“Tom Weisselberg is excellent all round.”
Chambers & Partners, 2024
“Tom is an exceptional barrister – a pleasure to work with. He is extremely bright, measured and charming.”
Legal 500, 2024
“An excellent silk; he is an incredibly clever guy and a superb barrister.”
Chambers and Partners, 2023
“Tom is excellent, extremely personable and instils confidence in clients and lawyers with practical and reliable advice.”
Chambers and Partners, 2023
“A powerhouse advocate who provides well-considered advice.”
Chambers and Partners, 2023
“Tom is fantastic with clients. He has a great strategic mind and he is unflappable.”
Chambers and Partners, 2023
“Absolutely first class. Great knowledge of detail and a wonderful advocate. Very easy to work with. A real team player.”
Legal 500, 2023
“An extremely impressive barrister, a phenomenal tactician and a brilliant legal mind.”
Chambers and Partners, 2022
“A valuable cross-over between core media and intellectual property issues.”
Legal 500, 2022
“Extremely clever and a masterful advocate in written submissions and cross examination.”
Legal 500, 2022
“Absolutely first-rate. One of the very very best advocates to work with.”
Legal 500, 2022
“He's just a delight to work with and nobody has a better strategic sense than him.”
Chambers and Partners, 2021
“He's a fierce cross-examiner.”
Chambers and Partners, 2021
“Tom is extremely personable and instils confidence instantly in solicitors and clients alike.”
Chambers and Partners, 2021
“First rate, operates at the very highest level.”
Legal 500, 2021
“Extremely clever, finds the crucial points with unerring discernment and makes advocacy look easy.”
Legal 500, 2019
“Supremely able and affable, he's a wonderful asset to any litigation team”
Chambers and Partners, 2017
“Exceptionally bright and personable with a charming and winning advocacy style”
Legal 500, 2016
Tom is co-Head of Blackstone Chambers and has extensive litigation and advocacy experience. He has appeared in the Supreme Court, House of Lords, Privy Council, Court of Appeal, High Court and County Courts. He has also appeared in a wide range of domestic tribunals (including the Copyright Tribunal, the Takeover Panel, the Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery Chamber) and the Lloyd's Appeal Tribunal).
He regularly appears in domestic and international commercial arbitrations (including in the ICC, the LCIA and the PPL Arbitral Tribunal) in cases involving a wide range of subjects (including oil fields, copyright licensing, the hospitality industry, telecommunications and music recording contracts).
He has been called to the Bar in the British Virgin Islands and has appeared in a number of cases in the Cayman Islands (at first instance and on appeal).
Tom is recognised as a leading silk in the latest editions of both the leading legal directories, Chambers UK and Legal 500, for his expertise in commercial litigation, civil fraud and media and entertainment. Recent comments include:
Previous comments include:
Tom has appeared in a wide variety of commercial cases in the Privy Council, the House of Lords, the Court of Appeal, the High Court and the County Court. He also has extensive experience of acting for parties before different arbitral tribunals (including the LCIA, the ICC and the PPL Arbitral Tribunal).
Tom has particular experience of acting and appearing in civil fraud cases. He regularly deals with claims involving Search Orders, Freezing Injunctions, Document Preservation Orders and Information Orders.
He has acted for a very wide range of clients in all sorts of commercial cases. His clients have included Macquarie, Pirelli, Michelin, Oleg Deripaska, Rusal, Lloyd's, Lufthansa, Microsoft, BP, British Gas, the Deputy Prime Minister of Qatar, Den Norske Bank, Citibank, Cyprus Turkish Airlines, the BBC, Nokia, Vodafone, the Export Credits Guarantee Department, Ofcom, British Telecom, Sapporo, the developer of the Shard, the Royal Bank of Scotland, IFPI, News International, BSkyB, Uganda Property Holdings Limited and HM Attorney General.
He has also acted for a large number of Defendants who have faced claims brought by (for example) the Ministry of Justice, HM Revenue & Customs, News International, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Société General, the Government of Djibouti, PJSC Tatneft, Vale SA and Jyske Bank. He has obtained the discharge of wrongfully obtained injunctions and defended a large number of high value claims.
He has been involved in cases dealing with such things as Kuwaiti aircraft, photocopiers, ATMs, mobile telephones, share sale agreements, media representation and bribery.
