Public and Administrative Law
The increasing workload and regulatory activities of local authorities and other statutory bodies have created a rapidly growing demand for specialist legal support in this complex field. Our Public and Administrative Law Practice Group provides highly experienced expert advice and specialist advocacy in all courts from magistrates’ court to the House of Lords.
Our advocates appear for clients at public inquiries, tribunals, local licensing committees and other bodies including the Lands Tribunal and Special Educational Needs Tribunals.
We act for individual, corporate and business clients, as well as a range of departments of local government at county, borough and district level. We also receive instructions via direct professional access from planning consultants, chartered surveyors and others and understand the working practices of fellow professionals.
We also undertake prosecution and defence work in the criminal courts.
To make our service as cost-effective as possible, we are happy to appear in court without an instructing solicitor or other professional present when appropriate and where the Bar Code of Conduct permits.
This group covers all areas of Administrative Court work including judicial review and statutory review, public inquiries, tribunals and boards, the Human Rights Act 1998, local authorities, regulatory offences and coroners.
Specialist teams exist for Planning and Environmental, Licensing, Regulatory Enforcement and Crime, Trading Standards, Health & Safety, Education and Housing.
Recommendations
Chambers UK 2010
Leading silk Leslie Blohm QC of St John’s Chambers is a rural expert with a renowned specialism in village green applications and he sits as an inspector in town and village green inquiries. He has a strong profile in the region, with peers commenting that “he instils absolute confidence in me as an instructing solicitor and with clients.” Others mention: “I can’t speak more highly of him. He is a thoroughly understanding, capable person – I know I’ll get 100% with him.” He receives unanimous praise from those with whom he has worked and is famed for his sensitivity, as well as his subtle and clever style of advocacy. He recently represented Bristol City Council as landowner in resisting the application for registration of Castle Park, 12 acres of land in the centre of Bristol slated for multimillion-pound redevelopment.
Professor Roy Light of St John’s Chambers in Bristol “is academically minded and an excellent advocate.” Light’s respect among the marketplace is the product of many years’ advising supermarket chains, petrol companies, breweries, nightclub operators, gaming machine manufacturers, national stadiums and local and police authorities.
Chambers UK 2009
Leslie Blohm QC of St John’s Chambers is fêted for his sensitive approach to often fraught cases and his “fantastic understanding of the farming industry and its financial problems.” With a background in property litigation and landlord and tenant law, Blohm is a trusted adviser on the registration of village greens and has acted in a number of land tribunals in recent years. He is applauded for his service, with clients noting that he is “approachable and doesn’t talk over your head.” Blohm is also noted for his outstanding advocacy skills, and “can take the other side to pieces, without them realising before it’s too late.”
Professor Roy Light of St John’s Chambers impresses with his “strategic awareness and profound knowledge” of the new Gambling Act. He has advised clients such as Punch Taverns and the Spirit Group on the legislation, pointing out its implications and opportunities. His deep understanding of his subject was flagged up by one client, who noted that “he resolved one seemingly knotty issue by pointing out the misdrafting of regulations concerning gaming machines to the Department For Culture, Media and Sport; that department then remedied its mistake.” A professor of law at UWE, he is nationally recognised for his experience across a wide range of licensing matters.
Legal 500 2009
St John’s Chambers’ Peter Wadsley appeared recently in the Fullabrook Wind Farm Inquiry. David Fletcher and Professor Roy Light are recommended for licensing and judicial review.
