"Immensely smart and hard-working; he leaves no stone unturned"
Hugo’s practice spans all areas of chambers’ work, with a particular focus on competition and commercial litigation. The directories say:
Hugo is regularly instructed in leading and high-profile cases, including cases in The Lawyer’s Top 20 cases from 2016-2021, grappling with new legal issues and often leading to appeals. He frequently appears in the High Court, the Competition Appeal Tribunal, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, as well as the General Court of the EU and the Court of Justice of the EU, appearing for private parties, government bodies and NGOs.
Hugo is regularly instructed to advise and act on competition matters, contentious, regulatory and non-contentious. He has appeared in a series of heavy trials raising complex factual, economic and legal issues, for claimants, defendants and regulators, followed by appeals. Notable current and recent instructions include:
Directory rankings
Legal 500: leading juniors, Tier 2
Chambers & Partners: Band 3
Hugo has a broad experience of commercial disputes, particularly involving civil fraud and related matters. Current and recent instructions include:
Hugo has broad experience across public law. These include:
Hugo has a diverse range of experience under EU law and Brexit-related legal issues, including:
Directory rankings
Legal 500: leading juniors, Tier 3
Chambers & Partners: Up and Coming
Phones 4U v EE Ltd and others [2021] 1 W.L.R. 3270
ClientEarth v European Investment Bank EU:T:2021:42; [2021] 2 C.M.L.R. 17
Mastercard Inc v Merricks [2020] UKSC 51; [2021] 3 All E.R. 285; [2021] Bus. L.R. 25
Sainsbury’s Supermarkets v Visa Europe [2020] UKSC 24; [2020] 4 All E.R. 807; [2021] 1 All E.R. (Comm) 283; [2020] Bus. L.R. 1196; [2020] 5 C.M.L.R. 16
Competition and Markets Authority v Flynn Pharma [2020] EWCA Civ 339; [2020] 4 All E.R. 934; [2020] 2 All E.R. (Comm) 891 | [2020] Bus. L.R. 803; [2020] 4 C.M.L.R. 18
Micula v Romania [2020] UKSC 5; [2020] 1 W.L.R. 1033; [2020] 2 All E.R. 637; [2020] 2 All E.R. (Comm) 1; [2020] Bus. L.R. 659; [2020] 3 C.M.L.R. 11
BritNed v ABB [2019] EWCA Civ 1840; [2020] Bus LR 1073; [2020] 4 C.M.L.R. 7
Merricks v Mastercard Inc [2019] EWCA Civ 674; [2019] Bus. L.R. 3025; [2019] 5 C.M.L.R. 4; [2020] E.C.C. 13
Office Depot International BV v Holdham SA [2019] EWHC 2115 (Ch); [2019] 4 W.L.R. 120; [2020] 1 All E.R. (Comm) 772
Volaw Trust & Corporate Services Ltd v Office of the Comptroller of Taxes [2019] UKPC 29; [2020] 1 All E.R. 941; [2019] S.T.C. 2066; [2019] Lloyd's Rep. F.C. 423; 48 B.H.R.C. 602; [2019] B.T.C. 34; 21 I.T.L. Rep. 837; [2020] Crim. L.R. 75
Merricks v Mastercard Inc [2018] EWCA Civ 2527; [2019] Bus. L.R. 1287
BritNed v ABB [2018] EWHC 3142 (Ch); [2018] 6 Costs L.O. 807
BritNed v ABB [2018] EWHC 2616 (Ch); [2019] Bus. L.R. 718; [2018] 5 C.M.L.R. 37
Micula v Romania [2018] EWCA Civ 1801; [2019] Bus. L.R. 1394
Sainsbury’s Supermarkets v Mastercard Inc [2018] EWCA Civ 1536; [2019] 1 All E.R. 903; [2019] 1 All E.R. (Comm) 191; [2019] Bus. L.R. 198; [2018] 5 C.M.L.R. 9; [2019] E.C.C. 18
Flynn Pharma v Competition and Markets Authority [2018] CAT 11; [2018] Comp. A.R. 324
Deutsche Bahn AG v Mastercard [2018] EWHC 412 (Ch); [2018] 4 C.M.L.R. 31
Merricks v Mastercard [2017] CAT 16; [2018] Comp. A.R. 1; [2017] 5 C.M.L.R. 16
Union Marine Classification Services v Comoros [2017] EWHC 2364 (Comm); [2018] 2 All E.R. (Comm) 174; [2017] 2 Lloyd's Rep. 608
Asda Stores Limited v Mastercard Inc [2017] EWHC 93 (Comm); [2017] U.K.C.L.R. 283; [2017] 4 C.M.L.R. 32
Micula v Romania [2017] EWHC 31 (Comm); [2017] Bus. L.R. 1147; [2017] 3 C.M.L.R. 6
Sainsbury’s Supermarkets v Mastercard [2016] CAT 11; [2016] Comp A.R. 33
Education
BCL (Distinction), University of Oxford
LL.M, Yale University Fulbright Scholar
LL.B (Hons, 1st class), B.A. in History (Hons, 1st class), University of Western Australia
Professional qualifications
England & Wales (2013)
New York and Western Australia (not practising)
"He produces excellent written work and his skeleton arguments are persuasive." (Chambers & Partners 2022)
"He is one of the brightest juniors around and is very easy to work with." (Chambers & Partners 2022)
"He is extremely bright and quick at turning things around." (Chambers & Partners 2022)
"Hugo has got an eye for all the details and a complete grip of the case." (Chambers & Partners 2022)
"Unquestionably destined for great things." (Legal 500 2022)
"He demonstrates dedication to detail and an excellent knowledge of the facts and the law." (Legal 500 2022)
"Immensely smart and hard-working; he leaves no stone unturned, but is also a real pleasure to work with." (Chambers & Partners 2021)
"Hugo is an excellent barrister: he takes a prominent role and has lots of experience." "He's excellent, hard-working and works well with others." (Chambers & Partners 2021)
"A brilliant, versatile lawyer who can turn his hand to almost everything. He has a huge range of practice in commercial law, EU law, competition law and even public law, and can bring these broad litigation skills to bear in EU law. He has a very bright future." (Legal 500 2021)
"He has excellent judgement on how to pitch written submissions. Very quick to understand facts of a case, familiar and in control of the details; excellent and quick drafting of submissions." (Legal 500 2021)
"User-friendly and practical. He doesn't just give the textbook answer but instead offers a practical solution to the problem." (Chambers & Partners UK & Global 2020)