Olivia joined Cornerstone Barristers as a tenant in October 2020 after successful completion of pupillage. She is developing a broad practice in all areas of Chambers’ work, including public law, planning and environmental law, housing law, licensing law, information law, commercial & regulatory law, and inquests. Olivia is a member of the Cornerstone Climate team.
Olivia regularly appears in court for a range of clients, both public and private. Alongside her court work, Olivia often undertakes advisory work for public and private bodies.
Olivia’s practice benefits from her previous legal experience in both the public and private sector. In the private sector, Olivia worked in the Brussels office of an international law firm, drafting EU merger filings.
In the public sector, Olivia has worked as a Legal Intern at the Competition & Markets Authority on competition and consumer law enforcement cases, and as a Research Assistant in the commercial and common law team at the Law Commission.
At the Law Commission, Olivia worked on the Goods Mortgages Bill and Report, and co-authored the “Right to Manage” consultation paper, part of DLUHC’s leasehold reform programme.
Olivia has a degree in law from St. Peter’s College, Oxford and a Competition Law LLM from King’s College, London for which she received a Distinction. Olivia read for the Bar at City Law School, with the benefit of an Exhibition from Inner Temple. She was graded Outstanding. During her studies, she volunteered with the Citizens Advice Bureau and Free Representation Unit, achieving a successful outcome in social security appeals for all her clients.
Expertise
- Housing
Olivia has a wealth of experience representing both public and private sector landlords in a range of matters, including possession, disrepair, HMO regulation/licence breaches, s 204 homelessness appeals and claims under s 214 Housing Act 2004.
Olivia is well practised at obtaining orders at summary hearings and full trials.
Recent instructions include:
- Obtaining orders for immediate possession and use & occupation (with costs) under the Housing Acts, including in cases of rent arrears and ASB, in both the county court and High Court for both public and private landlords
- Prosecuting and defending statutory nuisance claims under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 on behalf of both local authorities and private clients
- Defending landlords in claims under s 214 Housing Act 2004 for breach of the deposit protection rules
- Securing a mandatory injunction enabling a social landlord to rectify unauthorised works carried out by the tenant to the garden
- Prosecuting breaches of the HMO Regulations on behalf of Local Authorities
- Securing a Part 8 injunction for a private client to prohibit the obstruction of a right of way
- Advising Local Authorities on various disrepair matters and drafting defences to disrepair claims under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985
- Securing settlement in favour of the Local Authority in a s 204 homelessness appeal
Anti-social behaviour
Recent instructions include:
- Securing interim and final ASB injunctions under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime & Policing Act 2014
- Obtaining closure orders under section 80 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 and subsequent extensions of orders under section 82 for the maximum period
- Representing Local Authorities at committal hearings after breaches of ASB injunctions
- Drafting grounds of appeal under s 46 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 against the issue of a Community Protection Notice for fly-tipping, leading to the withdrawal of the Community Protection Notice by the Local Authority
- Securing stalking protection orders (SPOs) under the Stalking Protection Act 2019 and sexual risk orders under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 on behalf of the Metropolitan Police
- Information Law
Olivia is one of the contributors to the 6th edition of Coppel on Information Rights, having edited the chapters on: the right to information under the FOIA, the general principles of the exemptions to FOIA, and prejudice and the public interest under the FOIA.
Recent instructions include:
- An allocation hearing in a DPA claim, in which Olivia successfully argued on behalf of the Defendant that the claim should be allocated to the small claims track.
- Succeeding on behalf of a Local Authority before the Information Tribunal in striking out an application to certify an offence to the Upper Tribunal for failure to comply with an FTT decision.
- Advising on prospects of success and drafting pleadings for and against claims made under the GDPR/DPA 2018.
As a pupil, Olivia gained the following information law expertise:
- Drafting an advice on whether a Government department’s processing of personal data as part of a surveillance programme complied with GDPR.
- Drafting an advice on the prospects of a DPA representative claim against a Big Tech company. Drafting an advice on whether a contractual confidentiality clause prevented disclosure of documents to the ICO.
- Public Law and Judicial Review
Recent instructions include:
- Sole counsel in the High Court, successfully securing an extended civil restraint order for the maximum period of 2 years preventing a claimant from bringing any further claims against the Council without the court’s permission.
- Junior counsel, with Sam Fowles, to Lisa Busch KC in Hamilton and Ors v Post Office Limited [2021] EWCA Crim 577, representing 3 of the 42 appellants who successfully overturned convictions for crimes of dishonesty in the Court of Appeal.
- Junior counsel to Philip Coppel KC in R (Valero Logistics UK Ltd & Greenergy Terminals Ltd) v Plymouth City Council [2021] EWHC 1792 (Admin), a judicial review of a decision to grant planning permission for a commercial heliport.
