Kate’s practice covers all areas of Public & Regulatory work, and also includes considerable expertise of Civil Liberties & Human Rights, Employment, Professional Discipline, Sport and Data Protection, Freedom of Information & Privacy.  Kate is also a CEDR trained mediator.

Before taking Silk, Kate was a member of the Attorney General’s ‘A’ Panel.

Kate is recognised as a leading silk in the latest editions of both the leading legal directories, Chambers UK and The Legal 500. Recent comments include:

  • "Kate is truly outstanding. She is a tremendous lawyer and advocate, and has a gift for dealing well with the most pressured and stressful matters."- Legal 500, 2024
  • "Kate is simply brilliant. She is a really good advocate and a great person to work with."- Chambers & Partner, 2024

Previous comments include:

  • "Kate is an excellent strategist and advocate."- Legal 500, 2023
  • "She is intensely clever combined with pragmatism. A great advocate and a leader."- Legal 500, 2023
  • "Kate is ferociously bright, she cuts through the issues with ease even in the most complex of cases, and her advocacy is such that she is able to adapt to the forum and instructions."- Chambers UK, 2023

Kate was appointed a Deputy High Court Judge in 2018.  Kate is President of the National Anti-Doping Panel.

Experience

Shortlist

Public & Regulatory

Kate has a broad-based public and regulatory law practice, with a particular emphasis on cases involving prisoners, child protection, broadcasting, art and gaming.  She is regularly instructed by bodies such as the BBC, Ofcom, the General Medical Council, the Chartered Institute for Accountants in England and Wales and a number of Government Departments, as well as individual Claimants.  In addition to her regular appearances in the Administrative and Appellate Courts, she appears before Coroners, the Parole Board, and a wide range of other Tribunals.  She was junior counsel to the Bichard Inquiry into child protection procedures following Ian Huntley’s convictions for murder.

Cases

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Civil Liberties & Human Rights

Kate has a diverse human rights law practice, with a particular emphasis on cases involving prisoners, children, and the scope of the investigative obligations under Articles 2 / 3.  As well as appearing regularly in the Administrative Court on these issues she has appeared before both statutory and arbitral tribunals, the Parole Board and the Coroners’ Court, involving a wide range of subject matter.

Cases

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Employment

Kate has extensive Employment Tribunal, Employment Appeal Tribunal and High Court experience in a broad range of cases concerning race, sex and disability discrimination, unfair dismissal, redundancy, TUPE, and, restrictive covenants / garden leave and share options, including in particular in the legal and financial services sectors. She has particular expertise on the application of human rights and data protection in the context of the employment relationship.

Kate is a contributor to Employee Competition (edited by Paul Goulding QC) on the subject of garden leave and practice and procedure.

Cases

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Professional Discipline

Kate is regularly instructed by a number of professional bodies in relation to disciplinary matters, including the General Medical Council, the Institute for Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, the Nursing and Midwifery Council, the Rugby Football Union and the Lawn Tennis Association as well as for individuals facing disciplinary charges. She is a member of the Association for Regulatory and Disciplinary Lawyers.

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Safeguarding

Kate was junior counsel to the Bichard Inquiry into child protection procedures following Ian Huntley’s convictions for murder.  Since then she has advised and represented a number of sports national governing bodies and educational institutions in relation to safeguarding matters.  

She is also regularly instructed by clubs or national governing bodies to conduct independent reviews into allegations of breaches of safeguarding policies and advise on best practice.

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Sport

Kate has acted for and advised a wide range of clubs, governing bodies and individuals in such fields as tennis, athletics, cricket, rugby, snooker and canoeing.  She has particular expertise in anti-doping, discrimination, child protection and disciplinary matters.  

Kate was appointed President of the National Anti-Doping Panel in October 2023.

Kate was appointed via Sport Resolutions UK as sole arbitrator in Olympic selection disputes in 2012 in three different sports, and appointed as legal advisor to the appeal panel in a fourth, and appointed as sole arbitrator in a Commonwealth Games selection dispute.

She is a member of Sport Resolutions’ arbitral panel, the National Child Safeguarding in Sport Panel.

Cases

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Data Protection, Freedom of Information & Privacy

Examples of Kate’s work in the data protection and freedom of information sphere include advising a law firm in relation to the extend to which the Legal Privilege protects disclosure of documents to the Information Commissioner, advising the GMC on disclosure of Case Examiners’ names and sharing information about medical students, as well as a number of appearances in the Information Tribunal, both led and un-led, on behalf of various Government Departments, the BBC and Ofcom.

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Mediation

Kate is a qualified CEDR mediator and has acted as sole mediator in disputes involving a wide range of issues in the Employment, Sport, Public and Commercial sphere, such as the leaking of confidential information from a sporting organisation, re-integration of an individual into the work force following mental health issues, and assault by a solicitor of a law firm on a partner.

Achievements

Publications

Contributor to:

  • Human Rights Law and Practice edited by Lester & Pannick
  • Administrative Court: Practice and Procedure edited by Lang.
  • Sport: Law and Practice (edited by Lewis and Taylor).

Memberships

  • Employment Lawyers Association
  • Administrative Law Bar Association
  • Human Rights Lawyers Association
  • British Association for Sport and the Law
  • Bar European Group

Selected earlier reported cases

Public & Regulatory

  • R (Meadow) v General Medical Council [2006] EWCA Civ 1390, [2007] QB 462
  • R (Ann Summers Ltd) v Jobcentre Plus [2003] EWHC 1416 (Admin), The Times 14.7.03
  • R (Matthews) v Ministry of Defence [2003] UKHL 4, [2003] 1 AC 1163

Civil Liberties & Human Rights

  • R (AM and others) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2009] EWCA 219, (2009) ACD 38, The Times 20 March 2009
  • R (Roberts) v The Parole Board & Secretary of State for the Home Department [2008] EWHC 2714 , [2005] UKHL 45, [2005] 2 AC 738, Harry Roberts (Parole Board, 22 July 2009) 
  • Gusinsky v Russia (European Court of Human Rights Appn. no. 70276/01, Judgment 19.5.04)

Employment

  • Young & Rubicam v Eccleshare - Kate was instructed together with Paul Goulding QC on behalf of a senior advertising executive in High Court proceedings concerning the enforceability of the restrictive covenants and garden leave provisions in his contract.
  • Bamsey v Albion Engineering Ltd (2003) ICR 1224
  • Brennan v American Express Services Europe Ltd [2003] EAT/0623/02

Professional Discipline

  • Sharief v General Medical Council [2009] EWHC 847 (Admin), (2009) LS Law Medical 389 
  • Ethical Standards Officer v Patrick Joyce (The Adjudication Panel for England, APE 0445, 17 December 2009) 
  • R (Meadow) v General Medical Council [2006] EWCA Civ 1390; [2007] QB 462 

Sport

  • International Tennis Federation v Richard Gasquet (Court of Arbitration for Sport, 2009)
  • Lawrence Dallaglio (2008)
  • IRB v Keyter (CAS 2006/A/1067)
  • Hendry & Williams v The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association [2001] EuLR 770

Data Protection, Freedom of Information & Privacy

  • Gerry Morrissey (BECTU) v Information Commissioner & Ofcom (EA/2009/0067)
  • Civil Aviation Authority v Information Tribunal & Malcolm Kirkaldie (Information Tribunal)

Other Information

Kate was previously a Fast-stream Administrative Trainee in the Department for Education and Employment.  She worked extensively on the passage through Parliament of the Disability Discrimination Bill and on Government policy for children with Special Educational Needs.

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