Simon’s practice covers Financial Services, Commercial, Tax, Employment, Public Law and Human Rights and EU and Competition. He appears regularly in the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, High Court, Tax and Chancery Chamber of the Upper Tribunal, Tax and Chancery Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal, county courts, employment tribunals, social security tribunals, the Competition Appeals Tribunal and before professional regulatory panels (including the RDC (part of the FCA), the interim orders panel of the General Medical Council, sports disciplinary panels including the disciplinary panel of the Rugby Football Union).

Simon is Junior Counsel to the Crown (‘A’ Panel).

Simon is recognised as a leading junior in the latest editions of both the leading legal directories for his expertise in commercial, employment, financial services and tax. Recent comments include:

  • "Simon's advisory work is second-to-none. His ability to cut through tricky issues and provide straight-forward and intelligent advice is invaluable."- Legal 500, 2024
  • "Simon is an incredibly effective advocate who is meticulous in his preparation for hearings. Perhaps even more impressive is his bedside manner with clients, with Simon having the ability to reassure the most nervous witness and being able to build rapport"- Chambers & Partners, 2024

Experience

Shortlist

Financial Services & Banking

Simon has a broad financial services practice and regularly advises clients, including the FCA, the PRA, the Bank of England, the HMT, the Jersey Financial Services Commission and the British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commissions as well as both private companies and individual investors, in relation to various financial services matters, including variations of permission, collective investment schemes, applications for approvals, interim permissions, regulatory duties, sales standards, capital adequacy requirements, instruments qualifying for core tier 1 capital, enforcement proceedings, market abuse, insider dealing, the FCA’s conduct of business rules and levies imposed by the Pensions Protection Fund. Simon has advised and successfully assisted clients through the FCA’s process for approving individuals to perform controlled functions. In addition, Simon has advised several clients to bring complaints to the FOS and who are the subject of FOS complaints and he has advised the FCA and banks on matters relating to prudential rules and capital adequacy. Simon has also advised in relation to the changes of the financial services framework in the UK. Simon spent several months on secondment at the FSA (now the FCA) and uses the experience he gained in both General Counsel Division and Enforcement Division when advising clients.

Outside of financial services, Simon has considerable experience of prosecuting and defending in disciplinary proceedings in relation to the teaching profession, the medical profession and individuals involved in sport. In addition, Simon has generally advised regulators and professionals generally regarding their duties and functions, including Ofgem and the Bar Council.

Simon acts both for and against regulatory bodies.

Simon is co-author of a chapter on Financial Services Investigations in the Montgomery and Ormerod on Fraud, OUP (2008) and a chapter on appealing to the Upper Tribunal in A Practitioner's Guide to Financial Services Investigations and Enforcement 3rd ed, Sweet & Maxwell.

Cases

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Commercial

Simon has been involved with various commercial cases, both on his own and led. His experience includes high value fraud cases (both in the UK and in the Caribbean), professional negligence claims arising from the mis-selling of financial products (both vanilla and sophisticated) and professional negligence claims against surveyors and insurance and reinsurance matters.

In addition, Simon regularly appears before the First Tier Tax Tribunal, the Upper Tribunal and the higher Courts in disputes concerning indirect taxation, customs and excise duties, stamp duty, income and corporation tax and anti-dumping matters. 

Simon’s experience includes representing a motor racing team in a Commercial Court dispute concerning car design and advising banks regarding the sales standards of financial products. 

Simon is experienced in cases involving injunctions, including freezing and search injunctions, both for the Claimant and the Defendant. In addition, Simon has experience of appearing at committal hearings for contempt.

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Employment

Simon has developed a broad employment law practice, representing and advising clients in the employment tribunals and the EAT.  Simon’s experience encompasses unfair dismissal, redundancy, discrimination and whistle-blowing. Simon has also represented former employers and employees in the High Court in various disputes concerning theft of confidential information and he regularly advises on various aspects of employment law, including redundancies, dismissals, state immunity, TUPE and claims arising out of poor references.

Simon is regularly instructed to appear at trials, pre-hearing reviews and case management conferences in Employment Tribunals throughout the UK.

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Public & Regulatory

As Junior Counsel to the Crown (‘A’ Panel), Simon regularly appears on behalf of Treasury Solicitors in variety of public law disputes including those with a particular financial services or tax emphasis, as well as more general public law claims. He has also acted for and against various professional regulators, including the General Medical Council and the General Teaching Council. 