He regularly acts in multi-jurisdictional disputes as part of a team involving lawyers and laws from many jurisdictions (including Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kuwait, Singapore, Gibraltar, Portugal, Angola, Uganda, Jersey, Switzerland, Djibouti and France). He has been called to the Bar of the British Virgin Islands and has appeared in a number of cases in the Cayman Islands (at first instance and on appeal).
He also has experience of private international law issues (having acted in the Kuwait Airways v Iraqi Airways litigation and in cases against a member of the Saudi Royal Family and the Ugandan President). He regularly works on cases that involve the application of foreign law in English proceedings.
Tom has acted as an examiner appointed by the Commercial Court for the purposes of taking a deposition for use in US proceedings.
“Tom judges his advocacy perfectly.”
Chambers & Partners, 2024
“His advocacy is really top draw.”
Chambers & Partners, 2024
“Tom Weisselberg is excellent all round.”
Chambers & Partners, 2024
“Tom is super bright and tactically astute.”
Chambers and Partners, 2023
“He is a class act and is able to identify issues and propose solutions in a very down-to-earth way.”
Chambers and Partners, 2023
“An excellent silk; he is an incredibly clever guy and a superb barrister.”
Chambers and Partners, 2023
“Absolutely first class. Great knowledge of detail and a wonderful advocate. Very easy to work with. A real team player.”
Legal 500, 2023
“Supremely competent and delightful.”
Legal 500, 2022
“Absolutely first-rate. One of the very very best advocates to work with.”
Legal 500, 2022
“He is brilliant to work with, he is clever and he sees the wood for the trees.”
Chambers and Partners, 2021
“A very user-friendly barrister who works incredibly hard, gives commercial advice and is absolutely loved by clients.”
Chambers and Partners, 2021
“Fabulous on detail and an excellent cross examiner”
Legal 500, 2021
“First rate, operates at the very highest level.”
Legal 500, 2021
“Extremely clever, finds the crucial points with unerring discernment and makes advocacy look easy.”
Legal 500, 2019
“Tom is an extremely capable advocate who doesn't shy away from difficult points.”
Chambers and Partners, 2019
“He's very articulate, has good powers of analysis and is easy to work with.”
Chambers and Partners, 2019
“Has a remarkable ability to construct compelling cases irrespective of the apparent merits.”
Legal 500, 2018
“Charming and a delight to work with.”
Chambers and Partners, 2018
“Supremely able and affable, he's a wonderful asset to any litigation team”
Chambers and Partners, 2017
“Superb commercial barrister who is incredibly user-friendly and has excellent client skills.”
Chambers and Partners, 2016
“An extremely capable advocate who does not shy away from difficult points. He's a genuine resource on any team.”
Chambers and Partners, 2016
“A great advocate, who gets right to the heart of the matter very quickly”
Legal 500, 2016
Acting for Alaska Airlines in a case involving the proper construction of a trade mark licensing agreement and issues of US Aviation regulations.
Acted successfully for the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in striking out a claim under the Human Rights Act 1998 relating to proposed changes in feed-in tariff scheme in 2011/2012.
Acted for three Defendants in a fraud claim said by the Claimants to be worth US$1.8 billion, which was later discontinued at trial.
Acting for the Defendant in a trusts claim said by the Claimant to be worth around US$1 billion. The case is due for trial in April 2024.
Acted for OFCOM in a case concerning the scope of a claim for unjust enrichment under the Woolwich principle and whether it was appropriate to run a counterfactual when deciding whether or not a public authority could retain a fee collected without lawful authority.
Acting for the First Defendant in a claim brought by the Kuwaiti social security fund said by the Claimant to be worth in excess of US$850 million.
Acted for co-trustees in a family trust in successfully (a) resisting their removal as trustees; and (b) securing the removal of their co-trustee.
Acted for the Plaintiff in the Cayman Islands in a claim for Norwich Pharmacal relief in support of attempts to enforce an ICC award for US$1.38 billion.
Acted in the Cayman Court of Appeal in this challenge to the presentation of a winding-up petition based on an alleged debt for work done on Floating Storage and Offloading vessel in the Gulf of Thailand.
Acted for the Defendant in a case based on an alleged oral contract for a €13.5 million share in the sale proceeds of a sports data business. The contract was allegedly concluded over dinner at Zuma. After trial, the Judge dismissed the Claimant's claim and held that there was no contract and no claim for quantum meruit.
