Philip Coppel KC

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A versatile silk who maintains a deliberately broad practice, Philip is a recognised leader in commercial litigation (including civil fraud, bank matters and tax disputes), all areas of government law (including planning, elections, licensing and finance) and data protection/FOI/privacy law.

Experience and expertise

Philip has extensive court and tribunal experience to the highest appellate levels. Recent major court appearances have variously been concerned with financial services, bank matters, civil fraud, freezing injunctions, local government law, judicial review, planning, environmental law, privacy and data protection, and freedom of information. In addition, Philip has appeared at numerous major planning and environmental inquiries. Thorough preparation, effective use of team resources and client commitment are combined with an open style to ensure clear advice and convincing representation.

Publications

Philip is the author of the leading practitioner text on Freedom of Information (FOI) and similar rights. Now in its sixth edition, Information Rights has been widely acclaimed and is regularly cited. He is the editor of the local government and local government finance volumes of Halsbury’s Laws of England and the author of the volumes of Atkins’s Court Forms on election law, economic torts, misfeasance in public office and evidence.

Expertise

Commercial, Civil Fraud and Regulation
Philip has always had a strong civil and commercial litigation practice. He has combined this with his other areas of practice, including tax, to deliver successful client outcomes. These have included extending the law to protect client interests (e.g. Total Network SL v HMRC Revenue, where unlawful means conspiracy was used to recover unpaid tax liability, and Hone v Abbey Forwarding dealing with damages on a cross-undertaking given for a freezing injunction). He is a highly experienced trial advocate who will lead a team to ensure that client resources are used effectively and efficiently.

Professional directories have rated him as a leading silk in a number of areas of law, with published client comments for the last 12 months including:
- “Grasps complex legal issues, and is meticulous in his preparation.”
- “He has always been clear and concise in providing advice. He is very thorough in his analysis of matters.”
- “He is a very good silk who is aggressive, will fight his client’s corner and will go the extra mile to get the desired result. He’s very focused on what can be achieved, and is very creative.”
- “He is careful, quietly spoken and superbly well informed.”
- “Creative and tenacious. He is a very strong trial lawyer, who is both personable and a great advocate.”
Regulatory Law

The marriage of two of Philip’s longstanding core areas of practice (commercial law and public law), regulatory law is a central part of his practice. This has seen him already in groundbreaking appellate litigation in relation to collective investment scheme and the Financial Conduct Authority (Asset Land Investment v FCA, the first case on the topic going to the Supreme Court).

Professional directories have rated him as a leading silk in a number of areas of law, with published client comments for the last 12 months including:
- “Grasps complex legal issues, and is meticulous in his preparation.”
- “He has always been clear and concise in providing advice. He is very thorough in his analysis of matters.”
- “He is a very good silk who is aggressive, will fight his client’s corner and will go the extra mile to get the desired result. He’s very focused on what can be achieved, and is very creative.”
- “He is careful, quietly spoken and superbly well informed.”
- “Creative and tenacious. He is a very strong trial lawyer, who is both personable and a great advocate.”
Data protection

Philip is a leading expert in the area of data protection and personal privacy. He was invited by the Leveson Inquiry to give expert written and oral evidence on data protection and the protection of personal privacy. That evidence formed the basis of numerous recommendations by Lord Justice Leveson. Philip regularly represents individuals, ensuring wherever possible that their interests are secured without the spotlight of litigation.

Rated as a leading silk in this area of law in both professional directories. Published client comments include:
- “‘His knowledge of and enthusiasm for the subject are prodigious.”
- “An eminent name in the field, who is recognised for his considerable depth of knowledge and for being the author of a definitive data protection text, ‘Information Rights: Law and Practice’.”
- “He is excellent, user-friendly and willing to look at innovative ways of making data protection law work for clients.”
Philip lectures regularly on data protection.
- Philip Coppel KC’s Eclipse Litigation featured in The Lawyer’s Top 20 cases of 202410 Jan 2024
- City AM – Royal Bank of Scotland faces another trial01 Jan 2018
Planning and Environment
From the outset, Philip’s practice has had a large planning component. Prior to taking silk, he had for more than 10 years regularly been instructed by the Treasury Solicitor as one of their go-to counsel on court planning appeals. Since then he has been instructed on more important cases, most recently in the Supreme Court on discontinuance notices and hazardous substances. He is also frequently instructed by and against local planning authorities. Planning inquiry experience includes windfarm developments. Mastery of technical matters saw him instructed by the Ministry of Defence in significant interventions to to protect the operation of defence radars.

