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Public Law

Our firm is a recognised leader in advising clients from both the public and commercial sectors on all aspects of public law.

Lawyers in all departments of our firm advise on public law issues, including on:

  • Governance issues
  • Collaborative arrangements
  • Trading powers
  • Licensing (including prosecutions)
  • Highway law
  • Freedom of information
  • Elections and electoral law
  • Administrative law
  • Public and parliamentary law
  • Human rights and vires
  • State aid and competition

With many of our lawyers coming from public sector backgrounds, we have the expertise to deal with all these issues authoritatively.

Key Contacts

Alastair Lewis

Partner and Parliamentary Agent

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Emyr Thomas

Partner and Parliamentary Agent

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Work highlights

  • Promoting all London Local Authorities Acts for the London Boroughs (inc. bills promoted jointly with TfL), which included important provisions, a number of which have been taken up by the government on a national basis.
  • Promoting Acts for local authorities to enable them to close highways for filming, and to deal with street trading.
  • Acting for the returning officer in an election petition which challenged the election of the mayor of Tower Hamlets in 2014.
  • Advising health charities, local authorities and pressure groups on tobacco control legislation.
  • Advising the tri-boroughs on structures for its intelligent client model.
  • Assisting a large county council with an investigation into a member’s conduct.
  • Advising Essex County Council on its powers to trade and trading structures.

On 4 September 2025, as per its duty under s3(1) of the Law Commissions Act 1965, the Law Commission (the “Commission”) published its 14th Programme of Law Reform. This Programme outlined ten new projects it will be focusing on over the next few years. These will sit alongside the seventeen other existing law reform projects that…

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The Subsidy Control Act 2022 (the “Act”) came into force in January 2023 and replaced the European Union state aid regime. Our previous article provides an overview of the key features of the Act. Here, Olivia Dawson considers the Act’s subsidy challenge regime, the Competition Appeal Tribunal’s (the “CAT’s”) approach to case management and costs,…

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To find out how we can help you, please contact us today