Acted for a Ukrainian defendant in a US$200 million claim brought by a Russian state owned oil company. .
Acted for a leading Australian telecommunications to discharge an injunction which restrained it from terminating telecommunications services; after discharging the injunction, immediately applied (to the same Judge) successfully for a Freezing Injunction against the Claimant.
Acted for Irish Defendants in a claim under section 423 of the Insolvency Act in relation to an alleged transfer at an undervalue of valuable English properties.
Acted for the Government in a high value claim for damages in relation to an alleged breach of Article 1 of the First Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights. The case was one of The Lawyer's Top Cases for 2018 and settled in January 2018 shortly before the start of a 10 week trial.
Acted for a regulated firm in relation to a challenge to the FCA’s refusal of permission to carry on the regulated activity of debt adjusting and debt counselling.
Tom has also acted for a number of other firms seeking permission from the FCA and recently succeeded before the RDC in obtaining permission for one such firm.
Acted successfully for the Secretary of State for Justice in the Supreme Court resisting a challenge to the enforceability of pre-Jackson regime Conditional Fee Agreements.
Acted against the Financial Conduct Authority for a regulated individual in a case involving traded life insurance bonds.
Acted for Salford Capital Partners in a number of multi-jurisdictional disputes involving questions of BVI partnership law, contractual construction and allegations of breach of duty, computer hacking and breach of confidence. Appeared in the Privy Council in an appeal as to the proper construction of the articles of association of a BVI partnership.
Acted for HMRC against Bernie and Slavica Ecclestone in a case involving HMRC’s claim that it is entitled to rescind a settlement agreement concluded between it and Mr and Mrs Ecclestone.
Acted for Virgin Media in the Court of Appeal in a case involving section 73 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act where the issue before the Court was whether or not the internet = cable.
Acted for the Claimants in a multi-million Euro cartel follow-on damages claim brought by some of the leading European tyre manufacturers. This was the first cartel follow-on damages claim to come to a substantive hearing in the English Courts. The case settled at the end of the second week of trial.
Acted for a Defendant in a high value and long-running trial involving allegations of fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, knowing receipt and dishonest assistance.
Acted successfully for the producer of “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” in a claim to rectify an agreement concluded in 1974. Cross-examined Michael Palin, Eric Idle and Terry Jones.
Acted for the Claimant in resisting an application that Arnold J should recuse himself from hearing a trial in circumstances where he had a past academic connection to an expert witness.
Acted as part of a team for the Defendant in an important case involving allegations of criminality and a claim that the Claimant had a 20% share in Rusal. Tom was heavily involved in all aspects of the case, with a particular focus on detailed and complex financial evidence (expert and factual). He travelled frequently to Moscow and liaised with English and Russian accountants. Tom was due to cross examine a number of witnesses (factual and expert) before the case settled.
Acted for Lufthansa in a claim seeking payment for work done on aircraft engines.
Acted for a co-defendant in an interesting case involving letters of credit and a guarantee. Judgment handed down in October 2011. The Court of Appeal granted permission to appeal but, at a contested hearing the Court of Appeal set conditions on the appeal (requiring money to be paid into Court).
Acted for the Defendant in a claim involving allegations of breach of duty and difficult issues of Djibouti law.
Acted for an intervener, the UK Media Monitoring Agency, in a case in the Copyright Tribunal which concerned the terms on which online newspaper sites can be used by press cuttings agencies.
Acted for corporate Defendants in this high value Kazakh fraud case.
Acted for the defendant, an aircraft manufacturer. Case concerned issues of contractual construction, choice of law, offer and acceptance, fitness for purpose, implied terms, unfair contract terms and satisfactory quality.
Acted for a number of partnerships in disputes over names and other partnership assets (including the bands Snow Patrol, Duran Duran and the Sugababes). Often asked to advise in relation to the approach to be adopted when valuing partnership assets, including partnership names. Advised and acted for a number of law firms in disputes between partners and members of LLPs.
Tom acted successfully for one of the Respondents in resisting an application for pre-action disclosure in a dispute involving the horse racing world and the betting industry
Tom acted successfully at trial for defendants who faced a claim involving complicated issues of applicable law, English trust law (including Quistclose trusts) and Swiss law.
Acted for the Claimants in a high value claim relating to the provision of “recovery services” to the family of Badri Patarkatsishsvili.
