Alfred has extensive procurement litigation experience on both the claimant and defendant sides, and has been instructed in many of the most significant procurement challenges in recent years.

Cases

• Mitie v MOJ: acting for the claimant in three parallel claims concerning the mini-competition under the Prison Operator Services Framework to run HMP Altcourse (led by Ewan West KC).
• Optima v DWP: acting for the defendant in a challenge concerning a call-off contract for occupational health and employee assistance programme services (led by Azeem Suterwalla). Alfred appeared as junior counsel in the both the TCC trial and the claimant’s appeal to the Court of Appeal.
• 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). 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).
• 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 Dominic Cummings, 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).
• 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 (led by Fionnula McCredie KC)

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

Cases

• Stopford v Google & Alphabet: acting for Google in collective proceedings before the CAT concerning alleged abusive conduct in the online search market (led by Meredith Pickford KC and Josh Holmes KC).
• Asda Stores Limited & Ors v AB Volvo & Ors: acting for the MAN Truck and Bus group companies in defence of follow-on claims brought by later wave claimants in the Trucks litigation (led by Daniel Jowell KC and Brendan McGurk KC).
• 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).
• Secretary of State for Health and Social Care & Others v Lundbeck Limited & Others: acting for Generics UK in follow-on proceedings in the CAT relating to ‘pay for delay’ agreements concerning citalopram.
• 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).
• Advising a healthcare company in relation to a potential abuse of dominance claim.

Alfred has a thriving commercial practice, both as sole counsel and assisting 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.

He regularly appears as an advocate in both the High Court and County Court, including in relation to urgent injunctions and Norwich Pharmacal relief.

Alfred also participates in the Chancery Bar Litigant in Person Support Scheme (CLIPS), providing pro bono representation to litigants in person in the Chancery interim applications list.

Cases

• Dickinson & ors v Utmost International, Morrison & ors v Utmost International: acting for a major offshore life assurance company, in two parallel group actions in the Isle of Man High Court brought by policyholders concerning allegations of misrepresentation, breach of duty, and dishonest assistance in breach of fiduciary duty (led by William Buck).
• McHale v Kyriakides & Braier: professional negligence/breach of fiduciary claim against professional advisers following a management buy-out (led by Gregory Pipe).
• Acting for a former director in a shareholder dispute in the High Court (as sole counsel).
• Contis v Hi Technologies: appeared as sole counsel in the High Court in a high value breach of contract claim against an Estonian financial services company.
• Counsel to a South African mining company in LCIA arbitration proceedings concerning an offtake agreement.
• Seeking an interim anti-harassment injunction in the High Court (acting pro bono under the Chancery Bar Litigant in Person Support Scheme).
• 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).

Alfred has a particular interest in injunctions, with extensive experience of applying for urgent injunctive/Norwich Pharmacal relief. He also assisted Steven Gee KC with the latest edition of Gee on Injunctions.

Cases

• Obtaining Norwich Pharmacal relief against two banks to identify the perpetrators of a fraud (as sole counsel).
• Securing an urgent interim injunction in the Chancery Division to restrain trespass and harassment in the context of a commercial dispute (as sole counsel).
• Securing urgent interim relief and a freezing injunction in a contractual dispute relating to the construction of a submarine (led by Gregory Pipe).
• Siemens v HS2: applying for an interim injunction to restrain HS2 from entering into the contract for the rolling stock for the new HS2 rail line.
• 2019 Rail Franchising Litigation: resisting the claimants’ application for an injunction to prevent the Department for Transport from entering into the contract for the West Coast Main Line.

Alfred is developing a growing specialism in regulatory law, particularly in the energy sector:

Cases

• Advising a major energy supplier in relation to compliance with Ofgem Standard Licence Conditions (led by Josh Holmes KC).
• Advising a major telecoms provider on regulatory and competition issues (led by Josh Holmes KC)
• Advising a not-for-profit company on a potential claim against its energy brokers (as sole counsel).
• Advising a major energy supplier in relation to an Ofgem compliance investigation (led by Josh Holmes KC).
• Advising British Airways in relation to the Civil Aviation Authority’s price control decision for Heathrow Airport.
• Advising a ‘big six’ energy supplier on potential judicial review proceedings challenging an Ofgem decision.

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 (led by Fionnuala McCredie KC).
• 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).

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)