Select an area of expertise to find out more about our experience.
Find out more about our barristers and business support teams here.
Select an area of expertise to find out more about our experience.
Find out more about our barristers and business support teams here.
Conor is a diligent barrister who delivers high quality work in complex cases. His clients range from private clients and companies to police forces and government bodies. He has appeared in a variety of courts and tribunals, including in the High Court as sole counsel.
Conor frequently assists police forces with high-value and sensitive matters. His current case load includes PII applications, Closed Material Proceedings, search warrant challenges, multi-million-pound POCAs and high value civil claims. He is also running multiple judicial reviews arising from Stalking Protection Order applications and was junior counsel in Commissioner v Kingston Upon-Thames Crown Court [2023] – the leading authority on firearms appeals and the availability of PII/ Closed Material Proceedings.
He has acted in four major public inquiries to date, namely:
Conor enjoys a strong public law and inquest practice, which builds upon his existing human rights work. He regularly acts in judicial reviews and Article 2 inquests, including those which give rise to information law issues. Private clients instruct Conor on many of the above matters, together with employment and data protection cases.
As a junior in demand, Conor is at ease opposing senior members of the Bar. He is known for his personable approach and client care, leading to repeat instructions.
Conor’s clerks can be contacted on 020 7410 2000.
As a police law specialist, Conor advises and represents forces in a variety of civil matters. He has particular expertise in sensitive cases, including those which involve public interest immunity issues and/ or a terrorism element.
Recent cases include:
Civil Claims Against the Police
Conor frequently advises on civil claims against the police including allegations of assault, malicious prosecution, false imprisonment, discrimination, fundamental dishonesty etc. Clients particularly value the quality of his pleadings.
He has assisted with a broad range of claims, such as those involving allegations of mistaken arrest, inadequate briefings and excessive use of force.
Operational Policing
Conor is valued for his clear and timely advice on operational policing issues. He is very familiar with public and human rights work and recently assisted with an urgent Judicial Review threatened by a specialist Claimant group. He advises on a range of data protection issues – including where Article 8 ECHR obligations arise.
Civil Applications on Behalf of the Police
Finally, Conor has considerable experience in civil applications on behalf of the police. He has brought/ defended hundreds of these matters, including firearms appeals, PPA claims, contempt applications, POCAs, AFOs, gang injunctions, closure orders, ASBIs, SROs, SHPOs, SPOs, DDTROs, FMPOs etc – including where there is press interest.
His expertise in this area means he is generally instructed in complex and/ or high-profile cases. Recent matters include:
Conor would be pleased to discuss whether he can assist with your case and is contactable, via his clerks, on 020 7410 2000.
Conor is regularly instructed to represent IPs at inquests. He has experience of coronial proceedings arising from a range of contexts, including police custody, NHS care and prisons.
Cases of note include:
As part of Conor’s inquest practice, he regularly contributes towards 5 Essex Chambers’ ‘Inquest Authorities Index’ – available here.
Conor’s clerks can be contacted on 020 7410 2000.
Conor is an experienced public inquiry junior, having acted in:
Conor has previously drafted inquiry submissions for a major Government Department. He also drafted a Rule 9 response on behalf of a well-known former Secretary of State.
He believes in the importance of properly preparing witnesses and recently assisted a key witness whose evidence was praised by the Chair. He has acted as sole attending counsel and has experience of handling sensitives in this context, not least from the Jermaine Baker Inquiry.
He is currently acting for a private client in the Post Office / Horizon IT Inquiry.
Conor’s clerks can be contacted on 020 7410 2000.
Conor has a rapidly growing public law practice, often arising from his work for police forces and the Government. His most recent case involved successfully defending a Force from a judicial review brought by a specialist Claimant group.
He has a strong knowledge of human rights issues and is a frequent contributor to the UK’s leading human rights blog, which has published over fifty of his articles. He is currently defending a Chief Constable from a high-value Article 3/ 8 ECHR claim arising from a violent attack upon the Claimant.
Conor maintains his knowledge of the field through his long-standing membership of the Administrative Law Bar Association (ALBA), the Human Rights Lawyers Association (HRLA) and the Young Public Law Group (YPLG).
Conor’s clerks can be contacted on 020 7410 2000.
Conor regularly advises on data protection/ information law issues, both of which arise frequently throughout his practice. He is well-versed in the realities of data protection litigation and has successfully struck out a number of such claims.
Although Conor’s information law practice is broad, recent examples of his work includes:
He is a regular contributor to 5 Essex Chambers’ ‘Data Brief’, which sends monthly updates to clients working in this interesting field.
Conor’s clerks can be contacted on 020 7410 2000.
Conor has a long-standing interest in employment law which, combined with his experience as a practitioner, gives him a strong understanding of the field. He represents a variety of clients, including in redundancy, unfair dismissal and discrimination claims.
Conor provides a high level of client care from the outset. For example, he was recently instructed in a 10-day reasonable adjustments claim in light of his performance at preliminary hearings.
He has been an active member of ELBA (the Employment Law Bar Association) for many years and received an ‘Outstanding’ for his Masters’ Dissertation on unfair dismissal law.
Conor’s clerks can be contacted on 020 7410 2000.
Conor is a specialist human rights lawyer with a deep-rooted interest in this fascinating area of law. Much of Conor’s work involves human rights, including inquests, judicial reviews and civil claims.
Recent instructions have included:
Conor is on the Executive Committee of the Human Rights Lawyers’ Association (HRLA) and regularly organises lectures to update other practitioners on the latest developments in the field. He would be very pleased to accept further instructions on matters involving HRA issues.
Conor’s clerks can be contacted on 020 7410 2000.
Conor has experience of the wide variety of issues which concern healthcare bodies and is able to provide comprehensive advice on issues which may arise.
Examples of his recent work includes:
Conor has experience of a variety of personal injury matters including road traffic cases, accidents at work, highway claims, occupiers’ liability, claims for psychological/ physical injury etc.
He is frequently instructed to advise on such cases and has acted in a number of PI trials.
Conor has been a member of the Personal Injury Bar Association (PIBA) for a number of years, enabling him to stay up to date with the latest developments in the field.
This week 5 Essex Chambers hosted the first training session on the Absolute Rights in…
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‘There may be exceptional cases where the circumstances compel the conclusion that…
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