The claim is one of breach of fiduciary duty, breach of confidence and unlawful means conspiracy. Tom appeared for the Claimants in a four week trial on liability before Cockerill J and then in the Court of Appeal on an appeal against the Judge's findings at the quantum phase.
Tom has substantial experience of obtaining and resisting interim injunctions and acting in large-scale international fraud cases. He is regularly involved in claims involving Worldwide Freezing Injunctions, Search Orders, Document Preservation Orders, Norwich Pharmacal Orders and Bankers Trust Orders.
He has appeared in the English Court of Appeal, the English High Court, the British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands in a wide variety of disputes concerning such things as breaches of fiduciary duty, misappropriated monies, fraudulently obtained contracts, Organic Grape juice, insolvency issues and corporate disagreements.
“He is an impressive advocate with the ear of the court.”
Chambers & Partners, 2024
“Tom is a civil fraud silk extraordinaire. He is charming, and his strategic reading of judges is fantastic. He is rightfully a big name in the civil fraud world.”
Chambers & Partners, 2024
“Tom is a superstar advocate who always fights very hard for his clients.”
Chambers & Partners, 2024
“Tom is the heavyweight silk for complex, tricky civil fraud cases. He is unflappable and wonderfully subtle in formulating case strategy.”
Legal 500, 2024
“Tom is fantastic with clients. He has a great strategic mind and he is unflappable.”
Chambers and Partners, 2023
“Tom is a master when it comes to advocacy and cross-examination. He is an exceptional leader and great to work with.”
Chambers and Partners, 2023
“Tom provides first-class strategic insight and advocacy. He is a class act and is able to identify issues and propose solutions in a very down-to-earth way.”
Chambers and Partners, 2023
“Tom is fantastic with clients. He has a great strategic mind and he is unflappable.”
Chambers and Partners, 2023
“Tom provides first-class strategic insight and advocacy. He is a class act and is able to identify issues and propose solutions in a very down-to-earth way.”
Chambers and Partners, 2023
“Tom is a master when it comes to advocacy and cross-examination. He is an exceptional leader and great to work with.”
Chambers and Partners, 2023
“Charming, beloved by client and solicitors, he is a clever, heavyweight barrister and a go-to for any tricky or high value fraud claim.”
Legal 500, 2023
“He is unflappable no matter how messy the case gets, and extremely light on his feet in court, with great judgement of how things will play with the judge and how best to put the client’s case.”
Legal 500, 2023
“A fantastic strategist and superb advocate.”
Legal 500, 2023
“An extremely impressive barrister, a phenomenal tactician and a brilliant legal mind.”
Chambers and Partners, 2022
“He has a first-class mind, an unflappable manner and a great courtroom presence.”
Chambers and Partners, 2022
“As good as you could ask for in a civil fraud silk: kind, strategic leadership, excellent advocacy, and a career based on doing the difficult fraud cases.”
Legal 500, 2022
“He's seen it all, done it all and is a really effective advocate.”
Chambers and Partners, 2021
“He's just a delight to work with and nobody has a better strategic sense than him.”
Chambers and Partners, 2021
“Has a great strategic mind and is unflappable, two key qualities in a barrister leading a civil fraud team”
Legal 500, 2021
“He is unflappable, with superb judgement of law and the messier, practical aspects of litigation.”
Legal 500, 2019
“Calm and measured. He is able to articulate the most difficult issues in a way that judges listen to.”
Chambers and Partners, 2019
“A very accomplished advocate.”
Chambers and Partners, 2019
“Nothing fazes Tom; he has a great strategic mind, unerringly picking out the crucial points.”
Legal 500, 2018
“The absolute master of freezing orders and injunctions.”
Chambers and Partners, 2018
“He is also outstanding on paper. A genuine resource on any team.”
Chambers and Partners, 2018
“He is a very good advocate and has excellent judgement”
Chambers and Partners, 2017
“Peerless at his level and charming, he will become a super-silk.”
Legal 500, 2017
“Exceptionally bright and personable with a charming and winning advocacy style”
Legal 500, 2016
Acted for three Defendants in a fraud claim said by the Claimants to be worth US$1.8 billion, which was later discontinued at trial.
Acting for the First Defendant in a claim brought by the Kuwaiti social security fund said by the Claimant to be worth in excess of US$850 million.
Acted for the Plaintiff in the Cayman Islands in a claim for Norwich Pharmacal relief in support of attempts to enforce an ICC award for US$1.38 billion.
