M.A. (Cantab), BCL (Oxon), D.Phil (Oxon)
M.A. (Cantab), BCL (Oxon), D.Phil (Oxon)
Which sections would you like to include in your PDF download?
Brendan is a leading junior with a wealth of experience in Commercial, Public law and Regulatory disputes. He offers expertise across Chambers’ core areas and he is in equal demand amongst public and private clients in Judicial Review, EU, Competition, Procurement, and Tax litigation. In addition, he regularly acts in Financial Services, Insurance, Sport and Professional Negligence disputes. His intellectual rigour, hard work and commercial common sense has resulted in a thriving advisory practice. Brendan is personable and persuasive and is regularly instructed in his own right as both a trial advocate and an appellate advocate. In addition, he has been an integral team member in several high-value commercial disputes. Brendan was appointed to the Attorney-General’s A Panel in July 2017. In March 2019 Hart published Brendan’s new book ‘Data Profiling and Insurance Law’ which considers the legal implications of Insurers’ use of personal data in underwriting and claims decisions and which won the prestigious British Insurance Law Association book prize for 2020. He is co-author of Professional Indemnity Insurance, the second edition of which was published in February 2016 by Oxford University Press and the chapter on UK Merger Control (with Ben Rayment) in Weinberg and Blank on Takeovers and Mergers. In addition, Brendan has published several articles on Insurance and Competition law. Brendan is an affiliate lecturer in Competition Law at Cambridge University and teaches Article 102 on the LLM course. Brendan is recommended as a leading junior in Administrative and Public law, Competition, EU law, Procurement, Tax and Professional Negligence. He was called to the Bar of Northern Ireland in 2015 and to the Bar of Ireland in 2018.
“Excellent senior junior who is always completely on top of his brief. Also an absolute pleasure to work with.” – Competition, Legal 500, 2022
“An excellent senior-junior surely on the verge of taking silk. Phenomenally bright and excellent on his feet – he manages to turn hearings around.” – Legal 500, 2022
‘His intellectual capacity is really fantastic. He’s good to work with and his written work is outstanding; all round he’s an incredibly capable, very compelling advocate’’ – Chambers UK, 2020
“His submissions are forceful, persuasive and well-researched” – Legal 500 UK, 2020
“He draws on his wide experience of competition law to find imaginative ways of tackling problems.” – Legal 500, UK, 2020
“His capacity to understand and get to grips with complex issues is really very impressive.” – Chambers UK, 2020
“His advocacy is top notch.” – Legal 500, 2018
“Very bright, fantastically responsive.” “Highly diligent and intelligent junior.” – Chambers UK, 2017
‘‘His ability, charm and industry make him a pleasure to work with.’’ ‘‘Thoughtful, well prepared and a pleasure to deal with.’’ ‘‘An excellent technician but also a pragmatist.’’ ‘‘Clever and very capable; he adds real value.’’ – Legal 500, 2016
Brendan was on the executive committee of the Human Rights Lawyers’ Association.
Brendan is currently involved in:
Recent work and significant cases include:
“Brendan is a responsive and strategic barrister. Clients and solicitors have confidence in Brendan leading on cases and giving tactical advice to achieve clients’ objectives.” – Legal 500, 2022
“He’s good on his feet – he has a very lovely court manner and is very smooth with the judge. He’s straightforward to work with; he just rolls up his sleeves and gets involved.” – Chambers UK, 2021
‘‘Extremely clever and thoughtful – very on top of the detail of nuanced tests.’’ – Legal 500, 2021
“His intellectual capacity is fantastic; he’s good to work with, his written work is outstanding, and he’s an incredibly capable, compelling advocate. His ability to break down the facts and applicable law was highly impressive.” “An imaginative, intelligent, up-and-coming barrister with an expanding practice.” “His submissions were forceful, persuasive and well researched.” – Chambers UK, 2020
Brendan is currently involved in:
Recent work and significant cases include:
Brendan is currently involved in:
Recent work and significant cases include:
“Excellent senior junior who is always completely on top of his brief. Also an absolute pleasure to work with.” – Legal 500, 2022
“An excellent senior-junior surely on the verge of taking silk. Phenomenally bright and excellent on his feet – he manages to turn hearings around.” – Legal 500, 2022
Brendan’s competition law publications include:
Brendan is on the executive committee of the Procurement Lawyers’ Association.
