Estelle Dehon KC

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Estelle Dehon KC is a versatile public law barrister with a broad practice, specialising in environment and planning law (with particular expertise in climate change and net zero). The other main area of her work is data protection and access to information, in which she is again recognised as a leading barrister. She also practices in election law and human rights law and is recognised in administrative and public law. Estelle is a member of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s B Panel of counsel. She took silk in 2022.

Estelle appears in both the 2022 and 2023 ENDS Report’s Power List of the most influential environmental professionals in the UK. She is also one of The Planner’s Women of Influence, having been included in the list four times in the past six year. She was awarded a Climate Law & Governance Global Leadership Award at COP27. Estelle is a Fellow of the RSA. She is also a member of the European Commission’s Multistakeholder Expert Group on the GDPR and has been since its inception in 2017.

She is accredited for Public Access so that she can be instructed by anybody directly, and enquiries about this are welcomed.

Estelle is recognised in Chambers and Partners as a “first-rate” advocate who has “a wonderful manner with clients” and in Legal 500 as “a determined and tenacious advocate, whose oral and written advocacy is nuanced, well-reasoned and highly effective and whose grasp of the law consistently impresses”. Estelle is a versatile public law lawyer practising in a number of areas: environment and planning law (with particular expertise in climate change and net zero); data protection and access to information law; election law and human rights. Estelle is a member of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s B Panel of counsel.

She was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 2006 and she took silk in 2022.

Experience and Expertise
Estelle has considerable experience as a court and tribunal advocate, as well as representing parties at major planning inquiries and infrastructure examinations. She regularly appears in the High Court and Court of Appeal in judicial review claims and statutory appeals. Estelle has particular experience in climate change-related challenges: she acted in the Supreme Court challenge to the grant of permission for fracking in Lancashire; in the Court of Appeal challenge to the lack of emergency planning at the UK’s first site for fracking horizontal wells; in the High Court defending the Secretary of State’s refusal of an open cast coal mine in Druridge Bay and is acting in the first challenge to the exercise of the Oil and Gas Authority’s regulatory powers. In 2019 she appeared at an inquiry considering permission for “matrix acidisation” (or “acid fracking’s ugly little sibling”) in Ellesmere Port. This year she is representing two community groups opposing expansion at Bristol Airport and Leeds Bradford Airport respectively.

The other main area of Estelle’s practice is data protection and access to information. She advises a wide range of clients, both in the public and private sector, in relation to data protection and access to information matters. She has particular interest and expertise in data protection, big data, profiling, artificial intelligence and machine learning, on which she has been advising insurance companies and tech startups. Estelle also undertakes advocacy work in this area and has experience bringing and defending data breach compensation claims in the County and High Courts. She successfully represented the investigative journalist Stefania Maurizi before the First-tier Tribunal in her FOIA challenge concerning the Met Police’s refusal to provide information concerning WikiLeaks staff, and in 2019 she will be acting for Ms Maurizi before the Upper Tribunal in her FOIA appeal relating to the extradition of Julian Assange.

Conferences

Estelle regularly speaks at conferences and seminars. This year she co-presented on Climate Change Litigation at Cornerstone’s Annual Planning Day, addressed the APPG on Energy Costs on Assessing COP26 Outcomes and presented a webinar on Planning and Human Rights for MHCLG. In 2020 Estelle spoke on Environment and the Rule of Law on 26 June 2020 at the UKELA Annual Conference, she co-presented a webinar on Infrastructure and Net Zero and chaired a seminar on Opportunities for a Climate Positive Economy After COVID-19. In 2019 she gave the Legal Update at the Joint Planning Law Conference</a>; spoke on Veganism and Climate Change at the UKELA Annual Conference</a>; co-presented on Habitats: Past, Present, Future at the Cornerstone Annual Planning Day and spoke on Data Ethics: A Cross-Disciplinary View at the Open Data Institute Annual Summit .

Professional Memberships

Estelle has been a member of the UK Environmental Law Association (UKELA) since 2012 and sits on the UKELA Public Health and Environmental Law Working Party. She has been a trustee and member of UKELA Council since 2019. Estelle is also a member of the Planning and Environment Bar Association (PEBA); the National Infrastructure Planning Association (NIPA), the Administrative Law Bar Association (ALBA) and JUSTICE. She is a trustee of the Women’s Environmental Network (WEN).

