Alexander Campbell is a leading junior who practices across public law, social housing and property law. He specialises in particular in the Court of Protection and community care, social housing and property work. He is ranked as a leading junior in the legal directories.
He has been praised by judges as an “excellent” advocate, for his “forensic precision” in approaching cases and has been described as “an expert” in his fields of practice. He is also well-liked by clients for his approachable manner and his ability to bring clarity to complex cases.
Alex is ranked in Chambers and Partners and Legal 500 for social housing work and for Court of Protection and community care work. He is described in the legal directories as “an excellent advocate” whose “advocacy is faultless” and who is “brilliant on technical and complex arguments”.
He has extensive experience in complex public law and housing law issues, including human rights and equality issues.
Alex was called to the Bar following his remarkably strong academic background. He holds a law degree from Trinity College, Cambridge, where he received multiple prizes for his academic performance. He holds a master’s degree in French Law from France’s most prestigious law school, l’Université de Paris II – Panthéon-Assas, as well as a master’s degree with distinction in public law and human rights from University College London. He has been the recipient of a prestigious Pegasus Scholarship under which he spent time working as a barrister in Paris.
Alex writes regularly in legal publications online, in journals and books. Alex is qualified to accept cases on a Public Access basis and regularly does so both for individuals as well as organisations.
Expertise
- Public Law and Judicial Review
Alex is an experienced public law barrister with a strong academic background in the fields of public law and human rights. He has extensive practical experience of these fields, and he is able to complement his legal education with this knowledge.
Alex regularly appears before the High Court in judicial review matters, including in age assessment disputes, housing allocations and HMO licencing.
He has extensive experience of discrimination and equalities law and regularly argues complex equality law cases at High Court and County Court level.
He is also well versed in making urgent applications to the High Court, including out of hours applications. He is familiar with the procedure and ethical obligations which are central to these sorts of applications and has been praised by judges for his clarity and succinctness in making such applications. Given the urgency needed in many judicial review claims, Alex prides himself on being able to turn around complex instructions to short deadlines.
Alex has experience in welfare benefits matters in the First-tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal and has been involved in judicial review and Court of Appeal cases concerning social welfare and benefits.
He also has experience of public procurement litigation and has been involved with procurement challenges both in the High Court and above. He has assisted government departments and local authorities in procurement challenges. Alex has previously been instructed as a junior by the Ministry of Defence in arbitration proceedings relating to a multi-million pound dispute and has advised in major public procurement litigation concerning the closure of libraries across an English county.
- Housing
Alex is ranked as a leading barrister in social housing law. He regularly acts in a wide variety of housing claims, including complex and multi-day possession claims, disrepair claims, injunction applications, committal hearings and appeals. Alex’s considerable experience in public law gives him a particular expertise in cases with a public law element, including Equality Act and discrimination arguments and human rights issues. Alex regularly advises and acts in homelessness appeals and in litigation concerning housing allocations policies including at High Court level.
- Chambers UK Bar 2025: Cornerstone Barristers achieve 75 individual rankings across 15 practice areas 17 Oct 2024
- Cornerstone Barristers continues to be ranked as one of the leading sets at the Bar in the 2025 edition of the Legal 50002 Oct 2024
- Cornerstone Barristers retains top ranking in legal directories for Social Housing25 Oct 2023
- Cornerstone Housing Day presentation slides10 Oct 2023
- Sarah Salmon chairs the Social Housing Law Association Annual Conference01 Nov 2022
- Property
Alex regularly acts in claims involving landlord and tenant work (both residential and commercial) as well as more traditional real property work.
Alex has been instructed in trials concerning service charges, boundary disputes, adverse possession and rectification of deeds. Alex has experience of cases involving registered and unregistered land and is happy to be instructed in both. Alex is experienced in, and happy to accept instructions in, litigation involving forfeiture, surrender and consents (such as withholding of consent to assignment and withholding of consent to carry out alterations). He accepts instructions in litigation involving easements, restrictive covenants, party walls and neighbour disputes.
- Commercial and Regulatory
Alex has experience of regulatory matters, having appeared in regulatory matters before the High Court and before professional disciplinary bodies such as the Nursing and Midwifery Council.
- Court of Protection
Alex is a leading barrister in Court of Protection and community care law. He regularly appears before the Court of Protection in health and welfare matters and deprivation of liberty cases. He is skilled at arguing cases involving complex and sensitive issues such as removal of persons from the country.
His recent work includes:
- acting for a local authority in a complex hoarding case, in which Alex appeared against a KC;
- appearing for a local authority in a case before a High Court judge concerning a person’s capacity to make decisions around sexual relationships and contraception;
- representing a local authority in a complex multi-day trial concerning whether a person should be removed to a foreign jurisdiction.
Alex’s considerable knowledge of issues of mental capacity in litigation makes him well-placed to advise and represent clients in the Court of Protection from the moment that a potential issue arises to the conclusion of proceedings.
- Health and Social Care
Alex is an experienced social care practitioner and is ranked in the legal directories in this area. He has advised and represented local authorities in all aspects of his social care work, including adult community care cases, cases under the Care Act 2014, disputes about care charges and claims involving foreign nationals who have no recourse to public funds both on an advisory basis and in litigation. He is very familiar with the legal issues involved and is adept at arguing them.
Anti-social behaviour
Alex excels in complex anti-social behaviour claims. Alex is regularly instructed in possession claims involving antisocial behaviour and in claims for injunctions under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. Alex acts in multi-day trials involving antisocial behaviour and has considerable experience of claims involving large numbers of allegations and large numbers of witnesses. Alex is a skilled trial advocate and is accomplished at the effective cross-examination of witnesses.
