“Thomas de la Mare KC is an absolute star of the Bar and an exceptional advocate.”
Chambers and Partners, 2025
“A silk with a razor-sharp mind.”
Legal 500, 2025
“Thomas is a powerhouse; he is incredibly impressive on his feet, and has an extraordinary capability to manage a complex case load effortlessly.”
Chambers & Partners, 2024
“He is legendary for his creative and lateral thinking. He comes up with winning ideas that others just don’t think of.”
Legal 500, 2024
“A brilliant advocate who has judges eating out of his hands.”
Chambers and Partners, 2023
“Immensely clever and dynamic. A great person to work with.”
Chambers and Partners, 2023
“Tom is one of the best silks around, always the cleverest person in the room and several steps ahead of others in his strategic thinking.”
Legal 500, 2023
“He is a very persuasive and charismatic advocate.”
Chambers and Partners, 2022
“The go-to silk for competition and Brexit issues impacting the sports sector.”
Legal 500, 2022
“A brilliantly creative mind full of ideas, he is super-bright and laser-sharp.”
Legal 500, 2022
“Intellectually powerful and a remarkably quick advocate on his feet.”
Legal 500, 2021
“He's always at the top of his game.”
Chambers and Partners, 2021
“He has rightfully earnt the respect of the court and judges on EU law.”
Legal 500, 2021
“He has a phenomenal ability to unpick the most technical issues and cut through them to simplify the arguments.”
Legal 500, 2021
“One of the most creative barristers I’ve come across.”
Legal 500, 2021
“Tom is a formidable advocate, who has a real passion for his clients' cases. He brings real creativity and flair to the table, often developing knock-out arguments that others simply wouldn't think of.”
Chambers and Partners, 2020
“He has very good judgement and is very persuasive. Whether in court or in a conference, he talks and the whole room goes with him.”
Chambers and Partners, 2020
“Incredibly clever, he is one of the most accessible silks.”
Legal 500, 2019
“An intellectually outstanding silk and a hugely dynamic and creative advocate who is highly impressive in court.”
Chambers and Partners, 2019
“A very clever, strategic lawyer. He brings cases to life by being energetic but not at all aggressive, and clients like him because he puts his all into every case.”
Chambers and Partners, 2019
“A committed and fearless advocate. He can find an argument when all hope is lost.”
Legal 500, 2018
“A powerful and persuasive advocate.”
Legal 500, 2015
Tom is a highly versatile lawyer whose practice straddles public/EU law, competition/regulatory law and commercial law, and who has achieved recognition as a leading practitioner in eleven different practice areas. Tom is noted for his innovative legal problem solving - drawing upon the many aspects of his practice - and his excellent advocacy. He is regularly instructed in highly complex cases spanning different areas of law, to lead large teams of counsel and solicitors.
In the public law field, Tom’s work has a strong emphasis on: commercial JR, particularly economic sectoral regulation (gas, electricity, water, telecoms) where Tom has acted for and against most of the sectoral regulators; pharmaceutical and life sciences regulation; sanctions work; civil liberties and national security issues; data protection and privacy; social security; medical regulation and discipline; and environmental cases. Tom is a noted expert on proportionality, the control of secondary legislation and on challenges to primary legislation, having obtained the first ever declaration of incompatibility by consent (Blood No.2) and the last EOC declaration to disapply primary legislation for incompatibility with EU law (Hughes).
In the competition field, Tom has appeared in many of the leading competition law damages cases (Provimi, Devenish), acting regularly for both Claimants and Defendants in follow and hybrid claims, as well as in standalone cases. Tom did the first CPO case and has been involved in numerous CPOs since for both Claimants and Defendants. Tom has particular expertise in the application of the competition rules in the context of sport, acting for both the regulated (clubs, players etc) and the regulators/leagues (RFU, Premier League, ECB) and in standalone disputes about sports data, promotion/relegation, financial fair play etc.
Tom’s commercial work has an emphasis on group litigation (most recently leading the various Dieselgate disputes, including the ground-breaking PanNox litigation), conflicts issues (most recently MV Prestige), economic torts (particularly market-facing disputes), privacy (e.g. ENRC v Gerrard) and restitution litigation (e.g. the ALFs litigation).
A unifying feature of all of Tom’s work is his noted expertise in EU law work in all hues, public, regulatory or commercial. Before Brexit, Tom appeared in many CJEU/GC cases, in areas ranging from sanctions, to competition and sport, trademarks, consumer law, pharmaceutical work , social security co-ordination to conflicts, data protection/privacy and to Brexit itself (Tom acted for HMG in the Wightman case). Tom appeared in the last two Article 267 TFEU references from the UK (DfCNI and MV Prestige).
Tom is recognised as a leading silk by latest editions of both the independent legal directories, Chambers & Partners (11 categories and a “Star of the Bar”), Legal 500 (5 categories). Key recent quotes include:
Previous comments include:
There is a very considerable overlap between Tom’s public law, human rights and EU and environmental expertise. Clients seek Tom out, in particular, for his ability to provide comprehensive expert advice straddling these fields. Current comments (Chambers 2025):
Tom has expertise in a wide range of fields of commercial, technical and professional regulation and discipline, particularly where harmonized by EU law such as: pharmaceuticals, medicinal devices, foods and food supplements, pesticides and GMOs; financial services, legal services; medical services and qualifications; transport/aviation, broadcasting and advertising (see Media section below for further detail).