Expertise

Public Law and Judicial Review
Estelle has a broad public law practice. She is a member of both the Attorney General’s B Panel and the Equality and Human Rights Commission B Panel of counsel.

Estelle regularly undertakes work in human rights and has a particualr specialism in the intersection of human rights and climate justice. Her work includes:
- Representing All the Citizens in their challenge to the use by ministers and their advisors or “exploding messages” in WhatsApp or Signal;
- Representing two NHS doctors who successfully challenged the COVID-19 Guidance on Personal Protective Equipment for NHS staff on the basis that it breached the right to life and discriminated against healthcare workers of colour;
- Representing A-level student Curtis Parfitt-Ford in his judicial review of Ofqual’s use of an algoithmic model for ‘standardising’ A-level grades, partly on the basis of unlawful discrimination and partly based on breach of data protection.
Judicial review is a significant part of Estelle’s practice and she has particular experience in drafting quickly and accurately in order to make urgent applications to the Administrative Court.

Estelle has a specialist practice in election law, and has represented both Petitioners and Returning Officers in challenges to the conduct of elections. She also has experience representing parties before the High Court and before Election Commissioners. She advises widely in the field of election law, including on matters concerning party spending at elections and the declaration of campaigning activities.

Estelle regularly advises and appears in matters concerning information law under the GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018; and the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004. She has experience appearing before the Information Tribunal at First-tier and Upper Tribunal levels, and is a contributor to Coppel’s Information Rights (4th edn).

Estelle undertakes inquest work, including death in custody inquests and an inquest touching a death in which medical negligence was in issue. She has experience in representing both families and government departments.

Human rights

Estelle is regularly involved in matters with a human rights aspect and has experience in:

• The right to life and physical integrity in the context of a safe and healthy environment;
• The rights of individuals with protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010;
• The right of journalists to access information;
• The right to freedom of expression in the arena of intellectual property;
• The right to private and family life in the arena of healthcare provision;
• The human rights compliance of various proposed amendments to the court system in another jurisdiction;
• The human rights compliance of various local authority decisions, including in the arena of community care;
• The right to private and family life and the cultural rights of gypsy and traveller people in the arena of planning restrictions on the use of land.

Estelle has significant experience advising and appearing for local authorities in a wide range of matters. Her work in this area covers the full gamut of local authority law, from constitutional and vires issues to equality duties; from the conduct of elections to freedom of information and data protection issues. Estelle has particular experience in environmental protection matters, including conducting prosecutions in Magistrates’ and Crown Courts.

Estelle also advises individuals in matters concerning freedom of information and data protection requests to local authorities and in challenging the conduct of elections.

Governance and powers

Estelle has significant experience advising local authorities in matters concerning constitutional and vires issues. She also has expertise in the area of equality duties and has a specialist practice advising and appearing in matters concerning the conduct of elections.

Estelle has extensive experience advising and appearing on behalf of local authorities and individuals in matters concerning the conduct of elected and co-opted members. Before the changes wrought by the Localism Act 2011, Estelle appeared in one of the leading cases on the meaning of acting in an official capacity. Since the new regime has been in place, local authorities and individuals are still in need of advice and representation in matters concerning standards of conduct, and Estelle is well-placed to assist.

Information law

Estelle has been practising in data protection for over 10 years. She is an expert on the GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 and is a member of the European Commission’s Multistakeholder Expert Group on the GDPR. She advises a wide client base, including DPOs (both internal and external), large multi-national companies, public authorities, charities and individuals. She recently drafted an information sharing agreement for a group of over 40 local authorities, schools and other public service organisations, and advised on privacy notices for a UK-wide ANPR company and a national children’s charity. Estelle has particular interest and expertise in big data, profiling, artificial intelligence and machine learning, on which she has been advising insurance companies and tech start-ups. Estelle’s advocacy work in data protection includes County Court, High Court and Court of Appeal challenges concerning individual rights. She is appearing on behalf of an individual in the Court of Appeal in October 2018 on a previously unlitigated point about when it is lawful for an employer to receive and use information from a policing body.