He regularly appears in antisocial behaviour trials which involve defendants with mental health issues and arguments around a defendant’s mental capacity. Alex is regularly instructed in anti-social behaviour claims which raise issues of disability discrimination and the Equality Act 2010. His public law experience makes him extremely well-placed to deal with such issues in complex cases and clients value Alex’s ability to address such issues skilfully at short notice.
Alex has experience of anti-social behaviour cases in the Youth Court and is familiar with the particular issues which arise in cases involving persons under 18.
Children’s rights
Alex is regularly called upon to advise and act in judicial review claims involving children. He has experience fighting claims involving the Children Act 1989 concerning duties owed by local authorities to minors and under related legislation.
- Local Government
Local government law forms a major part of Alex’s practice and Alex’s background in public law makes him well-placed to advise and to act in litigation involving local authorities. Alex is currently instructed in a number of ongoing judicial review claims in the High Court concerning housing allocations and HMO licensing and he has recently been involved in a successful appeal to the Court of Appeal arising out of a HMO licensing judicial review.
- Public/Direct Access
Alex is qualified to accept instructions under the public access scheme and regularly does so.
About Alexander
- Directories
- Social Housing – “”He is a superb and persuasive advocate.” “He provides an excellent level of service and anticipates and advises as a specialist should.” “Alex is communicative and helpful.” “Alexander is efficient and provides advice super quick.” Chambers and Partners 2025
- Court of Protection and Community Care – “Alexander is a knowledgeable and experienced advocate who can break down complex issues. He is a conscientious and empathetic advocate. His advocacy skills are excellent.” Legal 500 2025
- Social Housing – “Excellent client care, pragmatic and practical- really goes the extra mile generally. His advocacy and preparation is faultless – a really impressive barrister. The complexity of matters in the area with over the years has increased, and Alexander has always been years beyond his year of call in capability.” Legal 500 2025
- Social Housing – “Alexander Campbell is an excellent barrister.” “He is confident and highly skilled.” “Alexander Campbell is really good and diligent.” Chambers and Partners 2024
- Court of Protection and Community Care – “Alexander stands out in his field. His drafting is strong and persuasive, and his advocacy is calm and compelling. He brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the case and has an excellent client manner. He is extremely dedicated to his clients and goes above and beyond to support them.” Legal 500 2024
- Local Government – “Alex provides considered and detailed advice in a timely manner.” Legal 500 2024
- Social Housing – “Alexander provides a great level of service. He always thinks outside the box, delivers great results and is always commercially aware.” Chambers and Partners 2023
- “Alex’s advocacy is faultless. He applies a very practical and realistic approach when instructed, which, matched with his excellent technical ability, make him an excellent barrister.” “Alexander is really strong on case preparation, presenting excellent written arguments that are to the point and persuasive.” Legal 500 2023
- “Alexander is very professional and thorough. He is good at finding solutions to problems and is pragmatic.” Legal 500 2022
- “Alex is professional, friendly and relaxed. He is an excellent advocate and always produces excellent results on all cases. He is extremely personable.” “Alex is brilliant on technical and complex arguments. He is liked by clients and easy to reach for a quick opinion on the phone on a complex matter.” Legal 500 2021
- “A very thorough, able and competent advocate.” “Has a growing reputation for his representation in both housing and public law matters.” Chambers and Partners 2020
- “His housing law expertise is complemented by knowledge of discrimination and human rights issues.” Legal 500 2020
- “He is brilliant. His written work is excellent, and he really likes to get involved with the law.” “He’s calm, measured and very good with clients.” “Rising junior with a growing reputation…” Chambers and Partners 2019
- “He is well researched and always very well prepared.” Chambers and Partners 2018
- Publications
- Member of LexisNexis’ panels of experts for public law, local government law and property law
- Member of LexisNexis’ consulting editorial board for public law
- Contributing author to Affordable Housing – Modern Guide to Construction and Delivery
- Contributing author to Encyclopaedia of Forms and Precedents (vol. 24 – Landlord and Tenant (Social Housing))
- Regular contributor to LexisNexis
- Associations
- Court of Protection Bar Association
- Social Housing Law Association
- Constitutional and Administrative Law Bar Association
- Property Bar Association
- Franco-British Lawyers’ Society
- FreeBar (the Bar LGBT+ network)
- Awards
- Lizette Bentwich Prize for academic achievement in Part 1A law degree (Trinity College, Cambridge)
- College Prize for performance in Part IA law tripos (Trinity College, Cambridge)
- Lovells Prize for examination performance (Trinity College, Cambridge)
- Pegasus Scholar (Gray’s Inn)
- Education
M.A. in Law – Trinity College, Cambridge
Maîtrise en droit (Master’s degree in French law) – Université de Paris II – Panthéon-Assas
LL.M. (Public Law and Human Rights) (with Distinction) – University College London
Bar Vocational Course
- Events
- Social Housing Regulation and Consumer Standards21 May 2025
- CoP Masterclass #3: Managing Fluctuating Capacity, Restraint and Orders in High-Stakes Cases02 Dec 2024
- Public Law in 2024: Practical Insights and Trends04 Jul 2024
- Housing Webinar: Disrepair Updates and Tactics21 Jul 2023
- Cornerstone Barristers Housing Day 202309 Oct 2023
- Cornerstone Barristers Housing Day 202221 Nov 2022