Tom’s EU public law practice is extremely broad (see further below for the commercial aspects of Tom’s EU practice). He regularly appeared for and against the UK in the CJEU/GC and in cases raising EU law points in domestic tribunals. The public law dimension to Tom’s EU practice embraces subjects as diverse as customs and duties control, social security co-ordination, immigration and asylum, discrimination, citizenship, free movement (goods, persons, services), the EU Charter.
“Thomas de la Mare KC is very impressive in court.”
Chambers and Partners, 2025
“Thomas is incredible at getting to the heart of key issues and getting to persuasive arguments.”
Chambers and Partners, 2025
“Thomas is brilliant, great in court and fights really hard. He is a very strategic thinker and gets through an insane amount of work.”
Chambers and Partners, 2025
“A silk with a razor-sharp mind.”
Legal 500, 2025
“Incredibly bright; he thinks of different perspectives and can pick up totally new areas of law in no time at all. He is otherworldly.”
Chambers and Partners, 2023
“He is highly knowledgeable and his broad practice makes him very attractive for all sorts of different disputes.”
Chambers and Partners, 2023
“He is very quick to see the key points and very practical. He is extremely articulate and forceful when putting across his points for the client.”
Chambers and Partners, 2023
“Incredibly hard-working and quite fearless.”
Chambers and Partners, 2022
“Incredibly hard-working and quite fearless.”
Chambers and Partners, 2022
“He is innovative in his thinking.”
Legal 500, 2022
“Intellectually powerful and a remarkably quick advocate on his feet.”
Legal 500, 2021
“Very enthusiastic and entertaining, and keeps the court's interest.”
Chambers and Partners, 2021
“Quick, hard-working and a force to be reckoned with.”
Chambers and Partners, 2021
“He has such charm and flair and so engages the judges that the courts just lap him up.”
Chambers and Partners, 2020
“He is incredibly bright, creative and committed to his clients.”
Chambers and Parters, 2020
“He has very good judgement and is very persuasive. Whether in court or in a conference, he talks and the whole room goes with him.”
Chambers and Partners, 2020
“An excellent team player.”
Legal 500, 2019
“A very clever, strategic lawyer. He brings cases to life by being energetic but not at all aggressive, and clients like him because he puts his all into every case.”
Chambers and Partners, 2019
“Strong technically and excellent at delivering clear advice. Brilliant under pressure.”
Chambers and Partners, 2019
“Very energetic, always looking for a new angle and willing to push the boat out in court - that's important in a difficult case.”
Chambers and Partners, 2019
“A committed and fearless advocate. He can find an argument when all hope is lost.”
Legal 500, 2018
“He is brilliant under pressure... and a very good advocate.”
Chambers and Partners, 2018
“Mind-blowing performance which is impressive to watch. He wows the court and comes up with clever ways of putting his arguments across”
Chambers and Partners, 2017
“Ferocious; he reacts with lightning-quick speed to even the most unexpected curveballs.”
Legal 500, 2017
“A real big-hitter at the public law Bar”
Legal 500, 2016
“A great advocate and a brilliant strategist”
Legal 500, 2016
“A powerful and persuasive advocate.”
Legal 500, 2015
Tom acted for the successful appellant MSCC in the most important water regulation case of the last 20 years; a 7 person Supreme Court decided to confine its earlier decision of Marcic to its particular facts, and reasserted the potency of common law causes of action unless clearly and explicitly ousted by a statutory scheme.
Tom acted for the AIRE Centre as Intervener in this appeal relating to the rights granted by immigration officers and the relationship between those rights and the ability to apply for the new residence status recognised in the European Union Settlement Scheme contained in Appendix EU to the Immigration Rules.
Tom acted for the Claimant in an important case concerning backdated payments for universal credit.
Tom acted for the Claimant in a complex social security co-ordination dispute raising key issues about Universal Credit, the Withdrawal Agreement and the export of benefits. The Supreme Court has granted permission to appeal. The case may give rise to the first post-IPCD reference to the CJEU under Part 2 of the Withdrawal Agreement.
Tom acted for Northumbrian Water in relation to its challenge to the operation of performance incentives in the pricing control regime applied to consumer water companies. The case is now a leading authority on the (non)existence of the putative public law duty to prescribe or adopt a policy.
Tom acted for the Public Law Project as Intervener in proceedings at the Divisional Court where The Public Order Act 1986 (Serious Disruption to the Life of the Community) Regulations 2023 were found to be unlawful.
Tom acted for the Independent Monitoring Authority as Intervener in the Upper Tribunal in relation to the Secretary of State for the Home Department’s approach to decision-making on applications for status under the EU Settlement Scheme (“EUSS”).
Tom acted for the Law Society in its successful judicial review relating to the Lord Chancellor’s decision not to increase criminal legal aid fees for solicitors by the minimum 15% recommended by a government-commissioned review.
Tom acted for AT in the UT and Court of Appeal in the leading case on the operation of Parts 1 and 2 of the Withdrawal Agreement.
Acting for two Afghan families in a high profile judicial review relating to the UK government’s Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (“ARAP”) scheme.
Acting for the claimants in this challenge relating to the duties on the NHS to meet waiting times for medical treatment.
Tom acted for The AIRE Centre as intervener in this case relating to the payment of the care component of disability living allowance.
Tom acted for Flinn Kays in this appeal of a challenge against the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in relation to the refusal of a claim for universal credit.
