Public law and judicial review

We pride ourselves on offering tailored and bespoke advice on a wide range of matters, including constitutional and governance issues, equalities and human rights, commercial and income generating relationships, regulatory functions, and policy formulation and implementation.

Our approach goes beyond just the legal aspects of the case. We understand the importance of protecting your reputation, not just defending you. We believe in taking a proactive approach to legal challenges and work closely with you, as partners, early in your policy and decision-making processes to identify and mitigate potential risks and prevent legal challenges from occurring.

However, we also recognise that some cases cannot be prevented as individuals may challenge decisions or test points of principle in court. We will provide you with prompt and clear advice on your prospects of success and the associated risks of the review. If the review proceeds, we will defend you tenaciously with our expertise and knowledge of what works in these cases.

Our public lawyers all handle both advisory and contentious matters. Our judicial review expertise enables us to identify and mitigate real-world risks of challenge as we advise, as we know the trends and arguments used in the court.

Featured experience

• Successfully defending NHS England in R (Gardner) v. Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and NHS England, a high-profile judicial review of the impact of pandemic response measures on care home residents
• Successfully defending the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust before the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court in R (Bell) v Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, a high-profile judicial review challenge to the practice of prescribing puberty suppressing drugs to persons under the age of 18 who experience gender dysphoria
• Successfully defending NHS England before the High Court and Court of Appeal in R (Professor Stephen Hawking) v. DHSC and NHS England, and R (Jenny Shepherd) v. NHS England and NHS Improvement, two high-profile judicial review challenges to proposals for integrated care partnerships
• Successfully representing the Royal College of Physicians in connection with judicial review proceedings seeking to challenge the decision to adopt a public position of neutrality on the question of assisted dying