Gerard Rothschild

Commercial Law forms the core of Gerard’s practice, advising and representing clients in a wide range of business litigation and arbitration, often with an EU or international element. Recent published cases include Apple v. Qualcomm on jurisdiction, General Nutrition Investment Co. v. Holland & Barrett on equitable assignment, and Gerald Metals v. Timis on interim relief and the LCIA Rules. Other notable cases on which Gerard has worked include: Secretary of State for Transport v. Paragon (Commercial Court proceedings to recover the cost of replacing all V5 vehicle registration documents); Cherney v. Deripaska (a claim said to be for over $3 billion cited by The Lawyer among the ‘top cases of 2012’); and Sir Keith Mills v. Coutts & Co. (Chancery Division claim alleging mis-selling of investments). From his postgraduate studies, he has particular interests in restitution and the conflict of laws.

In the field of Competition Law, Gerard’s experience includes: the iiyama appeals on the territorial scope of EU competition law; appearing before the Supreme Court in SCOP v. CMA (on the scope of the CMA’s merger jurisdiction); BMI Healthcare v. CC (challenging the unfair procedure adopted in the Private Healthcare market investigation); the Pay TV appeals against Ofcom (before the Competition Appeal Tribunal and the Court of Appeal); the Construction Recruitment Forum penalty appeals by Hays plc and others; Virgin Media v. BSkyB (a High Court action concerning pricing of television channels); and Chester City Council v. Arriva (a Chapter 2 claim relating to public transport). He is a contributing author of Competition Litigation: UK Practice and Procedure (OUP).

As to Public Law, Gerard has particular expertise in commercial judicial review and cases arising in the energy sector. He acted for Scottish Power in the CMA’s review of the RIIO-ED1 price control, for the Northern Irish regulator in the CMA’s consideration of the GD17 price control, and for National Grid and UK Power Networks in judicial review proceedings against Ofgem. Other notable experience includes: the appeals as far as the European Court of Human Rights by the parents of Charlie Gard against the decision to restrict medical treatment for their baby; acting for the Electoral Commission in judicial review proceedings arising out of the 2016 EU Referendum; R (Wheeler) v. Prime Minister (challenging the Government’s opt-in to the European Arrest Warrant scheme); R (BASTA) v. Birmingham Airport (a judicial review concerning taxi licensing); and R (Higher Burrow) v. DEFRA (concerning the policy for controlling tuberculosis in cattle).

Gerard taught Constitutional Law at Magdalen College, Oxford for five years.

He is fluent in French and Spanish.

YEAR OF CALL: 2005