Acted for HM in judicial review proceedings concerning unlawful exercise of search and seizure powers in relation to migrants arriving on ‘small boats’ and in relation to the retention of data taken from their mobile telephones.
Tom’s civil liberties practice has a wide scope: terrorism, torture, unlawful detention, free speech, data protection and privacy, discrimination, property and fair hearings have featured particularly prominently in Tom’s recent work for a diverse range of individual, corporate and public clients. Tom was for many years a Special Advocate and involved as such in some of the highest profile cases (Belmarsh, Binyam Mohammed, Abu Doha); and recently has been involved in long-running and ground-breaking privacy litigation in the IPT against the security services (for Privacy International and Liberty). He has done a substantial number of national security control order, TPIM and JSA cases for Claimants, notably the Kamoka/LIFG litigation.
“Tom is phenomenal. He is highly intelligent, very quick to come up with effective strategies in complex cases, and hugely knowledgeable about EU/retained EU and Withdrawal Agreement law.”
Chambers and Partners, 2025
“Thomas sees things coming before others do; he is very good in spotting trends and problems before they arise.”
Chambers and Partners, 2025
“Thomas is extremely hard-working. He has an engaging style of advocacy.”
Chambers and Partners, 2025
“Thomas is tenacious and creative and relishes intellectual challenges.”
Chambers and Partners, 2023
“A proper heavyweight in human rights law.”
Chambers and Partners, 2023
“He provides very clear and helpful advice.”
Legal 500, 2023
“He is a very persuasive and charismatic advocate.”
Chambers and Partners, 2022
“He is a very persuasive and charismatic advocate.”
Chambers and Partners, 2022
“Innovative in his thinking; on human rights matters he has gone out of his way to give value to the clients because he knows he is on the right side and they will not be able to proceed with their fight otherwise.”
Legal 500, 2022
“Tom is adept at spotting angles and arguments that other barristers miss, making him a go-to lawyer for tricky cases.”
Chambers and Partners, 2021
“He truly cares about his clients and invests every effort in helping them to achieve the best possible result.”
Chambers and Partners, 2021
“One of the most creative barristers I’ve come across.”
Legal 500, 2021
“Tom is a formidable advocate, who has a real passion for his clients' cases. He brings real creativity and flair to the table, often developing knock-out arguments that others simply wouldn't think of.”
Chambers and Partners, 2020
“He has an excellent bedside manner, he's very creative and he thinks outside the box.”
Chambers and Partners, 2020
“An imaginative, lateral-thinker who fights the client’s corner.”
Legal 500, 2019
“He is absolutely terrific.”
Chambers and Partners, 2019
“He is extremely impressive and tenacious. He is very passionate about his clients and is always quick on his feet.”
Chambers and Partners, 2019
“Hugely experienced especially in relation to European Convention rights and freedoms.”
Legal 500, 2018
“His advocacy is first rate.”
Chambers and Partners, 2018
“He's able to come up with novel ideas and to implement them effectively; an extremely innovative advocate”
Chambers and Partners, 2017
“He is a force of nature. Hugely enthusiastic, creative and hard-working, he's a very fluent and brave advocate”
Chambers and Partners, 2017
“Tenacious; he brings a fresh perspective to win points that seem unwinnable.”
Legal 500, 2017
Tom acted for AT in the UT and Court of Appeal in the leading case on the continued operation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU and of EU fundamental rights via Parts 1 and 2 of the Withdrawal Agreement. The case is rare application of the Art 1 CFREU principle of dignity.
Tom acted for the Public Law Project as Intervener in proceedings at the Divisional Court where The Public Order Act 1986 (Serious Disruption to the Life of the Community) Regulations 2023 were found to be unlawful.
Tom acted pro bono for the Claimants before the Investigatory Powers Tribunal concerning the legality of data held by MI5 within its Technology Environment between late 2014 and April 2019.
Tom acted for a large number of Libyans said to members of or affiliated to the LIFG in connection with their: (a) detention in the UK under immigration detention pending DWA and/or under Control Orders; (b) detention and torture abroad; and (c) subjection to domestic sanctions. The Claimants contended that UK administrative action was tainted by UK complicity in wrongdoing and its non-disclosure to the Courts; and (in the case of those detained abroad) of UK complicity in torture, arbitrary detention or CIDT. The case settled after litigation to the Court of Appeal and back.
Tom is a highly experienced and sought-after competition lawyer. Tom acted in the very earliest follow on damages claims and the first CPO and has acted for Claimants, Defendants, regulators and the regulated alike. He has an extensive practice ranging from pure commercial/competition work, through to regulatory competition work in fields like gas, electricity, water and telecoms regulation (areas that draw on his strengths in EU and public law work too). Recently Tom has been instructed on CPOs for both Claimants and Defendants (Riefa, Musical Instruments, Motor Finance), as well as in high profile standalone or hybrid litigation (FX, Trucks, Interchange, Sports Radar, Diesel)
He is a long-standing member of the CAT Users Group.
Tom was the Legal 500’s EU and Competition Silk of the Year in 2019 and is ranked Band 1 and 2 for Competition law in Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners respectively (“He is a leader in this area and really knows his stuff. He was one of the first barristers to really see the potential of group and class actions”).
“Pure” competition damages: Tom has acted in a large number of the most prominent competition damages claims since the Vitamins litigation in the mid-00s (in which Tom acted for the Defendants, Aventis, in Provimi, Devenish and other reported cases).
