Natalia Catechis is a pupil barrister at Cornerstone Barristers. She is building a practice across all of Chambers’ practice areas, with a particular interest in public law and judicial review, planning and environment, and property.
Natalia obtained Distinction in both the MA Law and Bar Vocational Studies. She was awarded scholarships by Lincoln’s Inn, the University of Law, and the City Law School.
Before commencing pupillage, Natalia volunteered at a charity providing legal advice to people detained in immigration removal centres and prisons. She specialised in drafting grounds for First-tier Tribunal bail applications on behalf of clients with experiences of trafficking, torture and severe mental illness. Natalia frequently provided legal advice in English and Spanish.
Natalia’s case notes on planning and public law are published in the Lincoln’s Inn Student Law Journal and the City Law Review. Her postgraduate dissertation analysed the provisions for offshore asylum claim processing under the Nationality and Borders Act 2022, and the compatibility of those provisions with international human rights law.
During her postgraduate degree Natalia worked in the Policy Team at the Prisoners’ Education Trust, where she drafted evidence submissions in response to the Prisons Strategy White Paper and Parliamentary inquiries on women and children in prison. Natalia was also a volunteer caseworker at Advocate, where she prepared court bundles for claimants in public, planning, and property cases.
During her pupillage, Natalia has been supervised by Andrew Lane, Ryan Kohli, Riccardo Calzavara and Sarah Salmon.
Expertise
- Public law & judicial review
During her first six, Natalia has drafted for her pupil supervisors:
- Advice on the merits of an intervention under s.5 of the Human Rights Act 1998 in respect of the compatibility of housing legislation with the prohibition on discrimination under art.14 of the European Convention on Human Rights;
- Advice on the determination of the first urgent Crown development planning application under ss.293B and 293C of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990; and
- A skeleton argument on behalf of a local authority in its application to strike out a claim for judicial review, on the basis that the claim had become academic.
- Planning & environment
During her first six, Natalia has drafted for her pupil supervisors and other members of Chambers:
- A skeleton argument on behalf of the appellant in an appeal under s.289 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 against the decision of a local authority to uphold an enforcement notice and refuse planning permission; and
- Submissions on behalf of an appellant developer in an appeal under s.78 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 against a local planning authority’s non-determination of the appellant’s application for the approval of reserved matters.
- Housing
During her first six, Natalia has drafted for her pupil supervisors:
- A skeleton argument on behalf of a tenant in possession proceedings who brought a counterclaim for unlawful discrimination under the Equality Act 2010;
- A Reply and Defence to Counterclaim on behalf of a local authority in possession proceedings against a tenant who brought a counterclaim for unlawful discrimination under the Equality Act 2010;
- Advice to a local authority on the merits and practicalities of pursuing injunctive relief versus possession proceedings;
- Advice to a community landlord on the service chargeability of services provided pursuant to various occupation contracts created under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016; and
- Advice to a local authority on the determination of a fixed term flexible secure tenancy during the fixed term.
- Licensing
During her first six, Natalia has drafted for her pupil supervisors:
- Grounds of appeal on behalf of a local authority against a decision of the First-tier Tribunal to reduce the financial penalties imposed on landlords for offences under s.30 of the Housing Act 2004; and
- A research note on the defence of reasonable excuse for having control of or managing a house in multiple occupation (HMO) under s.72 of the Housing Act 2004.
- Information law
During her first six, Natalia has drafted for members of Chambers:
- Advice to a defendant local authority on the merits of a data protection claim under the UK General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and s.168 of the Data Protection Act 2018, arising out of alleged breaches of arts.5, 6, 16 and 17 of the UK GDPR; and
- A Letter of Response to the Information Commissioner’s Office on behalf of a local authority in respect of its refusal of a request for information under the Freedom Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.
- Property
During her first six, Natalia drafted for her pupil supervisor an advice to a freeholder on its duty under s.20 of the Equality Act 2010 where a leaseholder requested, as reasonable adjustments, alterations to the property which were prohibited by the lease.