Iain Steele

Iain has developed a wide-ranging public law practice, building upon his substantial academic involvement in this area. He advises and acts in areas including local government, education, prisoners’ rights, public procurement, social security and community care, commercial judicial review and environmental law.

R (RAB Special Situations (Master) Fund Limited) v HM Treasury
Acting (with Michael Beloff QC) for one of the former Northern Rock shareholders in the high-profile action against the Government under the Human Rights Act 1998 following the nationalisation of Northern Rock.

R (Cornwall County Council) v Royal Mail Group Limited and Post Office Limited
Acted (with Michael Fordham QC) for the defendants in this claim arising from the Post Office’s Network Change Programme.

Van Colle v Chief Constable of the Hertfordshire Police [2008] UKHL 50, [2008] 3 WLR 593
Appeared (with Monica Carss-Frisk QC) in the House of Lords on behalf of the claimants in the leading case on the scope of the positive obligation to protect life under Article 2 ECHR.

YL v Birmingham City Council and others [2007] UKHL 27, [2008] 1 AC 95
Appeared (with Michael Fordham QC) in the House of Lords on behalf of Liberty, JUSTICE and the British Institute of Human Rights in the leading case on the definition of “public authority” under the Human Rights Act 1998.

R (Faithfull) v Ipswich Crown Court [2007] EWHC 2763 (Admin), [2008] 1 WLR 1636
Appeared (with Michael Fordham QC) before the Divisional Court in this judicial review of the Crown Court’s failure to make a compensation order in favour of the victim of crime.

Appeared as sole counsel for the claimants in a substantial action in the Investigatory Powers Tribunal.

Appeared before an Office of Fair Trading Adjudicator exercising powers under the Estate Agents Act 1979, successfully arguing that the OFT should not impose a Prohibition Order.

Iain has advised with Jeffrey Jowell QC on several matters of constitutional law, both domestic and foreign, including the preparation of an Expert Opinion for use in High Court litigation and advising the Constitutional Working Group established by the Council of Ministers in Jersey on internal constitutional structures that would be necessary or desirable in the event that Jersey were to become independent.

Iain has advised extensively on the application of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Iain has broad experience of commercial litigation, including areas such as civil fraud, financial services, sport and media and entertainment law. He regularly advises and acts in disputes involving negligence, breach of contract and restitutionary remedies in a wide range of commercial settings. He has gained particular experience in areas such as consumer credit, aviation and carriage of goods.

Iain regularly appears as sole counsel in the county court in summary judgment applications, case management conferences and full trials. He has also appeared in winding-up petitions in the Companies Court.

CBR (Wakefield) Limited and others v Puccino's Limited
Appeared (with Robert Anderson QC) in a very substantial High Court action arising out of a large-scale construction and franchising project, which raised issues including estoppel, waiver, variation of contractual terms, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud and conspiracy (settled during six-week trial).

Mothercare UK Ltd v McMullen
Obtained a High Court injunction against a suspected shoplifter to prevent trespass and breach of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997.

Lombard North Central plc v Powell
Successfully represented Lombard in multi-track claims for large sums due under a number of lease agreements.

Advised a higher education institution on issues arising from a joint venture with central government, including issues of trusts law, restitution, mistake, estoppel and limitation.

Advised the former co-manager of a band on possible claims in contract, tort and restitution against his former fellow co-managers.

Iain has extensively advised the Financial Services Authority on issues arising under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999.

Iain’s practice encompasses all areas of employment law, including unfair and wrongful dismissal, unlawful deductions from wages and contractual matters. He regularly advises and represents both claimants and respondents in employment tribunal proceedings.

Iain has a particular interest in discrimination law. He was recently instructed with Lord Lester of Herne Hill QC to represent the Equality and Human Rights Commission in its intervention in the Court of Appeal in Bainbridge v Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council and Surtees v Middlesbrough Borough Council [2008] EWCA Civ 885, [2008] IRLR 776, one of the most significant equal pay cases for several years.

The  Court of Appeal's decision establishes the circumstances in which it can be lawful to afford a period of ‘pay protection’ to employees whose pay is to be reduced under a new job evaluation scheme, while not affording the same protection to employees who prior to the new scheme would have been paid at the same level – and would now have experienced the same reduction – but for their employer underpaying them in breach of the Equal Pay Act 1970.