Since then, Tom has acted for Claimants in Air Cargo (Emerald), RoRo, Interchange (multiple parties and firms), Peugeot Bearings, Trucks, Diesel, among others. He has also worked for Defendants in the various vitamin cases (Aventis), LCDs (Toshiba in Nokia) on Power Cables (Nexans), the FX litigation (Goldman Sachs), sports data litigation (for Genius), football shirts litigation (for Newcastle).
Blended competition claims and competition consumer law: Tom is at the forefront of modern cases involving competition law issues blended with other private law claims. This was a particular characteristic of the two strands of the recent Genius litigation (which also involved database, confidentiality and unlawful means claims) and is a particular feature of the Diesel GLO claims against Mercedes, BMW and VW (given their participation in a technology suppression cartel). Tom’s particular interest in broadcasting, media, consumer law and data protection means he is well placed to advise and act on such issues where they interface (as they increasingly do, particularly in the digital space) with competition law, especially in abuse of dominance claims.
CPOs and “book built” claims: Tom has written extensively, advised, and acted in relation to CPOs, including in the Pride Mobility Scooters application (the first under the Act), including both follow on and standalone claims. Recently Tom has been instructed in the Riefa proceedings against Apple and Amazon; and by Defendants in the applications for CPOs in Musical Instruments and Motor Vehicle Finance. Tom was a member of the CAT Working Party on collective proceedings.
Competition & Sport: Tom is an acknowledged expert on the interface between competition law, common law, restraint of trade, and sport, in relation to issues such as salary caps (RFU, Scarlets, F1), financial fair play (RFU, competition law arbitrator in the QPR arbitration), player nationality requirements (ECB, RFU, F1), fixture and league sanctioning/breakaway competitions (Premier League) and regulation by dominant sports bodies (ECB, RFU). Tom is also well versed in the competition (and other) events relating to “Listed Events” (having acted in the GC/CJEU in the FIFA/UEFA cases) as well as the competition law issues in relating to sports broadcasting (e.g. Virgin complaint, Genius litigation).
Regulatory EU/competition work: Tom has undertaken work in all the main fields of sectoral regulation based on EU frameworks on both pure competition points and sectoral regulatory issues (such as systems access, price control etc), notably telecoms (both for and against Ofcom, including currently acting against Ofcom in the first exercise of its competition investigation powers), gas and electricity (for and against Ofgem and the NIAUR) and water (against Ofwat).
“He is at the top of his game; he has a capacity to think in other ways that other barristers don't when it comes to litigation strategy. He serves our clients very well.”
Chambers and Partners, 2025
“Thomas de la Mare is very clever and creative.”
Chambers and Partners, 2025
“Tom is innovative, forceful, good on his feet, humorous and a pleasure to work with.”
Legal 500, 2025
“Immensely clever and dynamic. A great person to work with.”
Chambers and Partners, 2023
“Tom is one of the best silks around, always the cleverest person in the room and several steps ahead of others in his strategic thinking.”
Legal 500, 2023
“He is an absolute star, intellectually superb and excellent in his presentation.”
Chambers and Partners, 2022
“He is an absolute star, intellectually superb and excellent in his presentation.”
Chambers and Partners, 2022
“Tom is pre-eminent in the field, entrusted by clients and plainly highly respected by the tribunals before whom he appears.”
Legal 500, 2022
“He is a leader in this area and really knows his stuff. He was one of the first barristers to really see the potential of group and class actions.”
Legal 500, 2022
“He is very inventive, clever and passionate in his delivery.”
Chambers and Partners, 2021
“He is an innovative, out-of-the-box thinker.”
Chambers and Partners, 2021
“He has rightfully earnt the respect of the court and judges on EU law.”
Legal 500, 2021
“He has a phenomenal ability to unpick the most technical issues and cut through them to simplify the arguments.”
Legal 500, 2021
“Incredibly clever, and an excellent team player.”
Legal 500, 2019
“Incredibly clever, he is one of the most accessible silks.”
Legal 500, 2019
“He is brilliantly creative and able to come up with clever ways of putting points.”
Chambers and Partners, 2019
“Popular with both claimants and defendants for competition follow-on cartel damages claims.”
Chambers and Partners, 2019
“He's excellent on difficult cases because he's a real scrapper and won't be deterred.”
Chambers and Partners, 2019
“An imaginative, lateral-thinker who fights the client’s corner.”
Legal 500, 2018
“He is an extremely effective and eloquent advocate.”
Chambers and Partners, 2018
“Always thinking outside of the box.”
Legal 500, 2017
“A master of his brief and an utterly persuasive advocate.”
Legal 500, 2017
“Cuts through complex competition law issues quickly due to his sharp mind. His easy-going manner is appreciated by clients.”
Chambers and Partners, 2016
“He is first-class, innovative and easy to work with.”
Chambers and Partners, 2016
“He thinks at a million miles an hour”
Legal 500, 2016
An application for a CPO in a claim brought on behalf of a class of c. 1 million claimants who bought cars using certain finance products.
Tom acts for the proposed class representative in an application for a CPO alleging an anti-competitive agreement between Apple and Amazon.
Tom acted for Newcastle United FC in this successful defence of Sports Direct’s application for an interim injunction to require Newcastle to supply it with replica kit for the 2024/5 season. Tom is acting for Newcastle in the wider CAT litigation brought against Newcastle, adidas and JD Sports.
