11KBW provides expert advocacy and advice in professional discipline and regulatory law. We advise and represent a wide range of individuals, firms and regulators, and our members have acted in many of the leading judicial reviews arising from disciplinary and regulatory decisions.
Professional Discipline
Our barristers act in disciplinary proceedings for individuals and regulators in a wide range of industries, often in the context of concurrent employment and disciplinary proceedings. We provide advice and representation through from initial hearings to final hearings, appeals and judicial review challenges. Members also frequently advise regulators as to the content and application of their rules, their powers, and potential liabilities.
Regulatory Law
11KBW’s members have acted for and against a wide range of regulators in commercial, judicial review and domestic tribunal proceedings. Our members have a thorough understanding of the operation of the various regulatory regimes, and the commercial, political and personal context in which regulatory action is taken.
Sector-Specific Expertise
Financial services: our members act for firms, individuals and regulators (including he FCA, PRA, Bank of England and the FOS) on a wide range of matters. They are particularly experienced in the fields of enforcement action against individuals and firms, remuneration, banking, the perimeter, and pensions. Please see the dedicated financial regulation webpage for further details.
Legal: our members have appeared before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, Bar Disciplinary Tribunal and the Visitors to the Inns of Court. They have sat on bodies such as the Council of the Inns of Court, and have acted in the high-profile recent judicial review challenges relating to the Bar Standards Board, QASA, and the Legal Ombudsman (Office for Legal Complaints). Examples of cases in which our members have appeared include: the Leigh Day case before the SDT; SRA v SDT (the ‘Arslan’ case) [2016] EWHC 2862 (Admin); R (Lumsdon) v Legal Services Board [2015] UKSC 41; and R (Mehey) v Visitors to the Inns of Court [2014] EWCA Civ 1630.
Accountancy: Members regularly act for accountants, for the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales in disciplinary proceedings, and in cases involving the Financial Reporting Council. They also regularly advise the regulators in relation to governance, disciplinary powers, rules and their various functions.
Health and social care: Members appear in proceedings involving the major regulators including the General Medical Council, the Health and Care Professions Council, the General Dental Council, and the Nursing and Midwifery Council. We also work in the pharmaceutical, optical, osteopathic, social work, and social care sectors. We act for and advise both professionals and regulatory bodies. A particular focus is statutory appeals (usually in the High Court), and judicial review work involving points of principle .
Gambling: Members have considerable experience before the First-tier Tribunal (Gambling), and acting in judicial reviews before the High Court and appellate courts. Members are regularly instructed by the Gambling Commission, including in relation to a range of matters regarding the National Lottery and in matters before the Regulatory Panel of the Commission. Cases in which our members have appeared include R (EU Lotto Ltd) v Secretary of State for Digital, Cultural, Media and Sport (July 2018, awaited); Greene King Brewing and Retailing Ltd v Gambling Commission [2017] EWCA Civ 372; and Luxury Leisure v Gambling Commission (GA/2013/0001).
Sport: Our members have experience of appearing in a wide variety of professional sport tribunals, including the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, the FA disciplinary tribunal, and the UEFA complaints panel. See our dedicated Sports Law webpage for more information.
Our members also appear in regulatory proceedings arising from our other core practice areas, including information law and education law:
Information: 11KBW is widely recognised as the dominant chambers in this cutting edge area of regulatory law. It does more work for the statutory regulator, the Information Commissioner, than any other chambers and most leading information law cases involve members of chambers. Members’ work in this field has entailed them regularly appearing in the First-tier and Upper Tribunals, the High Court, the appellate courts and the Court of Justice of the European Union.
Education: 11KBW’s unrivalled education-law practice encompasses disciplinary proceedings before university disciplinary bodies and the General Teaching Council for England (as was). Our members have acted for and against Ofqual in disciplinary and regulatory matters. Our members have acted for bodies such as OFSTED, the examination boards, the OIA, and are frequently instructed in employment law matters arising in an educational context.
In addition, members have acted or advised in proceedings relating to fire-fighters, the clergy, the Metropolitan Police Service, the civil service, the Army Board, the Civil Aviation Authority, HM Inspectors of Constabulary, ‘animal testing’, the Biometrics Commissioner, the Homes and Communities Agency, and the Pubs Code Adjudicator. We also have experience of acting as independent adjudicators for local, devolved and central government in grievance and non-statutory proceedings, including for the Local Government Ombudsman.