Professional disciplinary proceedings:

Iain advises and acts for parties in disciplinary proceedings in a variety of tribunals. His recent experience in this field includes:

Iain acted (with Gerard Clarke) for a Sikh police inspector in high-profile disciplinary proceedings under the Police (Conduct) Regulations 2004, which included three lengthy hearings involving extensive legal argument and evidence.

Iain has represented teachers accused of misconduct in proceedings before the General Teaching Council.

Recent examples of Iain's employment law work as sole counsel include:

Greenhow v Travelodge
Represented the respondent in a four day trial, successfully defending claims of unfair dismissal, disability discrimination and sexual harassment.

Hopkins v Legal & General
Represented the respondent in successfully defending a wrongful dismissal claim brought by an employee who was dismissed for working as a children's magician while on paid sick leave.

North v Servite Houses
Represented the claimant in this three-day claim for unfair dismissal, wrongful dismissal and age discrimination.

Halligan v Wolverhampton City Council
Acted for the claimant in this case which raised interesting and novel questions as to whether a care worker engaged by a registered provider of an adult placement scheme under the Adult Placement Scheme (England) Regulations 2004 is an employee of the provider.

Iain is a qualified Free Representation Unit (“FRU”) Representative for employment cases. During pupillage he acted in the employment tribunal in a substantial claim for unfair dismissal, wrongful dismissal and unlawful deductions from wages.

Other legal experience:

As a student, Iain gained considerable experience of mooting. He won two competitions at Cambridge and represented the University in the English Speaking Union national competition, reaching the semi-finals. During his year at Bar School, he was a finalist in the Inner Temple Lawson Mooting Competition. Iain has also judged moots.

After leaving university, Iain worked for a year as a Research Assistant in the Public Law Team at the Law Commission. He wrote a Discussion Paper on “Monetary Remedies in Public Law”, which was published by the Commission in 2004. It has since been cited by Lord Bingham in the House of Lords in Watkins v Home Office [2006] UKHL 17, [2006] 2 AC 395. Iain’s work in this field has provided the foundations for an ongoing Law Commission project.

While at Bar School, Iain was a part-time tutor at King’s College, London, where he taught Public Law to undergraduates.

Scholarships and Prizes:

Iain’s academic scholarships and prizes include:

Eldon Law Scholarship (University of Oxford, 2005; awarded to the most promising Oxford graduate intending to practise at the Bar)

Overall grade of Outstanding and Worshipful Company of Arbitrators Prize for Civil Law and EC Competition Law (Inns of Court School of Law, 2005)

Prize for BVC Results (Inner Temple, 2005)

Princess Royal Scholarship (Inner Temple, 2004)

College Prize (Magdalen College, Oxford, 2003)

Arts and Humanities Research Board Award for Postgraduate Study (2002)

Lucas-Smith Memorial Prize (Queens’ College, Cambridge, 2002)

Foundation Scholarship (Queens’ College, Cambridge, 2001)

Squire Law Scholarship (University of Cambridge, 2000)

College Exhibition (Queens’ College, Cambridge, 2000)

Publications:

Iain is the co-author of the chapter on equal pay in the Tolley’s Discrimination in Employment Handbook, published in February 2008. He is also involved in writing a new edition of Lester, Pannick and Herberg: Human Rights Law and Practice.

Iain has published work in a wide range of academic journals. Previous and forthcoming articles include:

'Judicial Review of the Crown Court and Section 29(3) of the Supreme Court Act 1981' [2008] JR 180

‘Negligence Liability for Failing to Prevent Crime – the Human Rights Dimension’ [2008] CLJ 239

‘Judicial Independence: Privy Council Divided’ (2008) 124 LQR 185

‘Beyond Equal Pay?’ [2008] ILJ 119

‘Substantive Legitimate Expectations: Striking the Right Balance?’ (2005) 121 LQR 300

‘Tracing the Single Source: Choice of Comparators in Equal Pay Claims’ [2005] ILJ 338

‘Public Law Liability – a Common Law Solution?’ [2005] CLJ 543

‘Public Law Liability – the Human Rights Act and Beyond’ [2005] CLJ 8

‘Note on R (National Association of Health Stores) v Department of Health’ [2005] JR 232

‘Judging judicial inquiries’ [2004] PL 738