Philip has a wide-ranging environmental law practice, covering matters such as habitats and species protection, contaminated land, air quality, waste, access to environmental information, statutory and common law nuisance and all aspects of environment impact assessment, strategic environmental assessment and environmental permitting. Recent cases include HSE v Wolverhampton CC, dealing with hazardous substances, and Perry v Newmark Properties, dealing with screening opinions.

Professional directories have rated him as a leading silk in a number of areas of law, with published client comments for the last 12 months including:
- “Grasps complex legal issues, and is meticulous in his preparation.”
- “He has always been clear and concise in providing advice. He is very thorough in his analysis of matters.”
- “He is a very good silk who is aggressive, will fight his client’s corner and will go the extra mile to get the desired result. He’s very focused on what can be achieved, and is very creative.”
- “He is careful, quietly spoken and superbly well informed.”
- “Creative and tenacious. He is a very strong trial lawyer, who is both personable and a great advocate.”
Philip is the author of the leading practitioner text on environmental information, Information Rights (5th Ed), variously described in reviews as “a scholarly work of intensely practical use”, as a “magisterial work, comprehensive and incisive” and as “encyclopaedic and authoritative.”
Public Law and Judicial Review
With over 20 years’ experience in all aspects of public law, this is a mainstay area of Philip’s practice with regular instructions both from those challenging decisions of public authorities and from public authorities seeking to defend such challenges. Particular specialist aspects of judicial review in which he has both expertise and experience include:
- Claims involving customs, tax and excise. Recent reported cases include: Bampton v HMRC (corporations tax, discretions, legitimate expectations etc), Daniel v HMRC (residency, concessions etc), Millenium Cash & Carry v HMRC (excise, seizure etc) and, on the other side, Seabrook Warehousing v HMRC (judicial review of delegated legislation).
- Claims involving pharmaceutical provision, doctors and dentists contracts. Reported cases include Assura Pharmacy v Moss and Hussain v Secretary of State for Health.
- Traffic regulation including parking. Reported cases include Djanogly v Westminster CC (motorcycle charges) and LB Camden v Parking Adjudicator (parking charges).
- Social care: B v Cornwall Council
Philip is a rated silk in the practice area, with current directory entries in this field describing him as:
- “…a very good silk who is aggressive, will fight his client’s corner and will go the extra mile to get the desired result. He’s very focused on what can be achieved, and is very creative.”
- “He is careful, quietly spoken and superbly well informed.”
- “Creative and tenacious.”
Philip co-authored (with Saima Hanif of 39 Essex Street) Jordan’s Tribunal Practice. Reviews have described it as being “what will probably become the leading textbook on the current tribunal structure and an indispensable guide for those who act for both appellants and respondents alike.”

Local Authority Governance and Services

Philip is an experienced local government lawyer. In addition to working for or against many local authorities across the country in his other core areas (planning, judicial review, election law, information rights and licensing), he regularly advises monitoring officers on governance matters.

He is recommended in the current editions of directories in this area of the law, and published client commendations include: “He has always been clear and concise in providing advice” and “He is very thorough in his analysis of matters.”

Information Law

Philip has appeared in most of the important cases involving the Freedom of Information Act, including Kennedy v Charity Commission (Supreme Court’s consideration of whether the ECHR guaranteed journalists any rights to government-held information), Browning v ICO (challenging the use of closed hearings in FOIA appeals) and Corporate Officer of the House of Commons v Leapman (MP’s expenses). He has successfully established the principle of commercial confidentiality as a ECHR right to override statutory disclosure obligations (Veolia v Nottinghamshire CC). His knowledge of the area extends to the less well-known statutory and common law rights of access (see e.g Perry v Newmark Properties), including medical records.