Simon is a qualified volunteer representative for the Free Representation Unit and has advised and has successfully represented clients in a range of appeals, including claims for Criminal Injury Compensation, Incapacity Benefit and Disability Living Allowance. 

Simon has advised on various matters concerning public law and regulatory matters, including disciplinary matters, proposed changes to the state pension system, the power to operate as a pharmacy and the vires of public bodies’ contracts. In addition, Simon has advised in a case concerning the preservation of a deceased partner’s sperm.

Cases

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Civil Liberties & Human Rights

As Junior Counsel to the Crown (‘A’ Panel), Simon regularly appears on behalf of Treasury Solicitors in variety of disputes concerning civil liberties and human rights. 

Simon has advised in relation to the compatibility of various proposed statutory instruments with ECHR. He has also acted in claims in the European Court of Human Rights.

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Tax

Simon regularly appears before the Court of Appeal, Upper Tribunal and First-tier Tribunal in cases concerning indirect and direct tax, both on his own and led. Such cases often involve issues of EU law. 

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Media & Entertainment

Simon has acted in various claims involving media and entertainment clients. In particular, Simon has acted in cases concerning copyright in musical compositions, infringement of image rights, breach of privacy claims and breaches of management agreements.

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Sport

Simon has represented and advised clients in a number of sports related disputes, including potential claims against local football associations and he has advised the FA, led by Adam Lewis QC. In addition, Simon has acted as prosecutor for the Rugby Football Union in disciplinary matters and represented a motor racing team in a Commercial Court dispute concerning car design.

Achievements

Education

MChem (Oxon) First Class; Bar Vocational Course (BPP, London) Outstanding; Diploma in Law (Oxford Brookes) Distinction.

Prizes & Scholarships

  • Tancred Studentship (Lincoln’s Inn 2006/7)
  • Hardwicke Scholar (Lincoln’s Inn 2006)
  • Lord Bowen Scholarship (Lincoln’s Inn 2005/6)
  • Gibbs Prize (Oxford University 2004) for finishing 1st in his year following finals
  • Turbutt Prize (Oxford University 2002)
  • Megarry Scholarship (Pupillage award, Lincoln’s Inn)
  • Buchanan Prize (Lincoln’s Inn)

Simon received a scholarship from Lincoln’s Inn to spend time visiting the European Court of Human Rights, Strasbourg and the International Court of Justice, The Hague.

Publications

  • Montgomery and Ormerod on Fraud, OUP (2008)
  • Second edition of Employee Competition (OUP), edited by Paul Goulding QC 
  • Second edition of Tolley’s Discrimination in Employment Handbook (LexisNexis). 
  • The Innovator litigation: collective investment schemes and claims arising from a contravention of the general prohibition. Butterworths Journal of International Banking & Financial Law (Vol 27 No 8)
  • Product intervention: the nuclear option. Butterworths Journal of International Banking & Financial Law (Vol 27 No 3)
  • The obligation to disclose inside information: “The horror! The horror!”. Butterworths Journal of International Banking & Financial Law (Vol 26 No 9) 
  • CRD3 Remuneration rules and existing agreements: an English perspective (with Emily Neill).  Butterworths Journal of International Banking & Financial Law (Vol 26 No 3)

Selected earlier reported cases

Financial Services

  • R (BBA) v Financial Services Authority and Financial Ombudsman Service [2011] EWHC 999 (Admin)

Commercial

  • Surgicraft v Paradigm Biodevices (High Court, 18 November 2010)
  • Arab Banking Corporation v AHAB and others and ABC Islamic Bank v AHAB and others
  • Rayden v Edwardo
  • Ata v Bashir
  • Lombard and others v Aslam and others (High Court (QB), 9 October 2009)
  • L v M
  • Re Bloomsbury International Ltd

Employment

  • Shah and Williams v GBST (2011)
  • Wilkinson v Therapeutics UK Limited (Southampton Employment Tribunal, September 2010)
  • Atikinson v Serendipity (November 2010)
  • Edwards v Swindon Borough Council (9 July 2010) 
  • Adamson v Swansea University (23 February 2010)

Tax

  • Unitrading and others v HMRC
  • Telefonica O2 UK Limited v Ofcom [2010] CAT 25

Other work experience

Dorset Police 2001-2005 (various roles)

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