Philip Coppel KC

Joint Head of Chambers
Silk: 2009 | Call: 1994

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A versatile silk who maintains a deliberately broad practice, Philip is a recognised leader in commercial litigation (including civil fraud and VAT/excise 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, 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 fifth edition, Information Rights has been widely acclaimed and is regularly cited. He has co-authored Tribunal Practice and is a contributor to Atkin’s Court Forms (volumes on election law, on economic torts and misfeasance in public office and on evidence).

Expertise

  • Commercial and Regulatory

    Philip has always had a strong civil and commercial litigation practice. He has combined this with his other areas of practice 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 experience 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 has come to assume a more 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 Coppel 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 Coppel lectures regularly on data protection.

  • 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.

    He is rated in this area of the law by current issue professional directories, with published comments including “Grasps complex legal issues, and is meticulous in his preparation.”

    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 decision 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 current edition 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 4th 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 Coppel 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 Coppel 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

    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.

  • 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.

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