Year of call: 2012
Doug has a wide-ranging commercial and chancery practice, with particular specialisms in the fields of insolvency (corporate and personal), contractual disputes, and competition law.
Additionally, Doug routinely accepts instructions pertaining to national non-domestic rates.
Doug holds an LLM (First Class) from Cambridge University. His LLM papers were the law of restitution, commercial equity, intellectual property, and jurisprudence. During his undergraduate legal studies at Cambridge, Doug was awarded a Senior Exhibition by Emmanuel College for academic merit and the George Long Prize for the highest mark in jurisprudence in Cambridge University.
During his time at university, Doug won over twenty intervarsity debating competitions, including the John Smith Memorial Mace (formerly the Observer Mace). He reached the semi-finals of the World Universities Debating Championships on three occasions. Prior to commencing pupillage, Doug worked for the UK Competition Commission as a Legal Researcher, conducting legal research relevant to the market investigations and merger inquiries conducted by the Commission.
Doug has a wide-ranging Chancery practice. He routinely appears in the winding up lists and regularly represents parties on contested winding up petitions. Equally, Doug has substantial experience of personal insolvency matters and has advised and represented clients on contested bankruptcy petitions, applications to set aside statutory demands, and other matters. He recently appeared in a two-day High Court trial concerning the disputed ownership of chattels, alleged by the trustee in bankruptcy to be part of the estate of the bankrupt.
Advising and representing clients on landlord and tenant claims.
Representing Applicants and Respondents for the sale of residential property subject to a mortgage.
Advising clients on Inheritance Act claims.
Doug’s practice has seen him instructed across the range of Chambers’ commercial and chancery practice. He has a wealth of advocacy experience and relishes trial work. He has been instructed to represent clients in the County Court (small claims, fast track, and multi track) as well as on High Court matters. He frequently appears in the applications list in both Leeds and Manchester.
He also appears in the magistrates’ court on civil matters, especially those pertaining to national non-domestic rates.
Before joining chambers, Doug studied economics before working for the Competition Commission (a predecessor body to the Competition & Markets Authority), providing research and litigation support.
Doug provides specialist advice to both private parties and public bodies on competition law matters. He presently provides ongoing competition advice to a major UK regulator and has assisted in their investigation of breaches of the Competition Act. He recently appeared as junior Counsel (led by Martin Budworth) before the Vice Chancellor resisting an application to strike out allegations of Competition Act breaches.
Doug has spoken at seminars on Competition law topics on a number of occasions, including at the ‘Super Strength Summit’ in Birmingham, where he highlighted the competition law risks in local authority initiatives to regulate super strength alcohol.
Doug is particularly eager to receive instructions pertinent to:
Doug is instructed across the range of Chambers’ insolvency practice. He has appeared in the winding up list in Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, and Birmingham and frequently appears in the applications list in Leeds and Manchester on insolvency matters.
His experience includes opinions, drafting and advocacy on a wide range of insolvency matters including:
Wood v Lowe [2015] EWHC 2634 (Ch)
Application by a trustee in bankruptcy for a declaration of ownership over one hundred disputed chattels. Doug acted for the Respondents.