Rated as a leading silk in this area of law in both professional directories. Published client comments include:
- “His knowledge of and enthusiasm for the subject are prodigious.”
- “An eminent name in the field, who is recognised for his considerable depth of knowledge and for being the author of a definitive data protection text, ‘Information Rights: Law and Practice’.”
Philip is the author of the leading practitioner text in the area, Information Rights, already in its 5th edition, variously described in reviews as “a scholarly work of intensely practical use”, as a “magisterial work..comprehensive and incisive” and as “encyclopaedic and authoritative.”

Data Protection

Philip is a leading expert in the area of data protection and personal privacy. He was invited by the Leveson Inquiry to give expert written and ora evidence on data protection and the protection of personal privacy. That evidence formed the basis of numerous recommendations by Lord Justice Leveson. Philip regularly represents individuals, ensuring wherever possible that their interests are secured without the spotlight of litigation.

Published client comments include:“He is excellent, user-friendly and willing to look at innovative ways of making data protection law work for clients.”

Philip lectures regularly on data protection.

Election Law

Election law has always been a central part of Philip’s practice. With more than 20 years’ experience of this specialised area of the law, he has appeared in many of the major election trials, including successfully defending the returning officer in the Birmingham postal ballot rigging trials and the appeals that followed, and the registration officer in the prisoner-voting rights claim. Regularly instructed by returning officers as well as by the Electoral Commission, he is also retained by returning officers to provide advice and assistance in the run-up to elections, on election night questions and following the count.

He has lectured for the Association of Electoral Administrators and he has written the last three editions of the elections law volume of Atkin’s Court Forms, including a total re-write of the precedents.

Philip understands the special requirements of this area of the law, with the need for quick authoritative advice. Arrangements can be made to ensure that this can be delivered, whatever the hour.
Licensing
- Overview
- News
An important component of Philip’s practice is licensing law. Notable recent cases have included representing the Royal Albert Hall in the Court of Appeal in Corporation of the Hall of Arts and Sciences v Albert Court Residents’ Association, enabling boxing matches to take place in the Hall.
- Betting industry bracing over new government consultation on gambling01 Jan 2018
Information Law
Philip Coppel KC is a leading silk in this area and he has been instructed in high-profile cases, in particular in relation to data breaches.

Philip is the author of the leading practitioner text on Freedom of Information (FOI) and similar rights. Now in its fifth edition, Information Rights has been widely acclaimed and is regularly cited.

Top-class counsel whose expertise is second to none.
Chambers UK Bar (2024)

He is very skilled at spotting the killer points.
Chambers UK Bar (2024)

A highly flexible and imaginative silk.
Chambers UK Bar (2023)

A doyen of the Bar.
Chambers UK Bar (2022)

He is fantastic, really user-friendly, and his advocacy is spot on. He is a brilliant barrister.
Chambers UK Bar (2022)

