Information & Data Protection

The Cornerstone Barristers Data Protection and Information Law team comprises a group of barristers with a wide range of cross-sector expertise. This means that members provide advice and represent private and public sector clients in complex information law and data protection cases but also advise and represent clients in cases where data protection or information law may only represent one of the issues.

Members regularly appear in the higher courts and tribunals and have appeared for the Information Commissioner, government departments, commercial organisations, NGOs, public bodies and private individuals in some of the leading data protection and information law cases in recent years. The team and its members are recognised as market leaders in legal directories which have noted the “significant strength and depth” of the team. This depth ensures there is always someone available who can give swift, practical advice in this highly technical area.

The team has particular expertise in:

• Data breaches
• Profiling
• Cybersecurity
• Big data and AI
• Representative claims/multi claimant claims
• Subject access requests
• Right to be forgotten and other data protection rights
• Information Sharing Agreements
• Data Protection Impact Assessments
• Environmental information requests
• FOIA requests
• Contempt cases in the Tribunals
• Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003
• Confidentiality and Privacy at Common Law
• Article 8 and 10 European Convention on Human Rights
• Aarhus Convention rights

The team’s cross-sector expertise includes the following:

Housing and Property

Advising and representing clients in these sectors in respect of a variety of issues including:

• Responding to subject access requests and other UK GDPR rights requests, including dealing with complaints and litigation arising from those requests
• Data breaches and follow on damages claims
• Information Sharing Agreements
• Privacy Notices
• FOI and EIR requests and appeals before the Commissioner and Tribunals
• Use of AI

Planning, Environment and Climate

Advising and representing clients in these sectors in respect of a variety of issues including:

• Handling EIR/FOI Requests and EIR/FOI appeals before the Commissioner and Tribunals
• Data breaches in the context of planning and environmental matters
• Redactions to planning applications
• Planning privacy notices
• Aarhus convention rights
• Article 8 and 10 rights as they arise in planning

Public Law and Local Government

Advising and representing clients in these sectors in respect of a variety of issues including:

• Judicial review of data protection policies
• Data Sharing Agreements
• Data Breaches and other data protection claims in the local government sector
• FOI and EIR requests and appeals before the Commissioner and Tribunals
• Use of AI in the public sector

Commercial and Regulatory

Advising and representing clients in these sectors in respect of a variety of issues including:

• Representative claims / multi claimant claims
• Use of subject access requests and other data protection rights in the context of commercial litigation
• Regulatory investigations and fines concerning data breaches
• Use of AI

Court of Protection, Health and Social Care

Advising and representing clients in these sectors in respect of a variety of issues including:

• Responding to subject access requests and other UK GDPR rights requests
• Data breaches and follow on damages claims
• Information Sharing Agreements
• Privacy Notices

Notable cases in recent years

• NNB Generation Co (HPC) Ltd v Information Commissioner and Fish Legal [2026] UKUT 241 (AAC)
• Greenwood v Information Commissioner [2025] UKUT 76 (AAC)
• Gordon v Information Commissioner [2025] UKUT 159 (AAC)
• Doorstop Dispensaree Ltd v Information Commissioner [2024] EWCA Civ 1515
• Moss v Royal Borough of Kingston-upon-Thames & Information Commissioner [2023] EWCA 1438
• Delo v Information Commissioner [2023] EWCA Civ 1141
• Rotherham MBC v Harron [2023] UKUT 22 (AAC)
• FCDO v Information Commissioner [2021] UKUT 248 (AAC)
• Maurizi v ICO and CPS [2019] UKUT 262 (AAC)
• Cooper v National Crime Agency [2019] EWCA Civ 16
• Stunt v Associated Newspapers Ltd [2018] EWCA Civ 1780
• Ittihadieh v 5-11 Cheyne Gardens RTM Co Ltd [2017] EWCA Civ 121
• Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority v Information Commissioner [2015] EWCA Civ 388

Main publications

• Philip Coppel KC, Information Rights. A Practitioner’s Guide to Data Protection, Freedom of Information and other Information Rights (6th edn, Bloomsbury, 2023). The edition features contributions from Cornerstone members James Findlay KC, Olivia Davies, John Fitzsimons, Richard Hanstock and Dr Christina Lienen.
• John Fitzsimons, Leo Davidson and Ben Mitchell, Data Protection and Information Law (Law Society, December 2024).
• Book review, Mapping the information rights landscape by Kate Brimsted.
• Damian Welfare, Cornerstone on Information Law (Bloomsbury, 2019).
• Damien Welfare, Estelle Dehon KC and John Fitzsimons authored Territorial Scope and Terminology, Fair, Lawful, and Transparent Processing and Outsourcing Personal Data Processing chapters in Peter Carey, Data Protection. A Practical Guide to UK and EU Law (6th edn, OUP, 2020).

Articles in the Freedom of Information Journal

• Jeremy Ogilvie-Harris writes the regular PDP FOI Journal case law update. These articles are available on Westlaw and at https://pdpjournals.com/

Contact the Clerks

Share this