis-selling.

Property Bar Association

UK Environmental Law Association

Constitutional & Administrative Law Bar Association

Douglas holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge and was called to the Bar as a Lord Astbury Scholar. In addition to The Human Right to Property, he co-authored a chapter in The History of the Technology and Construction Court on its 150th Anniversary (eds Sir Peter Coulson and David Sawtell KC), co-wrote practice notes for LexisNexis, and published in journals including the European Law Review and Public Law.