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MA (Hons) Cambridge (Double First)
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“Fiona is one of the best juniors we have worked with.” “Fiona is exceptionally bright and sees straight to the heart of the matter.” “She is very hard-working and a very good advocate.” – Chambers UK, 2024
“She has mastery over the details and her advice to clients is first-rate.” – Legal 500, 2024
“Fiona is an outstanding lawyer. Technically excellent and extremely thorough.” – Legal 500, 2023
“She is a very bright barrister and has the intellectual horsepower to handle anything. She has the ability to really get into the details when there are very complex issues and can really cut to the heart of the analysis.” – Chambers UK, 2022
“Very hard-working, very able and someone who exercises very good judgement.” “She is a class act and produces work of excellent quality.” – Chambers UK, 2022
‘‘She is razor sharp and has excellent judgement in the court and with the client.’’ – Legal 500, 2021
‘‘Focused, committed and hardworking team player. Tenacious advocate in court. A first-class brain and her analysis of the law is also first-class.’’ – Legal 500, 2021
‘‘A robust and forceful practitioner. She is very good in competition law-related matters.’’ – Legal 500, 2021
“An expert in the field,” who “has a lot of experience and is good to work with.” “She is very accurate in all she does and works hard at the detail. Her drafting is good and she knows how to handle complex issues.” – Chambers UK, 2021
“She is a thoroughly good barrister and easy to work with.” “A very impressive advocate.” – Chambers UK, 2021
“A really bright and energetic junior.” “She is astute, provides excellent drafting and is very responsive, so it’s been a pleasure to have her in the team.” “Banks is incredibly user-friendly, diligent and thorough in going through material.” – Chambers UK, 2021
Fiona is an experienced commercial litigator, consistently ranked as a leading junior by the legal directories with a well-established practice in Competition, Commercial, Public Procurement, Telecommunications and Sports law.
As a competition law practitioner, Fiona regularly acts in heavy weight competition litigation, acting for both Claimants (such as Ryder in its pursuit of its Trucks Cartel damages claim) and Defendants (for example, Prysmian in its defence of damages claims arising from the Commission’s power cables decision). In the field of collective actions, Fiona appeared in Gutmann v LSER and ors in the Court of Appeal (2022); and acts for Alex Neill Class Representative Limited in a multi-billion pound claim brought against Sony relating to the creation and operation of the PlayStation ecosystem (which was recently certified, including the CAT’s first consideration of funding arrangements post PACCAR).
Fiona has a broad procurement law practice, in respect of which she regularly acts for Claimants, Defendants and Interveners, appearing both led and unled. Fiona recently appeared for Siemens in its challenge to the procurement of rolling stock for the HS2 railway. She has extensive experience of claims involving automatic suspensions and other injunctive relief; together with issues relating to the protection of confidential information and disclosure arising in the context of ongoing procurement litigation.
Fiona’s sports practice is broad, both in terms of the number of sports her cases cover (such as boxing and rowing) but also the range of different participants and legal issues. She has appeared in numerous anti-doping cases and she is regularly involved in Formula One disputes, having appeared on multiple occasions before the International Court of Arbitration. Her football practice extends not only to acting on behalf of football clubs but also agents, players, regulatory bodies and those involved in sports broadcasting rights. Fiona is currently acting in respect of sizeable football disciplinary proceedings.
She frequently appears as an advocate in her own right but also works very well as a highly valued junior in larger cases. She can accept instructions directly from clients, being direct access qualified.
Before joining Monckton Chambers, Fiona was a trainee solicitor and qualified at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, giving her an insight into the needs of solicitors throughout the litigation process.
Ranked in Chambers and Partners, Legal 500 and Who’s Who Legal, Fiona has extensive experience in procurement law and regularly acts for both private contractors and contracting authorities, across a range of sectors, including construction, healthcare, financial services, education, energy, defence, sport, transport and waste management. Widely recognised for her attention to detail, Fiona regularly acts in respect of disputes relating to highly complex and technical procurements. Some of her recent work is listed below, including Siemens’ challenge to HS2’s procurement of rolling stock and the rail franchise challenges, in which she successfully acted for the Department of Transport in defence of the claims brought by Stagecoach and others. She acted in one of the few cases where an application to lift the automatic suspension was successfully resisted (Counted 4).
Outside of the court room, Fiona represents clients at mediation and enjoys acting to bring about settlements that avoid the risk and cost of litigation.
In addition, Fiona has an extensive advisory practice and has repeatedly advised not only on challenges to ongoing procurements but also on the ability of contracting authorities to vary existing public contracts and the application of the procurement regime (including the Concessions Contract Regulations 2016) to quasi-public bodies.
Fiona is recognised by the directories as a leading junior in competition law. She has extensive expertise in competition law damages claims, both follow-on and standalone claims. She is currently acting in a number of private law damages actions, for both Claimants and Defendants, and regularly advises both private clients and regulators on a wide range of competition law issues.
