Profile

John is a partner in the commercial disputes team in London and leads the firm’s regulatory compliance practice. After qualifying in 1998, he gained his higher rights of audience as a solicitor-advocate (civil and criminal) in 2002 and joined the firm as a partner in 2008. He is a former Chair of the International Bar Association’s Product Law and Advertising Committee and a regular speaker at the IBA’s Annual Conference of circa 7,000 lawyers worldwide.

John advises and represents domestic and multi-national corporate clients from the most heavily regulated industry sectors including tobacco, pharmaceuticals, gambling, telecoms and construction materials on all aspects of EU and UK regulation affecting product manufacturers and suppliers. He acts directly for such clients and also directly and indirectly for insurers and reinsurers. This includes advice on product safety, risk management, recalls, supply chain management, advertising, labelling and product content. Having been seconded to the group legal functions of two top 10 FTSE 100 multi-nationals, John’s first hand understanding of the needs and priorities of in-house counsel is regularly acknowledged. He is recognised as a leader in his field by The Legal 500, which has praised him as both 'a fantastic lawyer who really understands the needs of clients' and 'a superb technical lawyer'.

John has significant experience of competition law and commercial judicial review, having successfully challenged national and EU regulatory measures. He has also advised extensively on government consultation exercises; powers of Parliamentary Select Committee Inquiries; and commercial implications of the Human Rights Act. A frequent commentator in the national press, John has been interviewed by BBC World News on both the European Court of Justice's ruling concerning Dyson's energy labelling action and the implications of playing the National Lottery online outside the UK.