Patrick has a broad civil and commercial practice, with a particular focus on employment, pensions, information law and financial services. He has a substantial international practice in the Middle East, including in the DIFC, ADGM and QFC.
Patrick is recognised as a “Rising Star” of the London Bar in Employment and a Band 4 Leading Junior in Pensions in Legal 500 2026. He was appointed to the Attorney General’s C Panel in 2024. He has “incredible attention to detail”, “fantastic technical knowledge” and a “great manner with clients”. Legal 500 2026 states that “Patrick is a stand-out junior barrister operating in the DIFC Courts”.
In 2025 he was Highly Commended as ‘Junior Counsel of the Year’ at the International Employment Lawyer Awards 2025.
He has full rights of audience before the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts where he regularly appears.
Patrick acts for both Claimants and Respondents in all areas of employment and discrimination law, in addition to providing written advice and drafting pleadings. Patrick is experienced in appellate matters, including being instructed on appeals in Employment Appeal Tribunal and assisting with appeals in the Court of Appeal. His practice encompasses business competition litigation.
His practice encompasses international employment law. This includes claims in domestic ETs concerning territoriality and jurisdiction, and employment (and commercial) claims in the DIFC Courts. Patrick has full rights of audience in the DIFC Courts and has appeared on multiple occasions both led and unled.
Patrick is also experienced in advice and representation in relation to goods and services discrimination claims in the civil courts, particularly in relation to discrimination claims brought against financial institutions.
In December 2022 Patrick was named the Times ‘Lawyer of the Week’ for his representation of a Claimant in Employment Tribunal proceedings.
Recent employment and discrimination cases
Patrick has a substantial offshore practice in the Middle East, primarily in the DIFC, ADGM and QFC. He is instructed in business competition litigation, bonus disputes, commercial disputes, as well as asset recovery, injunction and arbitral enforcement matters.
The directories describe Patrick as a “stand-out junior barrister operating in the DIFC Courts”. In 2025 he was Highly Commended as ‘Junior Counsel of the Year’ at the International Employment Lawyer Awards 2025, which reflects the international nature of his practice.
In 2025 Patrick was instructed for the successful Defendant in the first team move case to be litigated to trial before the DIFC Courts: AES Middle East Insurance Broker LLC v GSB Capital Ltd. All claims were dismissed after a two week trial. Defence of the matter also involved successful resisting contempt of court applications made at the pre-trial stage.
X v Y (DIFC Courts, 2026)
Representing the defendant in resisting enforcement of an arbitral award (instructed by Davidson & Co).
FTI Consulting (DIFC) Ltd v Evans (DIFC Courts, 2025)
Representation (led by Mohinderpal Sethi KC) of a major consultancy firm in seeking an interim injunction for breach of a non-compete clause (instructed by Clyde & Co).
AES Middle East Insurance Broker LLC v GSB Capital Ltd [2023] CFI 060/2023 (DIFC Courts, trial in 2025)
Representation of the Defendant (led by Stephen Doherty) in defending an £8 million claim relating to an alleged team move and alleged breaches of restrictive covenants and misuse of confidential information. All claims dismissed following a 10 day trial in February 2025 (instructed by Clyde & Co).
Hallam v Natixis (DIFC Courts, 2025)
Successfully defending Natixis in claims of discrimination and harassment. The claims were struck out following a contested hearing in August 2025 (instructed by Clyde & Co).
Joshi v Shuaa Capital (ADGM Courts, 2025)
Defending Shuaa (led by Stephen Doherty) in a substantial dispute arising out of a carry plan.
B v C (DIFC Courts, 2025)
Successfully obtained a worldwide freezing injunction (instructed by Afridi v Angell).
Y v Z (DIFC Courts, 2025)
Representing the successful recipient of an ICSID Award in enforcement proceedings against a state. Appeared in a contested application on the issue of service in November 2025 (which settled pre-judgment) (instructed by Afridi & Angell).
A v B (DIFC Courts, 2025)
Representing a major investment firm in recognition and enforcement proceedings against a judgment debtor, which led to default judgment being obtained and repayment of the entire debt (instructed by Gibson Dunn & Crutcher).
C v D (ADGM Courts, 2025)
Successfully resisted a worldwide freezing injunction sought for more than $750 million at a contested hearing (led by Andrew Spink KC). This was likely the largest freezing injunction every sought before the ADGM Courts (instructed by Afridi & Angell).
Patrick provides advice and representation across all areas of pensions law. He has experience in Part 8 claims, professional negligence actions, advisory work, complaints to the Pensions Ombudsman and in regulatory aspects of pensions law.
Patrick is recognised as a “Rising Star” of the London Pensions Bar in Legal 500 where he is described as having “a real eye for the memorable turn of phrase that encapsulates everything you want to say about a case – something that will really lodge in the mind of the judge”.
He was junior counsel for the successful representative beneficiary in both the High Court and Court of Appeal in Virgin Media Ltd v NTL Pension Trustees II Limited and others [2023] EWHC 1441 (Ch) and [2024] EWCA Civ 843.
He has completed secondments to the Pensions Regulator, where he worked on pensions superfunds, and the FCA, where he worked on the Handbook rules for pensions dashboards. He has given talks on pensions law, including on actuarial confirmation in the context of section 67 of the Pensions Act 1995 and Pensions Ombudsman decisions.
Patrick is experienced in information law and data protection. His experience stems from his secondment to the FCA during which he advised on:
He continues to be instructed on data protection and FOIA matters. Examples of recent instructions include:
Burton v IC (FtT, 2021)
Successfully advising and representing the FCA in this FOIA appeal relating to the application of s348 of the Financial Services and Markets Act to mutual societies.
Khan v IC (FtT, 2021)
Successfully acting for the FCA in this FOIA appeal concerning the proper scope of the request and adequacy of searches.
X v IC (FtT, 2023)
Ongoing advice and representation in relation to two FOIA appeals concerning the application of section 14 FOIA (vexatiousness).
Advice on various FOIA internal reviews and referrals to the ICO.
Advising the FCA on the data protection, and privacy and electronic communication, matters arising from the regulatory framework for pension dashboards.
Patrick is experienced in the financial services regulation having been seconded to the General Counsel’s Division of the FCA. He gained experience across the breadth of financial services regulation.
Patrick continues to be instructed by the FCA on a range of matters. Most recently he has been advising and assisting on the drafting of the Handbook rules for pension providers and dashboard providers in relation to pension dashboards.
In 2024, he was instructed as junior counsel to the Defendant (led by Michael Uberoi) in a professional negligence claim against a wealth management firm. The proceedings alleged that a failure to complete a DB pension transfer was negligent and/or a breach of contract and/or a breach of COBS. The claim settled just before trial
Richard Tomlin v Lloyd’s of London
Acted for the Defendant (led by Michael Uberoi) in successfully resisting enforcement proceedings brought by Lloyd’s. The regulatory had sought a lifetime ban from the market for alleged non-financial misconduct. All charges were eventually dismissed.
To find out more, contact Matt Sale on +44 (0)20 7427 4910 or Chris Rowe on +44 (0)207 427 4911 for a confidential discussion.