Estelle also has long experience in advising on access to information under FOIA and the Environmental Information Regulations. She regularly assists local authorities and other public bodies in responding to requests. Estelle also has experience conducting appeals before the Information Tribunal and is currently involved in an appeal before the Upper Tribunal which will reconsider the temporal reference point of analysing the public interest in disclosure (ie revisiting the case law that the public interest be assessed at the date of the public authority’s decision rather than at the date of any subsequent assessment by the Tribunal).
Planning and Environment
Estelle has significant experience in planning and environmental matters, with an emphasis on climate change and advising on net zero infrastructure and development. In the field of environmental law, Estelle acted for Friends of the Earth at the six week inquiry concerning permission for two fracking sites in Lancashire and has represented the Environment Agency in appeals concerning Nitrate Vulnerable Zones. She acted for the well-known campaigner Mr Frackman in his Supreme Court challenge to the grant of permission for fracking at Preston New Road in Lancashire. She also acted in the Court of Appeal challenge to the lack of emergency planning at the UK’s first site for fracking horizontal wells and in the High Court defending the Secretary of State’s refusal of an open cast coal mine in Druridge Bay. In 2019 she appeared at an inquiry considering permission for “matrix acidisation” of shale gas in Ellesmere Port. Estelle also regularly advises and appears on behalf of local authorities in matters involving the EIA Directive and the Habitats Directive and has particular expertise in public inquiries concerning the wind turbines and solar farms.

Estelle has particualr expertise in matters concerning planning enforcement and represented the Secretary of State in two key CA cases concerning enforcement: Miaris (2016) and Keenan (2017). She also has experience dealing with neighbourhood plans, and will be appearing in the Supreme Court later this year in Oyston Estates, which will decide an important jurisdictional point about challenges to neighbourhood plans.

Estelle also has experience in infrastructure work, and assisted in preparing the DCO application into the first road scheme to be designated under section 35 of the Planning Act 2008 as a project of national significance. She is currently representing a local authority in the DCOs concerning what will be the two largest off-shore windfarms in the world: Norfolk Vanguard and Hornsea 3.

Green belt and countryside
Estelle has extensive experience appearing in statutory appeals, judicial reviews and public inquiries concerning green belt and countryside issues. She successfully appeared as sole counsel for a local authority in a five-day call-in inquiry concerning a multi-million pound commercial development in the green belt, in which the investigation of alternative brownfield sites was a key issue. She has also dealt with matters involving European Protected species, nature conservation, and the landscape and visual impacts of proposals in countryside locations including areas of outstanding natural beauty.

Historic environment
Estelle has conducted a prosecution under the Listed Buildings Act 1990 and regularly conducts training on the use of the Proceeds of Crime Act in planning enforcement. Estelle also has experience advising and appearing in court concerning the duty under section 66 of the Listed Buildings Act 1990. She successfully appeared for a local authority in a statutory appeal in which a decision of an Inspector granting permission for a controversial wind turbine was quashed, because the Inspector failed to comply with his statutory duty to have special regard to the desirability of preserving the setting of a number of heritage assets which would have been harmed by the turbine.

Estelle has experience of both High Court and inquiry work concerning renewables, in particular wind and solar energy. She successfully appeared for a local authority challenging a grant of planning permission by an Inspector where a wind turbine would cause harm to the setting of listed buildings. She has also appeared for local authorities and interested parties in inquiries concerning turbines and wind farms, including appearing for the Ministry of Defence in a controversial nine-month inquiry into three wind farms in Northumberland.

Energy
Estelle has experience of both High Court and inquiry work concerning renewables, in particular wind and solar energy. She successfully appeared for a local authority challenging a grant of planning permission by an Inspector where a wind turbine would cause harm to the setting of listed buildings. She has also appeared for local authorities and interested parties in inquiries concerning turbines and wind farms, including appearing for the Ministry of Defence in a controversial nine-month inquiry into three wind farms in Northumberland. Estelle has specific experience in matters concerning fracking, in particular high-volume hydraulic fracturing.

