News & Events
News & Events
The charity ‘Advocate’ has congratulated James Counsell QC and Imogen Egan for having recently completed their ’25 for 25: Pro Bono Challenge’. In order to complete this challenge, they both had to conduct 25 hours of pro bono work between June 2021 – June 2022, although James Counsell QC completed an impressive 40 hours. Advocate is a charity that connects volunteer barristers with those who require free legal assistance. This ensures that those who cannot afford legal assistance can still receive justice. Advocate recently ran a challenge called the ’25 for 25: Pro Bono Challenge’. This challenge requires barristers to complete a total of 25 hours of pro bono work between June 2021 – June 2022. We are pleased that…
News 25 May, 2022
Four Claimants, all represented by James Counsell KC and Benjamin Bradley, have settled their claims for damages against Chelsea Football Club for undisclosed six figure sums in abuse proceedings. The Claimants settled their claims for damages against Chelsea Football Club for undisclosed six figure sums on 7th February at a pre-trial review hearing. The claims, which were listed for a six week trial, involving 62 witnesses, in four weeks’ time alleged that two former employees, Graham Rix, the former England international footballer, and Gwyn Williams, whilst working for the club’s youth training programme in the 1990s, racially abused these four young black footballers when they were aged between 14 and 18. At a court hearing in May 2021, the High…
News 8 Feb, 2022
We are pleased to invite you to a virtual open day for the 4th edition of the ‘DIFC Laws Certificate’ programme where James Counsell QC will talk about Advocacy Skills. The DIFC Academy of Law offer the Laws Certificate programme which aims to provide education and training in Common Law and DIFC laws and procedures to Emirati advocates, civil law trained lawyers and other professionals whose work involves exposure to common law systems and jurisdictions. This is produced in association with Middlesex University Dubai and Outer Temple Chambers. DIFC Laws Certificate modules The course consists of several sections that can be taken together as a whole or as individual components: Unit 1- English Common Law by Middlesex University Dubai- Faculty of Law…
News 17 Jan, 2022
Convicted paedophile Barry Bennell, is to give evidence for the first time, in the ongoing trial against Manchester City FC. James Counsell QC and Ben Bradley continue to act in this ongoing trial for eight victims. On Tuesday 30 November, Manchester City FC will open its case, relying on evidence from the perpetrator himself, Barry Bennell. Bennell is serving a 34-year prison sentence for around 90 separate sexual offences perpetrated against children. Bennell is likely to say that he played no part in Manchester City FC’s youth operations. The case will be the first time that Bennell has ever given live evidence about the circumstances surrounding his crimes; having elected not to give evidence (despite, at times, entering not guilty…
News 29 Nov, 2021
James Counsell QC and Ben Bradley represent eight victims in the High Court, seeking damages from Manchester City FC after suffering sexual abuse from one of the country’s most prolific sex offenders. James and Ben represent eight claimants who were subjected to sexual abuse by Barry Bennell whilst they were playing for Manchester City FC junior or ‘feeder teams’. These teams were set up by the Defendant, Manchester City FC, for the purpose of seeking to recruit a steady source of highly talented young footballers who were then of an age (under 14) when they could not be formally signed up to schoolboy contracts. James told the Court that Barry Bennell was recruited by the Defendant to scout promising young…
News 25 Oct, 2021
Members of Outer Temple will be providing advocacy training at the DIFC Academy for pupils completing the Common Law Advanced Advocacy Skills. The DIFC Academy of Law have launched this course for Emirati Advocates and other civil law trained lawyers, in-house counsel, and legal professionals seeking to diversify their skills and enhance their professional development. This will be the third edition of Advanced Advocacy Skills as part of the Certificate in Common Law, DIFC Laws & Courts Practice programme that Outer Temple has contributed to. From September to November 2021, members will be providing advanced advocacy classes. James Counsell QC and Justina Stewart will be teaching trial advocacy and witness handling and examination. John McKendrick QC and Chloë Bell will be teaching written submissions, oral…