Tom has acted for the claimants in more than 10 GLOs related to ongoing proceedings concerning VW and other vehicles; 3 of such manufacturers (VW, Mercedes and BMW) participated in a technology suppression cartel identified by the Commission and the Korean FTC, whose implications for the use of defeat devices is a key issue in such litigation.
Acting for the Claimants in collective proceeding relating to musical instruments.
Acts for Stonegate Farmers in substantial proceedings in the High Court. The case is the first ever set of proceedings for breach of statutory duty under the Enterprise Act flowing from the breach of undertakings given by the Defendants to the CMA as part of a merger investigation.
UK litigation arising from the Commission's decisions relating to the alleged trucks cartel. Tom acts for over a 100 local authorities. Amongst the many issues raised by the litigation is the application of the pass on defence to local authorities.
Tom acted in the recent sizeable Recolight litigation which raised significant issues about, amongst other things, the interface between A.101(3) justification and environmental regulation/benefits. Tom acted for Recolight the Producers Compliance Scheme that seeks to maximise the recycling of modern energy efficient (but toxic) lightbulbs.
Tom is a highly experienced and much sought-after EU lawyer. He has an extensive practice ranging from EU regulatory (with its blend of public and competition law), commercial EU (such as financial services and conflicts) to diverse “pure public” EU work in areas such as pharmaceutical regulation, data protection and privacy, free movement cases, EU social security and EU fundamental rights and discrimination.
Tom is an acknowledged expert on both Brexit (in particular the operation of EUWA 2018, the Withdrawal Agreement, EUFRA 2020, the TCA and REULA) and (formerly) state liability claims.
Tom was the Legal 500’s EU and Competition Silk of the Year in 2019 and is ranked in Band 1 for EU Law (“Tom is pre-eminent in the field, entrusted by clients and plainly highly respected by the tribunals before whom he appears”) by both Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners.
State liability: Tom has acted on both sides of many EU state liability claims, including recently for a claimant class of persons affected by mistransposition of an EU Directive, and for the MIB in the Colley litigation (heard by the CA in January 2022). Such cases require a mix of public law expertise (is a breach ‘manifest and grave’?) and commercial litigation know-how (causation, quantum, market modelling) and have strong similarities with competition law “follow on” claims.
Brexit: Tom is one of the acknowledged experts on the UK’s Brexit arrangements, including all aspects of EUWA 2018 and EUFRA 2020 and the Withdrawal Agreement and TCA. Tom acted for the Public Law Project in the Miller2 litigation and for the UK in CJEU Grand Chamber hearing in Wightman. He frequently gives presentations on these topics, has advised extensively on them, and has been brought into litigation to advise specifically on these issues.
EU Fundamental Rights and Treaty rights cases: Tom has been involved in some of the most prominent recent cases involving EU Fundamental Rights and EU Treaty rights issues of recent years, including Lumsdon in the Supreme Court (the leading authority on EU proportionality), FACT (proportionality and free movement of goods in relation to the Ivory Act), Hughes (Pensions Act disapplied as incompatible with EU fundamental age discrimination rights), TfL (EU free movement and proportionality) the Privacy International Litigation (s.94 Telecommunications Act inconsistent with EU privacy law) and AT v. SSWP (CFREU and the Withdrawal Agreement).
“Thomas de la Mare KC is an absolute star of the Bar and an exceptional advocate.”
Chambers and Partners, 2025
“Thomas de la Mare KC has tremendous depth of knowledge and experience, and has always been a top choice for European law matters.”
Chambers and Partners, 2025
“Thomas de la Mare KC is absolutely terrific - a force of nature.”
Chambers and Partners, 2025
“Tom is a top of the range advocate. Unrivalled depth of knowledge in his specialist areas, especially EU law, combined with an attractive, clear and persuasive advocacy style.”
Legal 500, 2025
“Immensely clever and dynamic. A great person to work with.”
Chambers and Partners, 2023
“Tom is one of the best silks around, always the cleverest person in the room and several steps ahead of others in his strategic thinking.”
Legal 500, 2023
“He is very thorough and he has a fantastic knowledge of European and world football regulations.”
Chambers and Partners, 2022
“He is an absolute star, intellectually superb and excellent in his presentation.”
Chambers and Partners, 2022
“Tom is pre-eminent in the field, entrusted by clients and plainly highly respected by the tribunals before whom he appears.”
Legal 500, 2022
“He is a leader in this area and really knows his stuff. He was one of the first barristers to really see the potential of group and class actions.”
Legal 500, 2022
“A real depth of knowledge of EU law combined with mastery of complex facts makes him a formidable advocate.”
Legal 500, 2022
“He is very inventive, clever and passionate in his delivery.”
Chambers and Partners, 2021
“He is an innovative, out-of-the-box thinker.”
Chambers and Partners, 2021
“He has rightfully earnt the respect of the court and judges on EU law.”
Legal 500, 2021
“He has a phenomenal ability to unpick the most technical issues and cut through them to simplify the arguments.”
Legal 500, 2021
“Incredibly clever, and an excellent team player.”
Legal 500, 2019
“Incredibly clever, he is one of the most accessible silks.”
Legal 500, 2019
“He is brilliantly creative and able to come up with clever ways of putting points.”
Chambers and Partners, 2019
“He's excellent on difficult cases because he's a real scrapper and won't be deterred.”