At a high-profile planning inquiry concerning fracking, Estelle’s client remarked on her “excellent and hugely appreciated work”. One of the residents’ groups participating in the inquiry also noted that “Estelle [was] truly awesome. The points that [she] raised and the manner [she] did it in was nothing short of superb.”
Inquests and Inquiries
Estelle is a member of Chambers’ Inquest Team. She has experience appearing for interested persons in inquests into death following medical treatment and Article 2 inquests concerning deaths in prison. She has appeared for the family and for the Ministry of Justice.

Estelle has also undertaken work arising from inquests, including:
- representing a coroner in a claim under section 13 Coroners Act 1988 for an inquisition to be quashed and a new investigation undertaken;
- representing a coroner in judicial review proceedings arising from an ongoing inquest.
- Net Zero and downstream emissions in Court of Appeal this week15 Nov 2021
Information Law
Estelle’s information law work involves both freedom of information act (FOIA) cases and privacy-related work concerning data protection. Estelle has been practising in data protection for 14 years and is an expert on both the GDPR and the UKGDPR. She advises a wide client base, including DPOs (both internal and external), large multi-national companies, public authorities, charities and individuals. She led a team at Cornerstone Barristers advising then-DCMS on the policy approach to implementing GDPR. She has broad experience, including drafting an information sharing agreement for a group of over 40 local authorities, schools and other public service organisations, and advising on privacy notices for a UK-wide ANPR company and a national children’s charity and advising government clients on the data protection implications of various technologies. Estelle has particular interest and expertise in big data, profiling, artificial intelligence and machine learning, on which she has been advising insurance companies and tech start-ups.

Estelle’s advocacy work in data protection includes County Court, High Court and Court of Appeal challenges concerning individual rights. She represented the Claimant in the judicial review challenge to the decision to use an algorithm to grade the 2020 A-level cohort in England which led the Government to reverse its decision, and appeared in the Court of Appeal in October 2018 on a previously unlitigated point about when it is lawful for an employer to receive and use information from a policing body.

Estelle is a member of the European Commission’s Multistakeholder Expert Group on the GDPR, which assists the Commission in dealing with potential challenges in implementing the GDPR across Europe. She also speaks regularly on data protection and the GDPR.

Turning to freedom of information, Estelle has represented investigative journalists in challenging refusals to allow access to information. In particular she represents the investigative journalist Stefania Maurizi in two important and high-profile FOIA cases: (1) a long-running FOIA battle trying to access information from the Crown Prosecution Service about Julian Assange, which went to the Upper Tribunal and (2) a successful First-tier Tribunal appeal concerning information held by the Metropolitan Police relating to three Wikileaks journalists. As a result of Estelle’s work with journalists on FOIA, she spoke at the 2018 International Journalism Festival on a panel with journalist James Risen on “How to get secret and confidential documents. From FOIA to leaks, the struggle to acquire factual information.”

She is brilliant; very meticulous and acts in a number of high-profile matters.
Chambers UK Bar (2023)

Estelle is superb; She often represents individuals and communities up against difficult odds and well-funded opponents and has an impressive record of success. Her advocacy is top-notch and she is a pleasure to work with.
Legal 500 (2023)

A determined and tenacious advocate, whose oral and written advocacy is nuanced, well-reasoned and highly effective and whose grasp of the law consistently impresses.
Legal 500 (2023)

She is a very efficient barrister who is terrific in her drafting and a real pleasure to work with.
Chambers UK Bar (2022)

About Estelle

Client Testimonials
After securing permission in a complex judicial review claim, Estelle’s clients wrote that they felt “compelled to send our thanks for the wonderful way in which our case was presented yesterday. Estelle’s arguments [on climate impact and biodiversity] were so lucid that even we didn’t have any difficulty in understanding them.”

At a high profile planning inquiry concerning fracking, Estelle’s client remarked on her “excellent and hugely appreciated work”. One of the residents’ groups participating in the inquiry also noted that “Estelle [was] truly awesome. The points that [she] raised and the manner [she] did it in was nothing short of superb.”

A national children’s charity recently said of Estelle: “I just want to give a compliment for the hard work Estelle put in to ensure we were GDPR compliant. She is exceptionally knowledgeable and provided great timely advice. We were very impressed with her work”.

