Alfred has already gained extensive procurement litigation experience on both the claimant and defendant sides, and has also acted in an advisory capacity to a number of government clients.

Cases

• Siemens v HS2: acting for the claimant in a high-profile challenge to the rolling stock procurement for the UK’s flagship new high-speed rail line, consolidating five separate Part 7 claims and three JRs (led by Fionnuala McCredie KC and Fiona Banks).
• R (Good Law Project) v Secretary of State for Health: acting for the Secretary of State in relation to challenges to the award of PPE contracts worth hundreds of million pounds to three companies (Pestfix, Clandeboye and Ayanda Capital) without competition during the early stages of the pandemic, using the ‘emergency’ procurement procedure under PCR 2015 Regulation 32(2)(c) (led by Michael Bowsher KC and Ewan West). The proceedings were one of The Lawyer’s “Top 20 cases for 2021”, and received widespread media attention as well as coverage in Parliament (see, for example, BBC, Guardian).
• R (Good Law Project) v Secretary of State for Health: transparency challenge in relation to the non-publication of the awards of billions of pounds of Covid-related contracts by DHSC (led by Philip Moser KC and Ewan West).
• R (Good Law Project) v Minister for the Cabinet Office: politically sensitive challenge to the direct award of a contract for focus groups to a company run by friends of the Prime Minister’s former adviser, involving allegations of apparent bias (see Guardian).
• Alstom v Network Rail: challenge to the award of a single supplier framework agreement for the delivery of a digital train control system on the East Coast Main Line (led by Philip Moser KC and Stephen Kosmin).
• 2019 Rail Franchising Litigation (led by Rhodri Thompson KC and Fionnuala McCredie KC): complex multi-party litigation involving a number of disqualified bidders’ challenges to three rail franchise competitions (one of The Lawyer’s “Top 20 cases for 2020”). Alfred appeared as junior counsel in the Court of Appeal and subsequently in a three-week TCC trial.
• Live Nation v Royal Parks: acting for the Claimant in a challenge to the award of the Hyde Park Music Festival contract to AEG.

Alfred has received a number of significant competition instructions, and has particular experience of matters with a pharmaceutical/regulatory angle. As well as assisting more senior members of Chambers as a junior, he has also been instructed in his own right in an advisory capacity, both in relation to allegations of anti-competitive conduct and mergers.

Cases

Examples of recent work include:

• Cabo v MGA: standalone competition damages/IP claim against MGA, the world’s largest privately owned toy company, relating to MGA’s best-selling range of LOL Surprise! Dolls (led by Ronit Kreisberger KC).
• Advising a substantial private company in relation to a proposed merger with a competitor (as sole counsel).
• Pre-action advice in relation to alleged anti-competitive agreements coordinated by a trade organization (as sole counsel).

Alfred has a thriving commercial practice, and regularly works with the more senior members of Chambers’ commercial group. He has particular experience of matters with a corporate finance aspect, and is comfortable with the more complex quantitative aspects of litigation. More recently, he has also undertaken some offshore work in the Isle of Man.

He has frequently appeared as an advocate in County Court proceedings, in particular involving breach of contract matters and compensation claims under EU Regulation 261/2004.

Alfred also assisted Steven Gee KC with the new edition of Gee on Injunctions, and often speaks at seminars and events on commercial dispute resolution.

Cases

• Kelly v Baker and Braid: high-value breach of fiduciary duty/fraudulent misrepresentation claim in the Commercial Court following the management buyout of a leading West Midlands-based demolition and land remediation firm (led by William Buck): three-week trial before Cockerill J in May 2022.
• LA Micro Group (UK) Ltd v LA Micro Group Inc [2020] EWHC 1405 (Ch): shareholder dispute over the beneficial ownership of an IT company, involving parallel proceedings in the US. Alfred acted for one of the defendants in a jurisdiction challenge (led by Thomas Sebastian).
• Acting for a multi-national asset management firm in a group action by policyholders in the Isle of Man High Court involving alleged mis-selling of portfolio bonds (led by William Buck).
• Securing urgent interim relief and a freezing injunction in a contractual dispute relating to the construction of a submarine (led by Gregory Pipe).
• Acting for the defendants in a breach of warranty/fraudulent misrepresentation claim following the sale of an IT services business (led by Gregory Pipe).

Alfred has extensive experience of judicial review proceedings in the public procurement context, and has been instructed in a number of other commercial JR claims.

Cases

• R (Dover Harbour Board) v Minister for the Cabinet Office and Secretary of State for Transport: acting for the Defendants in a challenge to the funding allocated to Dover under the Port Infrastructure Fund for work on facilities needed as part of the Government’s post-Brexit Border Operating Model.
• Siemens v HS2: high-profile challenge to the rolling stock procurement for the UK’s flagship new high-speed rail line, consolidating five separate Part 7 claims and three JRs.
• R (Good Law Project) v Minister for the Cabinet Office: politically sensitive challenge to the direct award of a contract for focus groups to a company run by friends of the Prime Minister’s former adviser, involving allegations of apparent bias (see Guardian).
• R (Good Law Project) v Secretary of State for Health: transparency challenge in relation to the non-publication of the awards of billions of pounds of Covid-related contracts by DHSC.
• 2019 Rail Franchising Litigation (led by Rhodri Thompson KC and Fionnuala McCredie KC): complex multi-party litigation involving a number of disqualified bidders’ challenges to three rail franchise competitions (one of The Lawyer’s “Top 20 cases for 2020”). Alfred appeared as junior counsel in the Court of Appeal, where the principle of procedural exclusivity and whether the underlying claim was properly a ‘public law challenge’ were central issues.

Alfred has a particular interest in EU matters. Much of his work has a retained EU law angle, and he has been instructed in proceedings before the Luxembourg Courts both before and after the end of Brexit transition period.

As well as contributing to the EU Relations Law blog, he has co-authored two articles on the Northern Ireland Protocol for the Tax Journal (with George Peretz KC).

Cases

• Testbiotech eV v Commission: a challenge to a GM marketing authorisation granted by the European Commission (led by Kassie Smith KC) (see news article).
• Symphony Environmental v Commission, Parliament and Council: damages claim under Article 340 TFEU brought by the leading manufacturer of oxo-biodegradable plastic following the adoption of the Single Use Plastics Directive (2019/204).

Alfred is keen to develop a tax practice, and has co-authored two articles for the Tax Journal on the customs and state aid provisions of the Northern Ireland Protocol (with George Peretz KC). During pupillage, he assisted Peter Mantle in a challenge to recover input tax based on a direct and immediate link between theatre production costs and taxable catering supplies (Royal Opera House Covent Garden Foundation v HMRC [2019] TC7157).

Cases

Before coming to the bar, Alfred spent four years teaching Classics at Winchester College. His commentary on Ovid Amores II was published by Bloomsbury Academic in 2018.

Education

• BPTC, BPP London (2018): Outstanding (ranked top five in year)
• GDL, Oxford Brookes University (2017): Distinction (ranked first in year)
• BA Literae Humaniores, Merton College, Oxford (2012): Double First

Scholarships and prizes

• Lord Denning Scholarship, Hardwicke Entrance Award, Buchanan Prize, Megarry Scholarship (Lincoln’s Inn)
• BPP Excellence Award
• Oxford University Press Prize for highest Distinction on GDL; Oxford Brookes University GDL Scholarship
• Postmaster (Merton College scholarship)

Languages

• French (advanced)
• German (basic)