Catherine Callaghan has been practising at the English Bar since 2000, and took silk in 2018. She regularly acts for the UK Government and regulatory bodies, as well as individual or corporate claimants, in the Administrative Court, Court of Appeal, and Supreme Court. 

Catherine is currently the Chair of the Constitutional and Administrative Law Bar Association (ALBA). She was a member of the Attorney General’s A Panel of counsel from 2013 to 2018. 

Catherine is recognised in the leading legal directories, Chambers UK and Legal 500, for her expertise in public and regulatory law, professional discipline, civil liberties & human rights, and employment law. Recent comments include:

  • "Catherine is intelligent, down to earth and proactive. A great team worker."- Legal 500, 2024
  • "She is first rate. Catherine is very pragmatic and sensible. The court approves of her reasoning time and time again. She is consistently right and has a great sense of judgement."- Chambers & Partners, 2024

Previous comments include:

  • "Highly focused on the big picture but also has the ability to retain detail – the perfect mix."- Legal 500, 2023
  • "Catherine has a great deal of expertise; she is really knowledgeable and a good advocate." - Chambers UK, 2023

Catherine is known for her attention to detail, her ability to construct a clear and compelling case, and to forensically deconstruct and dismantle opponents' arguments. She has an authoritative presence in court and judges trust her submissions. She has a client-focused approach, and solicitors and lay clients like her down-to-earth and approachable manner.

Experience

Shortlist

Public & Regulatory

Catherine is a leading barrister in public and regulatory law, with a practice encompassing judicial review, statutory appeals, first instance and appellate professional disciplinary and regulatory hearings. Catherine has extensive experience representing clients in the Administrative Court, Special Immigration Appeals Commission, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court. She regularly acts for Government departments and regulatory bodies such as the General Medical Council, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, and the Advertising Standards Authority. She also acts for claimants in judicial review claims and statutory appeals against public bodies.

Catherine has developed an expertise in regulation of the tied pubs sector. She has advised and acted for Star Pubs & Bars Ltd (Heineken UK's pub estate business) and Greene King on a variety of cases concerning challenges to arbitration awards, and challenges to regulatory decisions of the Pubs Code Adjudicator.

She is a trusted adviser for a wide range of bodies on policy development, discrimination and Brexit-related issues. 

Catherine is Chair of the Administrative Law Bar Association and recently coordinated ALBA's response to the government consultation on judicial review reform. 

Cases

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Professional Discipline

Catherine has a particular interest in professional disciplinary regulation in the fields of healthcare, accountancy, law, and education. 

She regularly acts for the General Medical Council in judicial review proceedings and statutory appeals to the High Court from disciplinary decisions of Fitness to Practise Panels. She advises the GMC on policy development and guidance, and represented the GMC (with Robert Englehart KC) in the Public Inquiry into Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust.  

In the field of accountancy, she regularly acts for the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) in internal disciplinary hearings, appeals and judicial reviews.  She also acts for the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and the Institute of Actuaries. 

In the legal field, Catherine is a trusted adviser to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). She also advises law firms and individual solicitors on issues concerning solicitors' professional conduct and SRA reporting obligations. Catherine has been instructed as an independent investigator by a number of UK and overseas law firms to investigate misconduct by solicitors.

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Civil Liberties & Human Rights

Catherine’s civil liberties and human rights practice incorporates nationality and asylum law, national security and terrorism, and prison law. She regularly acts for the UK Government and regulatory bodies in defending decisions affecting civil liberties and human rights.  Catherine also acts for police bodies, including the Metropolitan Police Service, the Metropolitan Police Authority, and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary.

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Employment

Catherine appears in the Employment Tribunals, the Employment Appeal Tribunal and High Court in cases involving discrimination, whistle blowing, unfair and wrongful dismissal, and redundancy. She acts for both Claimants (particularly senior managers, partners and directors) and Respondents.

Catherine is a judicial member of the Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitral Tribunal (CSAT), an international tribunal which hears contractual disputes between the Commonwealth Secretariat and its employees. She is one of 8 judicial members, chosen from around the Commonwealth, and represents the UK on the tribunal.

Catherine has been instructed as an independent investigator by a number of UK and overseas law firms to investigate potential misconduct or sexual harassment by solicitors. 

Catherine co-wrote the chapter on Practice and Procedure in the textbook “Employee Competition: Covenants, Confidentiality and Garden Leave”, edited by Paul Goulding KC and first published by Oxford University Press in 2007 (2nd edition published in 2011). 



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Education

Catherine has a strong interest in education law, particularly in the context of public law and professional disciplinary regulation. She has acted for head teachers in professional disciplinary proceedings before the General Teaching Council, and is regularly instructed by the Department for Education and Department for Business Innovation and Skills and private education providers on a wide range of high profile education cases.

