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

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 offers ‘great strength in depth, at both silk and junior level’ for competition work, operating at the forefront of regulatory and private damages actions in the UK; as well as a recognised reputation for international expertise, representing governments, regulators, defendants and claimants across multiple jurisdictions. Acting under temporary admission to the Hong Kong Bar, Competition Commission of Hong Kong v W Hing Construction, James Segan KC represented the Commission in the first case heard in the that forum about pecuniary penalties for contravention of that jurisdiction’s competition law. In two significant judgments handed down by the CAT, Brian Kennelly KC and Paul Luckhurst represented UBS in a case regarding applications for opt-out collective proceedings under 47B of the Competition Act; while Monica Carss-Frisk KC, Jessica Boyd KC, Isabel Buchanan and Tom Coates appeared in CityFibre Limited v Ofcom, with the tribunal dismissing CityFibre’s appeal under section 192 of the Communications Act 2003.

Blackstone Chambers is a ‘go-to set for financial regulatory work’ and offers expertise across the spectrum of related work including FCA and PRA regulatory investigations, judicial reviews of regulatory action, and commercial and chancery claims involving breaches of the Financial Services and Markets Act. In one of the highest profile market abuse cases pursued by the FCA in recent years, Javan Herberg KC and Paul Luckhurst acted for Sir Christopher Gent in defending a claim of market abuse by disclosure of information while chair of the medical device maker ConvaTec. Another highly publicised case has seen 2022 silk Hanif Mussa KC represent UKAR and NRAM, the successors to Northern Rock, in the “mortgage prisoners” litigation; a complex case brought by thousands of claimants who allege they are trapped on more expensive mortgages due to affordability requirements, despite being up-to-date with mortgage payments.

Blackstone Chambers ‘has an extraordinary depth of experience and talent, from its silks to its juniors to its clerks.’ Sir Jeffrey Jowell KC and Timothy Otty KC lead chambers’ international law group which comprises ‘high calibre advocates’ who regularly appear before the ICJ, international arbitration tribunals and before domestic courts in cases involving issues of public international law with particular experience in international boundary disputes, state and diplomatic immunity intersecting with international protection of human rights. Paul Luckhurst  also acted for the Government in Western Sahara Campaign v Secretary of State for International Trade to defend the lawfulness of the UK’s international trade agreement with Morocco, which was opposed by the claimants, a campaign group campaigning for independence for the territory, which is fully claimed and partially occupied by Morocco. Jason Pobjoy maintains a busy practice advising the Foreign Office on state and diplomatic immunity, foreign act of state, and potential seizure of foreign assets.