Chambers and Partners, 2019
“A big player in the EU law space.”
Legal 500, 2018
“An imaginative, lateral-thinker who fights the client’s corner.”
Legal 500, 2018
“A big player in the EU law space.”
Legal 500, 2018
“He is an extremely effective and eloquent advocate.”
Chambers and Partners, 2018
“Always thinking outside of the box.”
Legal 500, 2017
“He is first-class, innovative and easy to work with.”
Chambers and Partners, 2016
“A master of his brief and an utterly persuasive advocate.”
Legal 500, 2017
“He is first-class, innovative and easy to work with.”
Chambers and Partners, 2016
“He thinks at a million miles an hour”
Legal 500, 2016
Tom acted for AT in the UT and Court of Appeal in the leading case on the operation of Parts 1 and 2 of the Withdrawal Agreement.
Tom is acting for the London Steam-Ship Owners' Mutual Insurance Association Ltd in related litigation arising from the sinking of the M/T Prestige in 2002. The case raises fundamental issues about the relationship between judicial and arbitral dispute resolution; about damages or compensation for breaches of equitable obligations to arbitrate (and s.50/Lord Cairns act damages).
Tom acted for the Motor Insurer’s Bureau in relation to the extent to which the Motor Insurance Bureau has an obligation under the Codified Motor Insurance Directive 2009/103/EC to provide compensation where there is an unidentified or uninsured vehicle.
Tom has acted for the claimants in more than 10 GLOs related to ongoing proceedings concerning VW and other vehicles; 3 of such manufacturers (VW, Mercedes and BMW) participated in a technology suppression cartel identified by the Commission and the Korean FTC, whose implications for the use of defeat devices is a key issue in such litigation.
Tom acted for the AIRE Centre as Intervener in this appeal relating to the rights granted by immigration officers and the relationship between those rights and the ability to apply for the new residence status recognised in the European Union Settlement Scheme contained in Appendix EU to the Immigration Rules.
Tom acted for the Claimant in a complex social security co-ordination dispute raising key issues about Universal Credit, the Withdrawal Agreement and the export of benefits. The Supreme Court has granted permission to appeal. The case may give rise to the first post-IPCD reference to the CJEU under Part 2 of the Withdrawal Agreement.
Tom practises extensively in environmental law. Through leading cases like Fish Legal (CJEU), Barr v Biffa (CA) and the Manchester Ship Canal case (SCt) Tom has built a leading practice in water and waste litigation and its interaction with private and public nuisance. Through the Dieselgate litigation Tom has added a deep understanding of air pollution regulation. And through regulatory work Tom has added expertise on renewables and their regulation, both in mainland GB and in the SEM/NI. Tom has also provided a wide range of regulators (e.g. OEP) and the regulated with advice on the operation and application of environmental legislation.
Client comments (Chambers & Partners, 2025) include:
"Thomas is my go-to silk for complex and high-stakes environmental matters. He is a hugely impressive and persuasive advocate, who quickly distils complex cases into cogent and compelling arguments."
Examples of Tom’s current and recent work in this area can be found below.
“Thomas is my go-to silk for complex and high-stakes environmental matters. He is a hugely impressive and persuasive advocate, who quickly distils complex cases into cogent and compelling arguments.”
Chambers and Partners, 2025
“He's very creative in finding solutions to problems. He is a formidable operator.”
Chambers and Partners, 2023
“He's very creative in finding solutions to problems. He is a formidable operator.”
Chambers and Partners, 2023
“An extremely impressive counsel who is good at getting the ear of the court and forcefully bringing home to the bench the practical impact of the complex legal positions.”
Legal 500, 2023
“A brilliantly creative mind full of ideas, he is super-bright and laser-sharp.”
Legal 500, 2022
“He has a phenomenal ability to unpick the most technical issues and cut through them to simplify the arguments.”
Legal 500, 2021
“Recommended for claimants in public law matters and very strong in EU cases.”
Legal 500, 2019
“Recommended for product liability issues.”
Legal 500, 2018
“He is brilliant and competent.”
Chambers and Partners, 2018
“His grasp of cross-jurisdictional issues is really impressive and he shows a firm understanding of policy background and how things interrelate between domestic and international law”
Chambers and Partners, 2017
“Robust, creative and practical.”
Legal 500, 2017
“He is such an attractive advocate. He is very thoughtful and open with the court. He is just very passionate and throws all of himself into the case.”
Chambers and Partners, 2016
“Robust, creative and practical”
Legal 500, 2016
Tom acted for Northumbrian Water in relation to its challenge to the operation of performance incentives in the pricing control regime applied to consumer water companies. The case is now a leading authority on the (non)existence of the putative public law duty to prescribe or adopt a policy.
In the Court of Appeal Tom acted for acted for five NGOs with an interest in the environmental health of waterbodies in a high profile case concerning potential avenues of redress in respect of discharges of sewage into waterbodies; in the Supreme Court To was instructed by the appellant.
Tom is acting for the claimants in more than 10 GLOs related to ongoing proceedings concerning VW and other vehicles. The cases raise fundamental issues about environmental regulation (air quality) and its interaction with private law liability.