Stefania Maurizi, investigative journalist formerly with La Repubblica, now with Il Fatto Quotidiano, a public access client, said: “I wish all journalists litigating in the public interest could have Estelle represent them”.

Aviva’s GDPR Operations Director said: “A heartfelt thank you to Estelle for her wonderful contribution to our data privacy conference. She spoke so eloquently about the ways in which companies can avoid the pitfalls around data management but also the opportunities AI and ‘doing things in a fair and transparent fashion’ will bring.”
Directory Quotes
- Administrative & Public Law – “She is brilliant; very meticulous and acts in a number of high-profile matters.” Chambers and Partners 2023
- Administrative & Public Law – “She really knows her stuff in the fast-paced emerging area of climate litigation.” Chambers and Partners 2023
- Data Protection – “Estelle Dehon is an outstanding professional who fights tooth and nail for her clients. Her level of expertise in FOIA litigation is deeply impressive.” Chambers and Partners 2023
- Data Protection – “She has great case management skills as well as being a great barrister.” Chambers and Partners 2023
- Environment – “She is very meticulous and a real powerhouse in environmental judicial reviews.” Chambers and Partners 2023
- Environment – “Her advocacy is very clear and persuasive. She carries a lot of respect from judges.” Chambers and Partners 2023
- Planning – “Estelle is totally superb, tenacious and thoughtful. Her advocacy is top-notch both written and oral.” Chambers and Partners 2023
- Planning – “She had an excellent grasp of the legislation and issues. She provided thorough, useful advice.” Chambers and Partners 2023
- Planning – “Her advocacy is very clear and persuasive, and she carries a lot of respect from judges.” Chambers and Partners 2023
- Environment – “A determined and tenacious advocate, whose oral and written advocacy is nuanced, well-reasoned and highly effective and whose grasp of the law consistently impresses.” Legal 500 2023
- Planning – “Estelle is superb; She often represents individuals and communities up against difficult odds and well-funded opponents and has an impressive record of success. Her advocacy is top-notch and she is a pleasure to work with.” Legal 500 2023
- Administrative & Public Law –”Estelle is very experienced and hugely knowledgeable in planning and environmental judicial review. The fact that she represents both claimants and defendants is a real strength.” Legal 500 2023
- Administrative & Public Law – “She is an excellent advocate who produces strong written work.” “She is a very efficient barrister who is terrific in her drafting and a real pleasure to work with.” Chambers and Partners 2022
- Environment – “She is very astute.” Chambers and Partners 2022
- Planning – “Estelle is incredibly thorough, very professional and very easy to get on with.” “She is a meticulous advocate and very attentive to clients’ needs.” “She is very efficient, terrific in her drafting and good on her feet.” Chambers and Partners 2022
- Environment – “A determined and tenacious advocate, whose oral and written advocacy is nuanced, well-reasoned and highly effective.” Legal 500 2022
- Administrative and Public Law – “Estelle always presents her arguments in an articulate and persuasive fashion, whether in court or in conference. She also has the ability to put her professional and lay clients at ease, inspiring confidence in all that work with her.” Legal 500 2022
- Data Protection – “A highly experienced data protection expert who delivers practical compliance advice and excellent strategy on breach-handling.” Legal 500 2022
- Planning – “Diligent and easy to work with, particularly on thorny issues.” Legal 500 2022
- Environment – “Well regarded for her recent involvement in fracking cases, in which she has represented NGOs and local residents. She is also frequently instructed in wind farm development disputes. Strengths: “She works extremely hard, thinks fast on her feet and is able to extract the essential facts and points from extremely complex and technical information to best convey legal points.” Chambers and Partners 2021
- Planning – London -“Dedicates a significant portion of her practice to planning law, frequently representing interest groups, individuals and local authorities in sometimes controversial cases. She regularly appears in the High Court and at public inquiries concerning substantial development proposals. She has been involved in important challenges to energy schemes including fracking. Strengths: “Her pleadings are super accurate, concise and to the point, and well researched and persuasive.” “Estelle has great knowledge and great presentation skills. She’s a good all-rounder.” Chambers and Partners 2021