Acted for HMRC against Bernie and Slavica Ecclestone in a case involving HMRC’s claim that it is entitled to rescind a settlement agreement concluded between it and Mr and Mrs Ecclestone.
Acted for the Claimants in a high value claim relating to the provision of “recovery services” to the family of Badri Patarkatsishsvili.
The claim is one of breach of fiduciary duty, breach of confidence and unlawful means conspiracy. Tom appeared for the Claimants in a four week trial on liability before Cockerill J and then in the Court of Appeal on an appeal against the Judge's findings at the quantum phase.
Acted for a Ukrainian defendant in a US$200 million claim brought by a Russian state owned oil company. .
Acted for a leading Australian telecommunications to discharge an injunction which restrained it from terminating telecommunications services; after discharging the injunction, immediately applied (to the same Judge) successfully for a Freezing Injunction against the Claimant.
Acted for Irish Defendants in a claim under section 423 of the Insolvency Act in relation to an alleged transfer at an undervalue of valuable English properties.
Acted for corporate Defendants in this high value Kazakh fraud case.
Acted for the Defendant in a claim involving allegations of breach of duty and difficult issues of Djibouti law.
Acted as part of a team for the Defendant in an important case involving allegations of criminality and a claim that the Claimant had a 20% share in Rusal. Tom was heavily involved in all aspects of the case, with a particular focus on detailed and complex financial evidence (expert and factual). He travelled frequently to Moscow and liaised with English and Russian accountants. Tom was due to cross examine a number of witnesses (factual and expert) before the case settled.
Acted for a Defendant in a high value and long-running trial involving allegations of fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, knowing receipt and dishonest assistance.
Tom has acted in a large number of domestic and international arbitrations in the LCIA, the ICC and the PPL Arbitral Tribunal.
He has dealt with arbitrations that have involved such issues as alleged breaches of fiduciary duty, alleged breaches of shareholder agreements, the terms and application of sponsor investor agreements, the lease of aircraft, disputes between co-venturers in Eastern European companies, the supply of petroleum coke, the sale of iron ore, the supply of services (by amongst others a well-known firm of solicitors and an American technical services company) and the exercise of an option under a music publishing agreement.
His recent arbitrations have involved issues relating to oil fields, private client offices, international telecom investments, carried interest payments, software development, patents licensing, FRAND terms, an airport services marketing agreement and investments in Djibouti.
He has experience of dealing with appeals to the Commercial Court from domestic arbitrations.
Tom has acted in a wide range of Financial Services cases for many years. He has acted for regulators, the regulated and the unregulated.
For the regulated, his work has included:
For regulators, his work has included:
For the unregulated, he has given advice as to the scope of the regulatory regime (e.g. in relation to potential Collective Investments Schemes) and has advised individuals who have been threatened with domestic regulatory action and with action by overseas regulators.
Tom has also acted in a large number of disputes involving banks and banking practices. He has particular experience of working on fraud cases involving banks.
Acted for a regulated firm in relation to a challenge to the FCA’s refusal of permission to carry on the regulated activity of debt adjusting and debt counselling.
Tom has also acted for a number of other firms seeking permission from the FCA and recently succeeded before the RDC in obtaining permission for one such firm.
Acted for a regulated firm in a case concerning the proper construction of the Financial Services and Markets Act (2000) (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) (No 2) Order 2013 and whether a firm would lose its interim permission to carry on regulated activities at the point when the FCA refused an application for authorisation and gave a Decision Notice.
Acted against the Financial Conduct Authority for a regulated individual in a case involving traded life insurance bonds.
Tom has acted in a wide range of entertainment disputes, involving music, film, fashion, television and radio. He has advised licensors, licensees and regulators in relation to a wide range of UK and international disputes. He spoke at MIDEM 2007 on the work of the Copyright Tribunal, and in particular the Online music reference (see below).
He has considerable experience of the Copyright Tribunal and regularly deals with cases which involve issues relating to copyright, partnership and performer’s property rights.
In the Copyright Tribunal, Tom has acted in a large number of disputes both for applicants (including BPI and iTunes) and for licensing bodies (VPL and PPL).