About Philip

Directory Quotes
- Data Protection – “Top-class counsel whose expertise is second to none.” Chambers and Partners 2024
- Election Law: “He’s incredible on his feet.” “He is very skilled at spotting the killer points.” Chambers and Partners 2024
- Local Government – “He is proactive and quick to respond.” Chambers and Partners 2024
- Data Protection – “Philip is excellent at getting into the detail of an issue.” Legal 500 2024
- Data Protection – “Philip Coppel KC is very experienced and pleasant to work with.” “He wrote the leading textbook on information rights and gets straight to the core of each matter.” Chambers and Partners 2023
- Election Law – “A stellar public law KC.” “A highly flexible and imaginative silk.” Chambers and Partners 2023
- Local Government – “He is a jack of all trades.” Chambers and Partners 2023
- Data Protection – “Philip is the barrister any client would be lucky to have on their team. His advice is clear and pragmatic. His advocacy is persuasive and well structured.” Legal 500 2023
- Local Government – “Very clever and very good at explaining matters to the lay client. He has a masterly overview and command of many-stranded matters.” Legal 500 2023
- Local Government – “He is fantastic, really user-friendly, and his advocacy is spot on. He is a brilliant barrister.” Chambers and Partners 2022
- Data Protection – “A dean of the Bar.” “He has an encyclopedic knowledge of data protection law but is extremely personable at the same time. He puts clients at ease, is an extremely safe pair of hands, and will refuse to roll over. He puts up a fight.” Chambers and Partners 2022
- Election Law – “He knows this area of law very well, and is a serious specialist in it.” “Very insightful and helpful, his expertise shines through.” “He is a tenacious advocate, who is very knowledgeable on technical points.” Chambers and Partners 2022
- Administrative and Public Law – “Philip is a real pleasure to work with. He is bright, enthusiastic and great with clients.” Legal 500 2022
- Local Government – “Very clever and very good at explaining matters to the lay client. He has a masterly overview and command of many-stranded matters.” Legal 500 2022
- Philip is also ranked in Data Protection and Planning with Legal 500.
- Local Government – “A highly popular choice of local government counsel who is particularly well known for his appellate practice. His broad expertise encompasses further areas, such as information law and commercial disputes. Strengths: “A very experienced and persuasive advocate who exudes calm when addressing difficult points.” Chambers and Partners 2021
- Data Protection – “Draws upon valuable previous experience as a solicitor, and as A Panel counsel, as well as an extensive oeuvre of authoritative writing on the subject. He has an impressive track record of representing an array of clients, ranging from businesses and private individuals to public authorities, in high-profile cases. Strengths: “He finds angles for the defence that his clients might have not thought about.” “He gets straight to the heart of the issues.” “He is approachable and his manner of explaining things to the lay person is astonishing.” Chambers and Partners 2021
- Election Law – A respected election law silk who acts for returning officers and the Electoral Commission. He advises clients on all aspects of the build-up to elections, as well as matters on election night and its aftermath.Strengths: “A tenacious barrister who understands the law and takes good points.” “He’s enthusiastic, a stickler for detail and not one to suffer fools gladly.” Chambers and Partners 2021
- “Very clever, very good explaining matters to the lay client, masterly overview and command of this many-stranded matter.” Legal 500 2021
- “His knowledge of the area is unrivalled. He is strong on litigation strategy and undaunted by difficult cases.” Legal 500 2021
- “Very prompt, approachable, succinct and to the point, while thinking ‘out of the box’ – solutions-focused.” Legal 500 2021
- “He’s punchy, he’s always right and his level of experience is unparalleled.” “He’s very good in the environmental law field, and he’s very intellectually rigorous.” Chambers and Partners 2020
- “Very much on the ball.” “He calls it as he sees it and gives very practical advice.” “He’s a fighter who has great clarity of thought.” Chambers and Partners 2020
- “He has an excellent legal brain.” Chambers and Partners 2020
- “He is a big name in the data protection world.” Legal 500 2020
- “He looks out for the bear traps.” Legal 500 2020
- “One of the most experienced data protection advocates at the Bar, and very inventive.” “A direct and incisive communicator who leaves no room for misunderstanding.” Chambers and Partners 2019
- “Always impresses when dealing with election law. He has considerable knowledge of the subject and is able to give firm advice on what can and cannot be done.” Chambers and Partners 2019
- “One of the most experienced and knowledgeable barristers on information law.” Legal 500 2018
- “An outstanding level of service, particularly for planning matters.” Legal 500 2018
- “Very high calibre.” “He has a very good manner.” Chambers and Partners 2018
- “He understands the real issues of election law and always provides practical advice.” Legal 500 2017
- “He is undaunted by challenging cases.” Legal 500 2017
- “If the case involves original and creative thinking or the mastery of an obscure regulatory regime, he is ideal.” Legal 500 2017
- “He is thorough and technically excellent.” Chambers and Partners 2017
- “A very robust advocate.” Chambers and Partners 2017
- “Clear and knowledgeable.” “He’s excellent on complex cases where there’s no margin for error.” Chambers and Partners 2016
- “A tireless and passionate advocate” Legal 500 2016
- “A matchless knowledge of existing case law and ingenuity in developing the law further.” Legal 500 2016
- “A very high-calibre lawyer, at the top of his game.” Legal 500 2016
- “Unflinching in his approach.” Legal 500 2015
Publications
Notable Cases
Events
- Information Law Week Day 3 – Penalties under the DPA/GDPR: principles, practice and appeals19 May 2022