In the specific field of collective actions, Fiona has been involved in a number of collective proceedings, most notably appearing in Gutmann v LSER and ors in the Court of Appeal (2022); and she acts for Alex Neill Class Representative Limited in a multi-billion pound claim brought against Sony relating to the creation and operation of the PlayStation ecosystem (which was recently certified, including the CAT’s first consideration of funding arrangements post PACCAR).
Fiona’s considerable experience in competition litigation is not limited to the CAT and the High Court, having also acted in the context of a number of international arbitrations involving competition and regulatory issues.
Fiona has particular strength in the telecommunications sector and is recognised in the legal directories for her expertise in the area. She has acted for both telecoms companies and regulators in regulatory investigations and disputes, appearing in appeals before the Competition Appeal Tribunal and Court of Appeal. She has a thorough knowledge of the EU Telecoms regime which she has developed across a variety of markets, including fixed and broadband markets. Given her expertise in public procurement and state aid, she is well placed to advise on the interaction of these areas of law.
Her notable clients have included BT and OFCOM.
Recent cases include:
Fiona is regularly instructed in commercial matters, often involving international disputes, before both national courts and arbitral bodies.
Listed as a leading junior in ‘Media, Entertainment and Sport’ in the Legal 500 since 2009 and recommended by Chambers UK (for Sport) and Who’s Who Legal (for Sport and Entertainment), Fiona has acted on behalf of national sports governing bodies, individual players, managers, clubs, event organisers and broadcasters in a variety of forum, including disciplinary, arbitral, High Court and CAT. The breadth of her practice is borne out by the number of different sports she has acted in respect of including football, golf, athletics, rugby league, rugby union, swimming, boxing, Formula 1, Formula E, cricket and cycling. Given her other specialisms, Fiona is well placed to advise on the interplay between sports law, competition law, telecommunications law and procurement law and has an extensive advisory practice alongside her litigation practice. In particular, Fiona has repeatedly advised in respect of dominance issues of governing bodies, salary caps, break-away leagues, funding mechanisms, home grown player requirements, doping, collective and exclusive broadcasting, licensing and valuation of rights and the application of the Concessions Regulations to sports event organisers.
Fiona was also selected as one of 19 barristers specialising in sports law to participate in the London 2012 pro bono legal advice and representation service.
Competition: “She recalls it well, and does a very clear and good job of writing up arguments.” “Her attention to detail is superb, she is very impressive here.” “Fiona is an excellent senior junior.” “She is incredibly efficient and quickly grasps and identifies the key issues.” “Fiona is one of the best juniors we have worked with.” “Her no-nonsense approach is valuable.” “Fiona is exceptionally bright and sees straight to the heart of the matter.” – Chambers UK, 2024
Public Procurement: “She is very hard-working and a very good advocate.” “Fiona is a rising star.” “Hard-working, committed and puts in a commendable amount of effort. She has wonderful drafting skills and is a pleasure to work with.” – Chambers UK, 2024
Sports: “Very easy to deal with, concise in her advice, and effective.” – Chambers UK, 2024
Telecoms: “Great at submissions and excellent at recalling every little detail of the case.” – Chambers UK, 2024
Leading junior in Public Procurement: “Fiona is an outstanding public procurement barrister. She has mastery over the details and her advice to clients is first-rate.” – Legal 500, 2024
Leading junior in Sport – Legal 500, 2024
Leading junior in Competition: “Fiona is incredibly organised and efficient. Not many junior counsel are as effective as her in terms of the speed and quality of output.” – Legal 500, 2024
Leading junior in Telecoms (regulatory) – Legal 500, 2024
Competition: “She shows really good judgement on when to discuss things and when it might be an unnecessary cost for the client.” – Chambers UK and Chambers Global, 2023
Public Procurement: “She is a very talented lawyer, who is realistic and in tune with what clients want to achieve.” “Extremely highly thought of, she’s very clever and good to work with.” – Chambers UK, 2023
Sports: “She is very sensible, pragmatic and a considered barrister.” – Chambers UK, 2023
Telecommunications: “She is a very bright barrister and has the intellectual horsepower to handle anything. She has the ability to really get into the details when there are very complex issues and can really cut to the heart of the analysis.” – Chambers UK, 2023
Leading junior in Public Procurement: “Fiona is an outstanding lawyer. Technically excellent and extremely thorough.” – Legal 500, 2023
Leading junior in Sport: “Calm, clear, speedy and efficient.” – Legal 500, 2023
Leading junior in Competition – Legal 500, 2023