Given Tom’s strength in EU, conflicts of law and competition law, he is regularly in demand in commercial disputes intersecting with those areas, particularly in the burgeoning field of group litigation. Tom has regularly acted in commercial issues in the CJEU, THE Court of Appeal as well as the Commercial Court and Chancery Division. Beyond these areas Tom’s general commercial litigation practice spans a wide range of areas including: conspiracy and economic torts (especially using civilian unfair competition torts with English disclosure); civil fraud, particularly in a commercial employment context; confidential information and soft IP (trademarks, copyright); restraint of trade and restrictive covenants.
“Forthright, considered and on top of the detail quickly.”
Chambers and Partners, 2025
“Tom is a highly effective advocate with a valuable array of specialisms.”
Chambers and Partners, 2023
“A brilliant advocate who has judges eating out of his hands.”
Chambers and Partners, 2023
“He is an excellent and engaging advocate.”
Chambers and Partners, 2023
“He is an absolute star, intellectually superb and excellent in his presentation.”
Chambers and Partners, 2022
“He is an absolute star, intellectually superb and excellent in his presentation.”
Chambers and Partners, 2022
“You cannot help but be drawn into his submissions.”
Chambers and Partners, 2021
“He is very creative and thoughtful about the way he will present an argument.”
Chambers and Partners, 2021
“He always thinks outside the box and is great to work with.”
Chambers and Partners, 2019
“An intellectually outstanding silk and a hugely dynamic and creative advocate who is highly impressive in court.”
Chambers and Partners, 2019
“A hugely dynamic and creative advocate, who is highly impressive in court.”
Chambers and Partners, 2018
“Amazingly talented and a great lateral thinker”
Chambers and Partners, 2017
“He is robust, creative and practical.”
Chambers and Partners, 2016
“He is a very knowledgeable and creative lawyer. He has a distinctly EU background, but is able to use that knowledge outside the normal ambit.”
Chambers and Partners, 2016
Tom is acting for the London Steam-Ship Owners' Mutual Insurance Association Ltd in related litigation arising from the sinking of the M/T Prestige in 2002. The case raises fundamental issues about the relationship between judicial and arbitral dispute resolution; about damages or compensation for breaches of equitable obligations to arbitrate (and s.50/Lord Cairns act damages).
Tom is acting for the claimants in more than 10 GLOs related to ongoing proceedings concerning VW and other vehicles. The cases are replete with commercial issues in relation to deceit and implied representations; quantification of loss in market-facing torts; satisfactory qualify and regulatory standards.
Tom acted for the LSE in relation to the Norwich Pharmacal claim brought by Burford Capital.
Ongoing litigation about a fraud on a company consequent upon a scheme by the former owners and new directors of a company (a leading egg producer) to frustrate its demerger as ordered by the CMA (OFT as was).
Tom’s EU and public law expertise combine in regulatory pharma and life sciences work (PPPs, medical devices, food law, borderline products), which Tom has been doing since he first came to the Bar. He has extensive experience of pharmaceuticals litigation in the domestic Court, the CJEU and GC; and has acted in and advised extensively upon the post-Brexit landscape. Tom even acted for the EMA in its dispute with its landlord following its departure from the UK after Brexit. Examples of his current and recent work in this area can be found below.
Tom had acted on or advised in relation to cases raising issues under the centralized and decentralized procedure, the orphan drugs regulation, conditional marketing authorization, prescription incentive schemes, off-label prescribing, conditional MAs, the various post-Brexit MAs, reimbursement, drug pricing and cartels, parallel importing and associated IP issues. Tom has acted regularly for both generic and originator companies; and as part of a wider strategic team in parallel regulatory and IP/patent disputes. He is ranked Band 1 in Chambers & Partners, 2025, Life Sciences Regulatory, where client comments (Chambers & Partners, 2025) observe:
Tom practises extensively in sports law and examples of his current and recent work in this area can be found below, and is particularly sought-after for advice on the application of competition law to sports regulation. He has acted for or advised most of the major SGBs (Premier League, EFL, ECB, RFU, LTA), for teams or athletes, for sponsors and in associated fields like sports data and broadcasting. Tom also has advised and acted regularly on issues connected with the policing of sports events.
Tom is ranked in Sport in both Chambers & Partners (Band 3) and Legal 500 (Band 2, “best in the business for competition law issues in sport”)
Tom has written (with Ravi Mehta) the Chapter in Lewis & Taylor on Sport on EU free movement rights.
“He is my go-to silk for sports competition law work.”
Chambers and Partners, 2025
“He will come up with astonishingly creative approaches to cases. He is remarkable in terms of his creativity.”
Chambers and Partners, 2025
“He's a good, creative thinker, and if there is a case where passion and creativity is needed, he is the guy.”
Chambers and Partners, 2025
“Best in the business for competition law issues in sport.”
Legal 500, 2025
“He is just extraordinarily bright.”
Chambers and Partners, 2023
“Thomas de la Mare KC has got the expertise and excellent knowledge of industry.”
Chambers and Partners, 2023
“He is very thorough and he has a fantastic knowledge of European and world football regulations.”
Chambers and Partners, 2022
“He is very thorough and he has a fantastic knowledge of European and world football regulations.”
Chambers and Partners, 2022
“The go-to silk for competition and Brexit issues impacting the sports sector.”
Legal 500, 2022
“Seen more and more in the sports sector.”
Legal 500, 2018
Tom acted for Newcastle United FC in this successful defence of Sports Direct’s application for an interim injunction to require Newcastle to supply it with replica kit for the 2024/5 season. Tom is acting for Newcastle in the wider CAT litigation brought against Newcastle, adidas and JD Sports.