News 17 Sep, 2021
James Counsell QC and Stephen Doherty, instructed by Leonora Riesenburg at INTADR, have been successful before the DIFC Court of Appeal in its recent judgment in Lakhan v Lamia [2021] CA 001. The DIFC Court of Appeal has dealt a blow to recalcitrant parties seeking to invoke the jurisdiction of the Joint Judicial Committee (“JJC”) in an attempt to obstruct proceedings before the DIFC Courts. In Lakhan, the Court of Appeal has revised its historical practice of automatically staying proceedings upon petitions being made to the JJC, by confirming that, in order for any stay to take effect, there must first be a positively determined “conflict of jurisdiction”, and the mere existence of two sets of proceedings before the DIFC Courts and the onshore…
News 15 Jul, 2021
In a recent High Court application before Stacey J, James Counsell QC (leading Ben Bradley) obtained a Court Order compelling Chelsea FC to clarify its Defence in abuse proceedings. Four Claimants aver that they were subjected to abhorrent racial abuse by two Chelsea FC team coaches, whilst playing for the club’s youth teams, and that such abuse is actionable as a matter of law. In the proceedings initially, Chelsea FC simply put the Claimants to proof that the abuse took place. They subsequently served evidence from the 2 football coaches involved, which (1) denied that much of the abuse took place; but (2) where abuse did take place, they averred that it was acceptable by the standards of the day. Neither of these…
News 14 Jul, 2021
James Counsell QC and Ben Bradley have successfully appeared on behalf of the Claimants in the high profile case of TVZ and Ors v Manchester City FC, which was widely reported, particularly on the back sports pages of the national press. James and Ben currently represent eight Claimants, all of whom were abused by Barry Bennell. It is alleged that Bennell ran a number of youth ‘feeder teams’, which were connected to Manchester City FC and set up to feed young players into its schoolboy teams, once they reached the age of 14. The Defendant instructed solicitors and Leading Counsel to conduct an Inquiry into Bennell’s connections with the club (“the Inquiry”) and had set up a compensation scheme (known…
News 8 Jul, 2021
Outer Temple is pleased to announce that James Counsell QC will be speaking at the APIL Abuse Conference 2021 on 15th July. James will be speaking on the topic ‘Consent – the legal perspective’. The conference will take place on Thursday, 15th July. For the second year running, it will take place entirely virtually with delegates able to view the sessions, via Zoom, on APIL’s dedicated conference app. Recordings of the sessions will also be available to view, on-demand, for six months after the live event. James Counsell’s talk The conference will consider broadly a panoply of topics related to abuse. James‘ segment will be at 10.15am on the topic of ‘Consent – the legal perspective’. This will be one of eight talks, with the…
News 2 Jul, 2021
James Counsell QC represented Dr Ashish Dutta throughout his fitness to practise hearing, the subsequent appeal and then the decision on costs. The decision is one of the first successful contested applications for costs made against the GMC under the revised FTP rules. The Medical Practitioners Tribunal (“MPT”), the tribunal which deals with disciplinary cases against doctors on behalf of the General Medical Council (“GMC”), made an order that the GMC should pay the doctor’s costs of defending proceedings which ought not to have been brought. Its determination can be read here. James Counsell represented Dr Ashish Dutta throughout his fitness to practise (“FTP”) hearing, the subsequent appeal and then the decision on costs. The Tribunal heard that Dr Dutta, a cosmetic…
News 23 Jun, 2021
James Counsell QC will be speaking at the APIL Child Abuse Special Interest Group Meeting on Monday 26th April between 17:00pm – 18:00pm. The meeting will provide an introduction to the group and an APIL activity update from David McClenaghan (APIL’s Child Abuse special interest group co-ordinator) and Richard Sweetman (APIL’s Child Abuse special interest group secretary). James Counsell QC and Thomas Beale (Bolt Burdon Kemp) will discuss the recent judgment in The Trustees of the Barry Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses v BXB (EWCA 2021). The Court of Appeal handed down their decsion in March 2021 and held the Trustees of the Barry Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses liable for an act of rape committed by one of its elders, against an…
Events 22 Apr, 2021