He has been instructed in a number of challenges to schemes promulgated by PRS for Music (including the scheme for music DVDs and the scheme for Online music). In the Online music reference, he initially acted for the BPI as part of a team led by Ian Mill QC. When the BPI settled its claim, Tom was instructed by iTunes to represent it and conducted the hearing without a leader (see BPI v MCPS-PRS Alliance [2008] EMLR 5). He also acted for ITV in its Copyright Tribunal challenge to the terms offered to it by PRS for Music and has often advised licensees who are dissatisfied with PRS for Music.
Tom has also acted for VPL and PPL in the Copyright Tribunal. He appeared for VPL in relation to music television, CSC v VPL [2010] EWHC 2094 (Ch) and [2011] EWCA Civ 650, and for PPL in an appeal against the Copyright Tribunal’s decision in relation to background music, PPL v BHA [2009] EWHC 209 (Ch).
He also appeared for an intervener, the UK Media Monitoring Agency, in a challenge in the Copyright Tribunal to one of the Newspaper Licensing Agency’s schemes (Meltwater v NLA).
He assisted EOS- Yr Asiantaeth Hawliau Darlledu Cyfyngedig (a licensing body that licenses, protects and promotes the repertoire of composers and publishers of Welsh-language music) in defending a claim brought against it in the Copyright Tribunal by the BBC.
In the High Court, Tom has acted in a wide range of cases. He acted for Virgin Media in ITV Broadcasting v TV Catchup where the Court of Appeal (after hearing argument as to the scope of section 73 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988) made a second reference to the CJEU (see [2015] EWCA Civ 204).
He was also instructed on behalf of ZTE in Vringo v ZTE in a follow-on damages claim for patent infringement. The case settled shortly before trial.
Tom has acted (or is currently acting) in a large number of band and partnership related disputes for amongst others Snow Patrol, Duran Duran, the Sugababes and Busted (McPhail v Bourne [2008] EWHC 1235 (Ch)). He regularly acts for managers who are in dispute with their artists or former artists.
In Forstater v Python (Monty) Pictures Limited [2013] EWHC 1873 (Ch), Tom acted successfully for the producer of “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” in a claim to rectify an agreement concluded in 1974. He cross-examined Michael Palin, Eric Idle and Terry Jones.
He has also acted in wide range of disputes on behalf of (amongst others) the Discovery Channel (about a Bulgarian broadcast licence), Bucks Music (in a dispute with the DJ Jay Sean), Onward Music (in a dispute relating to “A Whiter Shade of Pale”), the tenor Jonas Kaufmann (in a dispute with Decca), iTunes, IFPI, Christine Bleakley, Mark Morot, Iron Maiden, the BBC, Fat Cat Records (in a dispute with Sigur Ros), Microsoft, Blue (in a passing off action brought against the boy band by a 1970s band), Oasis (in insurance and other matters), Carlton Film Distributors, MGN, Film Four, Tomasz Starjewski and Roger Moore.
He has also been involved in cases involving the band Placebo, the Beatles’ Lost Concert, the song “Fight for This Love” (performed by Cheryl Cole), the music for Space 1999, an Oscar winning animated version of Peter and the Wolf, the Bay City Rollers, The World is Not Enough, P Diddy, Simply Red and Melinda Messenger.
“Tom is an excellent silk, highly experienced in music industry matters.”
Chambers & Partners, 2024
“He has an excellent bedside manner. You can drop him in with a client and he will deliver superb advice but also relax them.”
Chambers & Partners, 2024
“Tom is an exceptional barrister – a pleasure to work with. He is extremely bright, measured and charming.”
Legal 500, 2024
“Tom is excellent, extremely personable and instils confidence in clients and lawyers with practical and reliable advice.”
Chambers and Partners, 2023
“He has extensive experience in music disputes and is one of the leading experts in that area.”
Chambers and Partners, 2023
“A powerhouse advocate who provides well-considered advice.”
Chambers and Partners, 2023
“He articulates difficult concepts and has an excellent bedside manner.”
Chambers and Partners, 2022
“A valuable cross-over between core media and intellectual property issues.”
Legal 500, 2022
“Extremely clever and a masterful advocate in written submissions and cross examination.”
Legal 500, 2022
“He's a fierce cross-examiner.”
Chambers and Partners, 2021
“He has a useful mix of IP, media and general commercial experience.”
Chambers and Partners, 2021
“He's enormously clever and has a great manner with clients.”
Chambers and Partners, 2021
“Tom is extremely personable and instils confidence instantly in solicitors and clients alike.”