Tom acted for the EFL in relation to Cardiff’s breach of the ‘30-day rule’ after it paid an initial payment to Nantes FC for the transfer of Emiliano Sala late.
Tom acted for claimants in this case relating to live sports data.
Ever since pupillage with Ian Mill KC 30 years ago, Tom has pursued a practice in Media & Entertainment and Broadcasting litigation, embracing matters such as record company and recording agreement disputes, restraint of trade, film finance, collecting society disputes, broadcasting and advertising regulation and disputes. Tom also undertakes a wide range of related soft IP litigation, whether in copyright, trademarks, passing off and the like.
Tom’s human rights work, and its focus on data protection and privacy, surveillance and bulk data handling also proves invaluable from media and entertainment perspective, as Tom’s recent work in media list cases such as Gerrard v ENRC (on the interface between commercial surveillance and harassment) and Webster v HMRC attest.
With technological convergence such skills have also frequently proved invaluable in competition and sports disputes with broadcasting/entertainment dimensions, such as the live sports data litigation Tom conduced for Genius; or in advising on the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024.
Tom is regularly consulted for his expertise in advertising law, particularly EU law relating to consumer protection. He has regularly advised and acted for the OFT/CMA, the ASA, BCAP and other self-regulatory bodies, as well as private parties.
Tom is ranked as Band 2 (Chambers & Partners, 2025) with commentators stating:
“He's a brilliant lawyer - very academic and very impressive.”
Chambers and Partners, 2025
“Thomas is incredibly accessible, incredibly engaged, hugely persuasive and incredibly resourceful too.”
Chambers and Partners, 2025
“Thomas is brilliantly clever and really responsive. He has a huge brain and is a delight to work with.”
Chambers and Partners, 2023
“Thomas is very good in his analysis of the law and how he presents it.”
Chambers and Partners, 2023
“Tom is a real leader in his field. Super bright, inventive and easy to deal with.”
Legal 500, 2023
“He has great flair, energy and legal thinking.”
Chambers and Partners, 2022
“He has great flair, energy and legal thinking.”
Chambers and Partners, 2022
“He's absurdly clever and very good on his feet.”
Chambers and Partners, 2021
“His case analysis is wonderful and he's really good at drilling down to the main issues and getting to the crux of the matter.”
Chambers and Partners, 2021
“A superlative advocate who has the ability to bring in new and fresh arguments”
Legal 500, 2021
“He's personable, has a very attractive manner and clients really like his approach.”
Chambers and Partners, 2020
“He is an imaginative, lateral-thinker who fights the client’s corner.”
Legal 500, 2019
“He is user-friendly and optimistic, as well as being imaginative and able to look at issues from all angles to work out the boundaries of the problem.”
Chambers and Partners, 2018
“He has a flare that is immediately apparent and offers a no-nonsense approach to cases.”
Legal 500, 2018
“Commands an excellent reputation as a leading media law barrister.”
Chambers and Partners, 2018
“He's a force of nature.”
Chambers and Partners, 2018
“Very smart with an impressive brain”
Chambers and Partners, 2017
“An intelligent and experienced advocate.”
Legal 500, 2017
“He provides extremely focused and insightful advice.”
Legal 500, 2016
Tom acted (with Ian Mill QC) in the successful challenge to the Regulations brought to introduce a private copying exemption pursuant to Article 5(2)(b) of the EU Copyright Directive.
Tom has been involved in a number of high profile telecommunications disputes (e.g. 3G and 4G Auctions, ALFs and associated restitution litigation), acting for, amongst others, O2, H3G, Vodafone, Virgin, 118 118, Lebara, Inmarsat, the MoD and Ofcom.
Tom has particular experience in relation to the national security issues that arise in a telecommunications context, including in relation to surveillance warrants, bulk data warrants and the operation of IPCO, having acted for Privacy International in its eight years of litigation with the security services (including in the CJEU); and latterly in the combined Liberty/Privacy case.
“Thomas is fiercely intelligent and tenacious on his feet.”
Chambers and Partners, 2025
“Thomas de la Mare is a Premier League KC who always adds value.”
Chambers and Partners, 2023
“He is extremely creative and a very good strategist.”
Chambers and Partners, 2023
“He's always at the top of his game.”
Chambers and Partners, 2021
“Tom is an effective advocate on his feet, who is innovative in his arguments.”
Chambers and Partners, 2021
“He is a highly impressive advocate who has an incisive legal mind and an encyclopaedic legal knowledge.”
Chambers and Partners, 2020
“Has the ability to think on his feet in double-quick time.”
Chambers and Partners, 2018
“He is able to grasp complex issues, come up with very pragmatic advice, and take a very business-friendly approach”
Chambers and Partners, 2017
“For telecoms competition work, he really is top-drawer.”
Chambers and Partners, 2016
“A clever chap, and very likeable.”
Chambers and Partners, 2016
“He brings deep knowledge of data protection to the table.”
Legal 500, 2015
Tom acted for 118 118 in relation to the legal issues and appeals arising from Ofcom’s review of Non-Geographic Numbers.
Tom has provided advice across a range of issues connected with telecoms regulation, in particular in relation to issues triggered by the Revised European Framework. Recently Tom has been advising Virgin Media in relation to issues arising under the CRF.
BA (Oxon), 1st class; LLM (EUI)
VAT registration number: 678145894
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