Richard Gordon QC

Richard Gordon is widely recognised as one of the leading silks in Administrative and Public Law, Constitutional Law and Human Rights/Civil Liberties. Increasingly, too, he is recommended in judicial review for EU and Competition Law cases. He is a Visiting Professor at University College London and Honorary Professor at the University of Hong Kong. In 2008 he was a Senior Visiting Fellow at Auckland and Melbourne Universities, and Visiting Professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong 2008 - 2011.  He is currently on the Panel of Queen's Counsel as an advocate for the Welsh Government.

He has acted in many of the most important Public Law, Constitutional and Human Rights cases in recent years. He appears regularly before the UK appellate courts as well as in foreign jurisdictions and before the ECJ and European Court of Human Rights.

His recent Public Law cases include 

  • the Olympic Legacy judicial review challenge involving competition and procurement issues in which he acted for the Olympic Park Legacy company;
  • two landmark constitutional cases before the Court of Final Appeal in Hong Kong and another case involving significant constitutional issues before the Fiji Court of Appeal on behalf of the Government of Fiji;
  • advising a number of hedge funds on human rights issues that have recently come before the Icelandic courts;
  • Advising Cable and Wireless on a judicial review involving regulatory competition issues in Jamaica;
  • successfully representing Virgin Media before the CAT and in the Court of Appeal,on the BSkyB merger case;
  • successfully representing the Boundary Committee of England in the Court of Appeal;
  • acting for Lord Ballyedmond in a major EU case in Northern Ireland on veterinary medicinal products;
  • advising on a range of constitutional, public law and human rights issues including the Digital Economy Act for BT, sanctions regimes issues in relation to Libya and Iraq, disclaimer of peerages and the statutory powers of numerous public bodies including Ofcom, BT, Transport for London and National Grid Gas;
  • appearing for Philip Morris International in the POSD judicial review challenge. 

He has also recently advised in two high profile cases involving National Grid Gas and the Gas regulator and has also advised a British citizen seeking to raise issues of public international law as part of his defence in a case involving UN sanctions against Iraq. He is currently instructed in two high-profile commercial fundamental rights cases that are likely to be litigated in the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

Richard Gordon QC’s Directory Quotes

  • ""high up on the list for commercial judicial review issues," and is a favourite of elite City solicitors as he gives "clear, unequivocal advice." (Chambers & Partners 2013)
  • ""a strikingly accessible lawyer who thinks very widely around all sorts of public law issues." He has international judicial review experience" (Chambers & Partners 2013)
  • "imaginative and innovative and always looking for the best angle to defend or probe a case" (Legal 500 2012)
  • "unanimously considered by those who instruct him to be 'outstanding.'" (Chambers UK 2012)
  • "pre-eminent public law silk Richard Gordon QC is a first port of call for cases involving constitutional, administrative, public and civil liberties law. "He has an incredibly creative legal mind" and is "accessible and always open to discuss things," enthuse sources." (Chambers UK 2012)
  • "The highly regarded Richard Gordon QC is described as ‘the human rights barrister par excellence'." (Legal 500 2011)
  • ‘encyclopaedic knowledge of public law matters' (Legal 500 2010)
  • ‘a pre-eminent public law practitioner with deep knowledge of the environment sector' (Chambers & Partners 2011)

Richard Gordon QC’s CVs