Chambers and Partners, 2021
“He is extremely bright and personable and a complete joy to work with.”
Legal 500, 2021
“He has a good strategic mind and is very sharp on his feet.”
Chambers and Partners, 2019
“He's thoughtful, intelligent and has a fantastic way with clients.”
Chambers and Partners, 2019
“He is extremely personable, bright and articulate.”
Chambers and Partners, 2019
“Tom is excellent on his feet and is a methodical and creative advocate.”
Chambers and Partners, 2019
“He is a pleasure to work with and thoroughly charming with obvious intellect.”
Legal 500, 2018
“Very clear and concise, he's a charming advocate who is a joy to work with.”
Chambers and Partners, 2018
“He is technically excellent and incredibly easy to work with”
Chambers and Partners, 2017
“He combines a razor-sharp mind with a charming personality.”
Legal 500, 2017
“He's very good on his feet - calm, measured and very persuasive.”
Chambers and Partners, 2016
“Incredibly versatile and a charming advocate”
Legal 500, 2016
Acted successfully for the Band Rudimental in resisting a copyright infringement claim brought in relation to the song "Waiting All Night".
Acted for the screenwriter of the acclaimed film Florence Foster Jenkins in a case involving a claim by his former partner. that she was a co-author of the screenplay. HHJ Hacon dismissed her claim. The Court of Appeal allowed an appeal against that judgment and ordered a re-trial.
Acting for Alaska Airlines in a case involving the proper construction of a trade mark licensing agreement and issues of US Aviation regulations.
Tom acted successfully for one of the Respondents in resisting an application for pre-action disclosure in a dispute involving the horse racing world and the betting industry
Acted for the Defendant in a case based on an alleged oral contract for a €13.5 million share in the sale proceeds of a sports data business. The contract was allegedly concluded over dinner at Zuma. After trial, the Judge dismissed the Claimant's claim and held that there was no contract and no claim for quantum meruit.
Tom has considerable experience of cases that involve issues relating to telecommunications. He has acted for and against the providers of telephone services in commercial and regulatory contexts.
He has undertaken cases for (amongst others) Vodafone, T-Mobile and Nokia (in arbitrations and in the High Court) and has appeared for Ofcom.
Tom regularly acts in a wide range of public and regulatory cases, often for Government Departments but also for individuals. He has acted for the General Medical Council and often acts for the Ministry of Justice in cases involving prisons and prisoners. He has advised and acted for a number of commercial bodies in proposed challenges to commercial and financial regulators (both in this country and abroad).
Appeared for the Secretary of State for Justice in this high-profile case involving the serial killer, Joanne Dennehy. The case involved interesting issues as to the application of Article 8 of the ECHR to segregation.
Tom is leading on a number of other cases involving the same issue and other high profile prisoners.
Acting for the Secretary of State in relation to a challenge by a prisoner to his removal from open conditions.
Acted for HMRC against Bernie and Slavica Ecclestone in a case involving HMRC’s claim that it is entitled to rescind a settlement agreement concluded between it and Mr and Mrs Ecclestone.
Acted successfully for the Secretary of State in resisting a claim that the defence of duress should be available to a prisoner charged with a disciplinary offence under the Prison Rules.
Acted successfully in appeal against a finding that the Secretary of State had acted irrationally in relation to the rehabilitative needs of a prisoner.
Acting for the Secretary of State in cases concerning the change in approach to the circumstances in which prisoners will be eligible for Release on Temporary Licence and transfers to open conditions.
Acted for the Secretary of State in successfully resisting a challenge to a refusal to transfer a prisoner to open conditions.
Acted for the Secretary of State in a case involving a challenge to the reorganisation of the probation service and a request for disclosure of documents allegedly relevant to the Judicial Review.
Acted for the Secretary of State in an application in the Richard III judicial review concerning a protective costs order.
Assisted News International in relation to regulatory issues concerning its attempt to purchase the shares in BSkyB that it does not currently own.
Acted solo for the Secretary of State at first instance and on appeal in a difficult case concerning the proper construction of the Criminal Justice 2003 and its transitional provisions.
Appeared on behalf of the Advocate General for Scotland in the Supreme Court in an important case as to the scope of the public law duty to provide indeterminate sentence prisoners with a reasonable opportunity to demonstrate on tariff expiry that they could be safely released. The case was one of the first cases to be heard by the Supreme Court sitting in Scotland.
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