- Editor of the 2020 edition of Volume 25(2) of Atkins’ Court Forms on Local Government.
Election Law
Olivia has in-depth knowledge of election law and the way it is enforced having recently completed a 6-month secondment at the Electoral Commission. During her time with the Commission, Olivia assisted with the drafting of new statutory guidance which the Commission was required to produce by the Elections Act 2022. The guidance relates to the new ‘digital imprints’ regime introduced by the Elections Act 2022 which imposes new requirements which apply to those who publish relevant material.
Olivia’s election law experience also extends to judicial review. She was Junior counsel to Philip Coppel KC in R. (on the application of Evans) v Electoral Commission [2021] EWHC 1818 (Admin), in which the Commission successfully defended a challenge by the Labour Party to the Electoral Commission’s process for dealing with applications to change political parties’ “registered descriptions”.
- Commercial and Regulatory
Olivia has experience assisting both local authorities and private clients in commercial disputes.
Recent instructions include:
- Representing a company that owns a gambling website in a contractual/tortious claim by multiple claimants in respect of their gambling losses.
- Advising a local authority on whether it had breached a contract with a supplier by terminating an agreement for services.
- Advising a local authority on procurement considerations arising from agreements between the authority and a commercial entity in respect of a proposed retail development.
- Advising a local authority on its available contractual remedies under a construction agreement when the works had overrun.
- Successfully representing the Claimant in a small claims track trial brought in respect of sub-standard building work.
- Successfully representing a public body in an application to set aside default judgment in a financial claim.
- Drafting pleadings in a High Court claim for breach of a loan agreement. Editor of the 2021 volume of Atkins’ Court Forms on Bills of Sale.
- Climate Litigation
Olivia welcomes instructions with an environmental element. Olivia’s inquiry experience includes both led and unled appeals against the denial of permission for solar farms in valued and non-valued landscapes. Her judicial review experience includes being led in a case concerning the risks posed by development near an oil refinery.
Olivia is a member of the Cornerstone Climate team.
- Inquests and Inquiries
Olivia welcomes inquest instructions from interested persons. She has experience of issues including prevention of future death reports and allegations of neglect.
Recent instructions include:
- Representing a local authority in a three-day inquest concerning a death in hospital of a local authority care home resident.
- Representing a local authority in a two-day inquest concerning a death in the home of someone in receipt of social care.
- Planning and Environment
Olivia has experience as both led and unled counsel at planning inquiries and judicial reviews.
Recent led instructions include:
- Junior counsel to Josef Cannon representing a local authority in a six-day inquiry concerning the refusal of permission for 37 homes on Green Belt land, raising issues of Green Belt and landscape harm and 5-year housing land supply.
- Junior counsel to Estelle Dehon KC representing a local authority in a four-day inquiry concerning the refusal of permission for a solar farm in a designated strategic landscape, raising issues of landscape harm.
- Junior counsel to Philip Coppel KC in Valero Logistics UK Ltd & Greenergy Terminals Ltd v Plymouth City Council [2021] EWHC 1792 (Admin), a judicial review concerning the grant of planning permission for a commercial heliport on a site located among fuel storage depots.
- Drafting grounds of resistance on behalf of a local authority in relation to a judicial review claim concerning the grant of planning permission for a sewage pumping station.
Recent unled instructions include:
- Sole counsel representing a local authority in a four-day inquiry concerning the refusal of permission for 60 retirement homes, raising issues of character and appearance and pedestrian safety.
- Sole counsel representing a local authority in a planning hearing concerning an appeal against an enforcement notice relating to the construction of a static caravan park outside the redline of a permission.
As a pupil, Olivia’s experience included:
- Drafting summary grounds of resistance to a judicial review claim against a Council’s grant of planning permission for a solar farm.
- Drafting a Statement of Facts and Grounds in support of a judicial review claim against a Council’s decision to adopt a Masterplan without complying with the requirements for Supplementary Planning Documents.
- Drafting a skeleton argument for a statutory review under s 288 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.
- Drafting an advice on the lawfulness of revisions to a s 106 agreement.
- Licensing
Olivia welcomes instructions in all areas of licensing law. She has experience in magistrates’ court appeals, summary reviews and licensing sub-committee meetings.
Recent instructions include:
- Successfully defending an appeal against a local authority’s revocation of the private hire licence of a driver who entered into inappropriate conversations with a child.
- Successfully defending an appeal against a local authority’s grant of a premises licence to a primary school.
- Representing multiple local authorities at appeals in the magistrates’ courts against the revocation of premises licences in cases including breaches of immigration law and incidents of violent disorder.
- Representing the Metropolitan Police at a summary review of a premises licence following a violent brawl, with the police’s recommendation for licence modifications being adopted by the sub-committee.