Brendan is currently involved in:
Recent work and significant cases include:
“Excellent senior junior who is always completely on top of his brief. Also an absolute pleasure to work with.” – Legal 500, 2022
“An excellent senior-junior surely on the verge of taking silk. Phenomenally bright and excellent on his feet – he manages to turn hearings around.” – Legal 500, 2022
Brendan is currently involved in:
Recent work and significant cases include:
“Responsive and calm, he provides practical, commercial advice to clients.” “He’s knowledgeable and able to distil information into understandable concepts.” – Chambers UK, 2021
‘‘He is very intellectual and extremely thorough. He is very good on heavyweight, black letter law’’ – Legal 500, 2021
“His capacity to understand and get to grips with complex issues is really very impressive.” – Chambers UK, 2020
“An extremely thoughtful lawyer, who analyses a situation from all possible angles.” – Legal 500, 2020
Brendan published ‘Data Profiling and Insurance Law’ in March 2019, the leading work on the use of big data by insurance companies and the impact of such use on central principles of insurance law.
Brendan is co-author of Professional Indemnity Insurance, the second edition of which was published in 2016 by Oxford University Press, the leading practitioners’ text on the subject and has published several articles on insurance law.
Brendan is currently involved in:
Recent work and significant cases include:
Leading Junior in Professional Negligence – Legal 500, 2022
“He is very bright and strong on the detail.” – Legal 500, 2020
‘‘His advocacy is top notch.’’ – Legal 500, 2018
‘‘He is personable, great on his feet, and provides valuable input into strategic decisions.’’ Leading Junior in Professional Negligence. Legal 500, 2015
Recent work and significant cases include:
‘‘He is an excellent all-rounder’’ – Legal 500, 2018
Brendan is currently involved in:
‘‘He is an excellent all-rounder’’ – Legal 500, 2018
Brendan is currently involved in:
Recent work and significant cases include:
“Brendan is a pleasure to work with and his technical indirect tax knowledge is very strong. Brendan’s work is always thoroughly researched and his written pleadings are always punchy and persuasive. As an advocate, Brendan is very polished. He is particularly impressive and accomplished on his feet.” – Legal 500, 2022
‘‘His opinions are very clear and he goes out of his way to understand queries.’’ – Chambers UK, 2021
‘He is extremely impressive on his feet, delivering powerful speeches and being unfazed by difficult and probing questions from the judiciary’’ – Legal 500, 2021
Current cases:
Recent work and significant cases include:
Administrative & Public Law: “His written advocacy is excellent; he is incredibly good at what he does.” “He’s great to work with and extremely creative; he’s really good at thinking outside the normal parameters of the cases.” – Chambers UK, 2023
Animal Law: “Clients praise Brendan’s written output and advocacy. He is meticulous and thinks outside the box.” – Chambers UK, 2023
Life Sciences Regulatory: “An excellent lawyer, who is very approachable and helpful.” – Chambers UK, 2023
Public Procurement: “Very academic and very clever.” “A superb senior junior, who is calm, composed and extremely bright.” – Chambers UK, 2023
Tax: Indirect Tax: ‘‘Brendan is a real rising star of the junior Bar; he is excellent on his feet and his written submissions are always compelling and extremely well written. He is adept at distilling complex factual and legal matters into convincing and easily understood arguments.’’ – Chambers UK, 2023
Leading junior in Competition – Legal 500, 2023
Leading junior in EU law: “A smooth and articulate advocate, Brendan is highly technical and produced great written work. He has stood up to tough questions from judges on EU law authorities in the highest courts, such as the CJEU.” – Legal 500, 2023
Leading junior in Public procurement: “A well prepared advocate who is very good on his feet.” – Legal 500, 2023
Leading junior in Tax: VAT and Excise: “Brendan is a fantastic advocate, his oral submissions are particularly persuasive and he is adept at pitching his submissions so that they contain the appropriate level of detail.” – Legal 500, 2023
Leading junior in Administrative law and Human Rights: – Legal 500, 2023
Leading junior in Professional Negligence – Legal 500, 2023