- “Estelle is top-notch. She is a determined and tenacious advocate, whose oral and written advocacy is nuanced, well-reasoned and highly effective and whose grasp of the law consistently impresses. She is good-natured, responsive and easy to work with and quickly builds trust and rapport with clients.” Legal 500 2021
- “Dogged, hardworking and very good at seeing the bigger picture.” Legal 500 2021
- “She is passionate about environmental issues and is without doubt one of the very best juniors and an articulate advocate.” Legal 500 2021
- Estelle is ranked in Administrative and Public Law (including elections); Environment; Planning and Data Protection.
- “Estelle is an excellent barrister with a keen appreciation of the law and a fine attention to detail in all that she does. Estelle always presents her arguments in an articulate and persuasive fashion, whether in court or in conference. She also has the ability to put her professional and lay clients at ease, inspiring confidence in all that work with her.” Legal 500 2021
- “She is passionate about environmental issues and is without doubt one of the very best juniors and an articulate advocate.” Legal 500 2021
- “Estelle is top-notch. She is a determined and tenacious advocate, whose oral and written advocacy is nuanced, well-reasoned and highly effective and whose grasp of the law consistently impresses. She is good-natured, responsive and easy to work with and quickly builds trust and rapport with clients.” Legal 500 2021
- “Dogged, hardworking and very good at seeing the bigger picture.” Legal 500 2021
- “A very strong advocate with a very broad knowledge of planning and environment law.” “Any contact with her felt as though she took us from the fourth to the premier division in a few short steps.” Chambers and Partners 2020
- “She has an encyclopaedic knowledge of both planning legislation and case law, she is incredibly articulate and her paperwork is excellent.” Chambers and Partners 2020
- “Exceptional – an undoubted expert, she leads with her heart, guided by an exceptionally sharp intellect.” Legal 500 2020
- “Her expertise spans planning, environment and village greens.” Legal 500 2020
- “She quickly got to grips with the issues and was excellent in managing the client’s expectations.” “She is highly intelligent, sharp, witty and incredibly approachable. She provides clear and concise planning advice and is highly respected for the work she has completed on our behalf.” Chambers and Partners 2019
- “A strong advocate with a solid grasp of strategy.” Legal 500 2018
- “She is a brilliant advocate, who has a presentation style liked by the court.” Legal 500 2017
- “Intellectually outstanding and also pleasant and personable.” Chambers and Partners 2017
- “Her work rate is impressive, and her attention to detail and tenacity are equally so.” Chambers & Partners 2017
- “She is thorough, objective and provides sound legal advice.” Legal 500 2016
- “Her preparation is extremely thorough. She has got really good attention to detail and her advocacy is first-rate.” “She has a wonderful manner with clients.” Chambers and Partners 2016
Conferences
Estelle regularly speaks at conferences and seminars. This year she co-presented on Climate Change Litigation at Cornerstone’s Annual Planning Day, addressed the APPG on Energy Costs on Assessing COP26 Outcomes and presented a webinar on Planning and Human Rights for MHCLG. In 2020 Estelle spoke on Environment and the Rule of Law on 26 June 2020 at the UKELA Annual Conference, she co-presetned a webinar on Infrastructure and Net Zero and chaired a seminar on Opportunities for a Climate Positive Economy After COVID-19. In 2019 she gave the Legal Update at the Joint Planning Law Conference</a>; spoke on Veganism and Climate Change at the UKELA Annual Conference</a>; co-presented on Habitats: Past, Present, Future at the Cornerstone Annual Planning Day and spoke on Data Ethics: A Cross-Disciplinary View at the Open Data Institute Annual Summit .
Associations
Estelle is a member of the following:
- UK Environmental Law Association (UKELA, member of Council since 2019). Estelle sits on the UKELA Public Health and Environmental Law Working Party. She has been a trustee and member of UKELA Council since 2019.
- National Infrastructure Planning Association (NIPA)
- Administrative Law Bar Association (ALBA)
- Planning and Environmental Bar Association (PEBA)
- JUSTICE
- European Commission Multistakeholder Expert Group on the GDPR
- Women’s Environmental Network (WEN, trustee since 2019)
Publications
Notable Cases