Leading junior in Telecoms (regulatory) – Legal 500, 2023
“Fiona Banks is “a very sensible and knowledgeable junior” who impresses sources with her expertise in anti-doping disputes.” – Sports, Who’s Who Legal UK Bar 2022
“Fiona Banks is a renowned procurement expert in the healthcare, education, energy and construction sectors..” – Government Contracts, Who’s Who Legal UK Bar 2022
Recommended in Telecoms, Who’s Who Legal UK Bar 2022
Competition: “She is thorough, diligent and pleasant to work with. She knows when to be aggressive and when to compromise.” “Academic, diligent and clever.” – Chambers UK and Chambers Global, 2022
Public Procurement: “Very hard-working, very able and someone who exercises very good judgement.” “She is a class act and produces work of excellent quality.” – Chambers UK, 2022
Sports: “Her work is always clear and thorough, which gives you a huge amount of confidence.” – Chambers UK, 2022
Telecommunications: “She is a very bright barrister and has the intellectual horsepower to handle anything. She has the ability to really get into the details when there are very complex issues and can really cut to the heart of the analysis.” – Chambers UK, 2022
Leading junior in Competition – Legal 500, 2022
Leading junior in Telecoms (regulatory): “Fiona is a brilliant barrister who distills complex information quickly and accurately and helps formulate strong pleadings and strategies.” – Legal 500, 2022
Leading junior in Public Procurement – Legal 500, 2022
Recommended in Sports, Who’s Who Legal UK Bar 2021
Telecommunications: “An expert in the field,” who “has a lot of experience and is good to work with.” “She is very accurate in all she does and works hard at the detail. Her drafting is good and she knows how to handle complex issues.” – Chambers UK, 2021
Public Procurement: “A diligent, hard-working junior who is determined to get the best results for her clients.” “She provides thorough, timely and clear advice.” – Chambers UK, 2021
Sports: “She is a thoroughly good barrister and easy to work with.” “A very impressive advocate.” – Chambers UK, 2021
Competition: “A really bright and energetic junior.” “She is astute, provides excellent drafting and is very responsive, so it’s been a pleasure to have her in the team.” “Banks is incredibly user-friendly, diligent and thorough in going through material.” – Chambers UK and Chambers Global, 2021
Leading junior in Competition: ‘‘A very competent lawyer. Always a pleasure to work with her.’’ – Legal 500, 2021
Leading junior in Telecoms (regulatory): ‘‘She is razor sharp and has excellent judgement in the court and with the client.’’ – Legal 500, 2021
Leading junior in Public Procurement: ‘‘Focused, committed and hardworking team player. Tenacious advocate in court. A first-class brain and her analysis of the law is also first-class.’’ – Legal 500, 2021
Leading junior in Sports Law: ‘‘A robust and forceful practitioner. She is very good in competition law-related matters.’’ – Legal 500, 2021
Fiona Banks “commands respect” as a top name for sports litigation with “ a lovely manner in hearings”. – Sports, Who’s Who Legal UK Bar 2020
Peers of Fiona Banks are “very impressed with her written skills” and “very good judgement”. She is “extremely practical” and “a delight to work with”. – Government Contracts, Who’s Who Legal UK Bar 2020
Public Procurement:“Fiona has an exceptional ability to quickly absorb, process and organise a huge amount of information in a very short period of time. Her advice is always considered and accessible. She is excellent on paper and the quality of her drafting sets her apart.” – Chambers UK, 2020
Sports: “A fiercely bright contract lawyer.” – Chambers UK, 2020
Leading junior in Competition: ‘‘A good pleader.’’ – Legal 500, 2020
Leading junior in Telecoms (regulatory): ‘‘She represents both telecoms companies and regulators in disputes and investigations.’’ – Legal 500, 2020
Leading junior in Public Procurement: ‘‘A very personable, approachable and available junior.’’ – Legal 500, 2020
Leading junior in Sports Law: ‘‘A very good pleader.’’ – Legal 500, 2020
“Recognised for her superb government contracts practice. One source remarks that she has “in-depth legal knowledge combined with analytical skills, and the ability to crystallise complicated arguments into clear and sensible advice” – Government Contracts, Who’s Who Legal UK Bar 2019
“Always inspires utter confidence in her knowledge, approach and work” say peers who commend her “clarity of thought and pragmatism” – Sports, Who’s Who Legal UK Bar 2019
“An excellent barrister in the field” who is well versed in acting for telecoms providers and regulators in a range of tribunal and court proceedings” – Telecoms, Who’s Who Legal UK Bar 2019
Public Procurement: : “A very tenacious advocate” who is “incredibly responsive, very impressive in terms of her attention to detail and someone who drives matters forward.” – Chambers UK, 2019
Sports: “Impressive and eloquent, and she identifies the key points quickly. Provides sage, pragmatic advice.” “Extremely user-friendly.” – Chambers UK, 2019
Education & Prizes
2002-2003
1998-2001
2001
2000
Professional Memberships
Fiona is qualified to undertake direct access work through the public access accreditation scheme.