Administrative & Public Law: “His grasp of the detail and the clarity of his written material is impressive. He is also friendly and easy to work with.” – Chambers UK, 2022
Public Procurement: “A barrister with excellent client-handling skills, who is very capable and able to take on complex cases.” “His responsiveness and technical prowess are fantastic. He is surgical in court, and his strategic advice is excellent.” – Chambers UK, 2022
Tax: Indirect Tax: ‘‘Very hard-working, intelligent and articulate.” “He is very well prepared and impressive on his feet.’’ – Chambers UK, 2022
Leading junior in Administrative and public law (including Elections): “Brendan is a responsive and strategic barrister. Clients and solicitors have confidence in Brendan leading on cases and giving tactical advice to achieve clients’ objectives.” – Legal 500, 2022
Leading junior in Competition: “Excellent senior junior who is always completely on top of his brief. Also an absolute pleasure to work with.” – Legal 500, 2022
Leading junior in EU law: “An excellent senior-junior surely on the verge of taking silk. Phenomenally bright and excellent on his feet – he manages to turn hearings around.” – Legal 500, 2022
Leading junior in Public procurement – Legal 500, 2022
Leading junior in Tax: indirect and VAT: “Brendan is a pleasure to work with and his technical indirect tax knowledge is very strong. Brendan’s work is always thoroughly researched and his written pleadings are always punchy and persuasive. As an advocate, Brendan is very polished. He is particularly impressive and accomplished on his feet.” – Legal 500, 2022
Leading junior in Professional Negligence – Legal 500, 2022
Administrative & Public Law: “He’s good on his feet – he has a very lovely court manner and is very smooth with the judge. He’s straightforward to work with; he just rolls up his sleeves and gets involved.” – Chambers UK, 2021
Public Procurement: “Responsive and calm, he provides practical, commercial advice to clients.” “He’s knowledgeable and able to distil information into understandable concepts.” – Chambers UK, 2021
Tax: Indirect Tax: ‘‘His opinions are very clear and he goes out of his way to understand queries.’’ – Chambers UK, 2021
Leading junior in Administrative and public law (including Elections): ‘‘Extremely clever and thoughtful – very on top of the detail of nuanced tests.’’ – Legal 500, 2021
Leading junior in Competition: ‘‘Very bright and articulate, Brendan is thorough, calm and a pleasure to work with.’’ – Legal 500, 2021
Leading junior in EU law: ‘‘Very bright and articulate and enjoyable to work with.’’ – Legal 500, 2021
Leading junior in Public procurement: ‘‘He is very intellectual and extremely thorough. He is very good on heavyweight, black letter law’’ – Legal 500, 2021
Leading junior in Tax: indirect and VAT: ‘‘He is extremely impressive on his feet, delivering powerful speeches and being unfazed by difficult and probing questions from the judiciary’’ – Legal 500, 2021
Administrative & Public Law: “His intellectual capacity is fantastic; he’s good to work with, his written work is outstanding, and he’s an incredibly capable, compelling advocate. His ability to break down the facts and applicable law was highly impressive.” “An imaginative, intelligent, up-and-coming barrister with an expanding practice.” “His submissions were forceful, persuasive and well researched.” – Chambers UK, 2020
Public Procurement: “His capacity to understand and get to grips with complex issues is really very impressive.” – Chambers UK, 2020
Tax: Indirect Tax: ‘‘His intellectual capacity is really fantastic. He’s good to work with and his written work is outstanding; all round he’s an incredibly capable, very compelling advocate’’ – Chambers UK, 2020
Leading junior in Administrative and public law (including local government): ‘‘His submissions are forceful, persuasive and well-researched’’ – Legal 500, 2020
Leading junior in Competition: ‘‘He draws on his wide experience of competition law to find imaginative ways of tackling problems.’’ – Legal 500, 2020
Leading junior in EU law: ‘‘An accomplished advocate who adjusts when he assesses which way the wind is blowing from the bench’s interventions.’’ – Legal 500, 2020
Leading junior in Professional Negligence: ‘‘He is very bright and strong on the detail.’’ – Legal 500, 2020
Leading junior in Public procurement: ‘‘An extremely thoughtful lawyer, who analyses a situation from all possible angles’’ – Legal 500, 2020
