Gerald Gouriet KC > Francis Taylor Building > London, England > Barrister Profile

Francis Taylor Building
FRANCIS TAYLOR BUILDING, INNER TEMPLE
LONDON
EC4Y 7BY
England
Gerald Gouriet photo

Work Department

Licensing
Gambling

Position

Gerald’s practice embraces the full range of licensing regulation, with recent emphasis on gambling, alcohol and entertainment, and taxi licensing. He is widely recognised as “the doyen of the [KCs] in this field”: Chambers and Partners, 2022.

He is General Editor of ‘Patersons Licensing Acts’ and of ‘Smith & Monkcom: The Law of Gambling’. As a known expert in his field, he was invited to give evidence before the House of Lords Select Committee on the Licensing Act 2003 (2017), and before the House of Lords Select Committee on Gambling Harm (2020).

Gerald’s list of clients includes: The Royal Opera House; The Albert Hall; John Lewis; Waitrose; The Dorchester Hotel; Tottenham Hotspur Football Club; The Football Pools Ltd; Trust Inns Ltd; Mitchells & Butlers; The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA); Caesar’s Palace (Las Vegas); Cashino Gaming Ltd; Paddy Power; Ladbrokes; Corals; and William Hill. He was successful in obtaining gaming licences for the last of the great 1968 Act Casinos in Liverpool, Middlesbrough, Birmingham and Huddersfield; climaxing with the grant, on appeal, of the Hippodrome Casino in Leicester Square.

Career

General Editor,  Paterson’s Licensing Acts
General Editor, Smith & Monkcom: the Law of Gambling

Education

  • Bachelor of Music (Royal College of Music)
  • Called to the Bar: 1974
  • Queen’s Counsel: 2006
  • Appointed a General Editor of Paterson’s Licensing Acts: 2015

Lawyer Rankings

London Bar > Licensing

(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 1

Gerald Gouriet KCFrancis Taylor Building ‘The grand master of gambling and licensing law.’

Francis Taylor Building has a strong reputation for its ‘unparalleled breadth of expertise across licensing law‘. Gerald Gouriet KC is highly regarded for his expertise in handling high-profile cases involving gambling, taxi, entertainment and alcohol licensing issues, and David Matthias KC has an excellent track record in assisting local authorities with licensing policies. Among the junior end of chambers, the ‘tenaciousLeo Charalambides is a licensing specialist; Gary Grant is ‘a very well prepared and smooth advocate‘; and James Rankin is ‘a superb junior – he is always a master of the brief, exceedingly well prepared and eloquent in court‘.