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Data Protection, Freedom of Information & Privacy

Catherine regularly appears in the First-tier Tribunal, Upper Tribunal and High Court on cases concerning freedom of information. 

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Financial Services & Banking

Catherine has a particular interest in financial services regulation. She regularly acts for and advises the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). She has previously advised the Prudential Regulation Authority and the FCA in relation to their joint review of the failure of HBOS.

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Achievements

Education

BA, LLB (Hons) (Victoria University of Wellington); LLM (Cambridge)

Publications

  • “Practice and Procedure” (co-writer) in Employee Competition: Covenants, Confidentiality and Garden Leave (Oxford University Press, 2011, 2nd edition, ed. Paul Goulding KC)
  • Chapters 5 and 6 (“Commencing a Claim” and “Acknowledgment of Service”) in Administrative Court: Practice and Procedure (Sweet & Maxwell, 2006, ed. Beverley Lang KC)
  • Co-writer of “Conflicts of Law” in European Employment Law and the UK (Sweet & Maxwell, 2003)
  • “What is a ‘Target Duty’?” [2000] Judicial Review 184.
  • “They think it’s all over: The impact of the Tobacco Advertising Directive on sports sponsorship in the United Kingdom” [2000] Sport and the Law Journal 91.
  • “‘Constitutionalisation’ of Treaties by the Courts – The Treaty of Waitangi and the Treaty of Rome Compared” [1999] New Zealand Universities Law Review 334.
  • “Manifest disadvantage in undue influence: An analysis of its role and necessity” [1995] Victoria University of Wellington Law Review 289.

Judicial appointments

  • In 2019, Catherine was appointed a judicial member of the Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitral Tribunal (CSAT), an international tribunal which hears contractual disputes between the Commonwealth Secretariat and its employees. She is one of 8 judicial members, chosen from around the Commonwealth, and represents the UK on the tribunal.

Memberships

  • Administrative Law Bar Association - Chair
  • Justice
  • Employment Lawyers’ Association
  • Employment Law Bar Association


Selected earlier reported cases

Public & Regulatory

  • R (Banerjee) v General Medical Council [2015] EWHC 2263 (Admin)
  • R (Chaudhuri) v General Medical Council [2015] EWHC 6621 (Admin)
  • R (Jackson) v General Medical Council [2013] EWHC 2595 (Admin)
  • R (Coys of Kensington) v Advertising Standards Authority [2012] EWHC 902 (Admin) 
  • R (Coke-Wallis) v Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales [2011] 2 AC 146
  • R (Child Poverty Action Group) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2011] EWHC 2616 (Admin)
  • The Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry (2010-2012)
  • R (UNISON) v Secretary of State for Health [2010] EWHC 2655 (Admin)
  • R (Breckland DC) v Electoral Commission [2009] EWCA Civ 239
  • R (London & South Eastern Railway Ltd) v British Transport Police Authority [2009] EWHC 460
  • R (Lin) v Secretary of State for Transport [2006] EWHC 2575 (Admin)
  • R (Razgar & Ors) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2003] EWCA Civ 840

Professional Discipline

  • R (Dr LI) v GMC [2013] EWHC 522 (Admin)
  • R (Coke-Wallis) v Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales [2011] 2 AC 146
  • R (X) v General Medical Council [2011] EWHC 3271 (Admin)
  • Martin v General Medical Council [2011] EWHC 3204 (Admin)
  • Shamsian v General Medical Council [2011] EWHC 2885 (Admin)
  • Saverymuttu v General Medical Council [2011] EWHC 1139 (Admin) 
  • Bhatt v General Medical Council [2011] EWHC 783 (Admin)
  • Moneim v General Medical Council [2011] EWHC 327 (Admin)
  • Pugsley v General Medical Council [2010] EWHC 2247 (Admin)
  • Colman and Hickey v General Medical Council [2010] EWHC 1608 (QB)
  • General Teaching Council v Maltbaek (2009/10)
  • Cohen v General Medical Council [2008] EWHC 581 (Admin)

Previous professional experience

Catherine first qualified as a barrister and solicitor in New Zealand and worked in the commercial litigation department of the New Zealand law firm Rudd Watts & Stone (now Minter Ellison Rudd Watts).  After being ranked 1st in her year in the LLM at the University of Cambridge, she worked as a solicitor in the London office of Clifford Chance from 1997 to 1999, practising in public international law.

Catherine’s experience as a solicitor in two jurisdictions has given her an invaluable understanding and appreciation of working as part of an integrated team with solicitors and clients.

In 2007, Catherine taught public law and comparative human rights law at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand. She also spent two months working as Crown Counsel for the Crown Law Office in Wellington, where she advised the New Zealand Government on a variety of public law matters.

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