Leading junior in Tax: indirect and VAT: ‘‘His submissions are forceful, persuasive, and well-researched’’ – Legal 500, 2020
Administrative & Public Law: “Committed, creative, and has excellent instincts as well as the knowledge to back them up. Uses his breadth of experience to great effect.” “Incredibly knowledgeable.” – Chambers UK, 2019
Public Procurement: “His legal acumen and his commitment to the cause cannot be questioned.” – Chambers UK, 2019
Leading junior in Administrative and public law (including local government): ‘‘He has excellent instincts as well as the knowledge to back them’’ – Legal 500, 2018
Leading junior in Professional Negligence: ‘‘His advocacy is top notch.’’ – Legal 500, 2018
Leading junior in Public procurement: ‘‘Shapes information into understandable content based on very good procurement knowledge’’ – Legal 500, 2018
Leading junior in Tax: indirect and VAT: ‘‘He is an excellent all-rounder’’ – Legal 500, 2018
Administrative & Public Law: “He is very good, very clever and has a nice style with the courts.” – Chambers UK, 2018
Public Procurement: “Intelligent, diligent, balanced and measured.” “He’s an insightful speaker on procurement issues.” – Chambers UK, 2018
Leading junior in Administrative and public law (including local government): ‘‘He has found a real niche in public and EU law and is highly knowledgeable in the field.’’ – Legal 500, 2017
Leading junior in Professional Negligence: ‘‘His judgement and eye for the commercial realities of a case are first class.’’ – Legal 500, 2017
Leading junior in Public procurement: ‘‘Incredibly hardworking and extremely responsive.’’ – Legal 500, 2017
Leading junior in Tax: indirect and VAT: ‘‘Extremely patient with his solicitors in complex situations.’’ – Legal 500, 2017
Administrative & Public Law: “Very bright, fantastically responsive.” “Highly diligent and intelligent junior.” – Chambers UK, 2017
Leading Junior in Tax: Corporate and VAT: ‘‘His ability, charm and industry make him a pleasure to work with.’’ – Legal 500, 2016
Leading Junior in Public Procurement: ‘‘Thoughtful, well prepared and a pleasure to deal with.’’ – Legal 500, 2016
Leading Junior in Professional Negligence: ‘‘An excellent technician but also a pragmatist.’’ – Legal 500, 2016
Leading Junior in Administrative and Public Law (including local government): ‘‘Clever and very capable; he adds real value.’’ – Legal 500, 2016
Administrative & Public Law: “He is good on complex matters and esoteric areas of the law.” – Chambers UK, 2016
‘‘Highly impressive.’’ Leading Junior in Administrative and Public Law. Legal 500, 2015
‘‘He is personable, great on his feet, and provides valuable input into strategic decisions.’’ Leading Junior in Professional Negligence. Legal 500, 2015
‘‘He has sound commercial instincts.’’ Leading Junior in Public Procurement Law. Legal 500, 2015
Administrative & Public Law: “He is a supremely capable barrister whose public law practice is diverse and of a very high quality.” – Chambers UK, 2015
Brendan McGurk is ranked as an up & coming Junior in Administrative & Public Law: Acts for a variety of regulators and central government departments. He demonstrates strength in cases concerning telecommunications, national security and discrimination. “He is genuinely superb.” Chambers UK, 2014
‘Diligently engages with his casework.’ – recommended as a leading Junior in Administrative & Public Law Legal 500, 2014
“The ‘excellent’ Brendan McGurk,” is recommended as a leading Junior in Administrative & Public Law. Legal 500, 2013
Under Administrative and Public Law Brendan McGurk is described as ‘intellectually powerful, thorough and hardworking.’ Legal 500, 2012
Brendan McGurk is recommended as a leading junior in Administrative and Public Law. Legal 500, 2012
Brendan obtained First Class Honours (Law BA Hons) as an Undergraduate at Cambridge and as a Postgraduate at Oxford (BCL, 2 year). His D.Phil was supervised by Professor John Gardner and is entitled ‘The Rule of Law in the Regulatory State’. He was short-listed for a Prize Fellowship at All Souls College, Oxford in 2003, won a Queen Mother’s Major Scholarship in 2004 and a Bar European Group Scholarship in 2006. Before coming to the Bar, Brendan held a lectureship in Constitutional and Administrative Law at Wadham College in the University of Oxford. He is now an associate lecturer in Competition Law at Cambridge University.
Brendan was called to the Bar of Northern Ireland in 2015 and the Bar of Ireland in 2018.