Paul Lasok QC, Monckton Chambers’ long-standing Head of Chambers, has retired from practice to focus on his academic writing and most immediately completing ”Lasok’s European Court Practice and Procedure”, the third edition of which is to be published later this year by Bloomsbury.

Paul Lasok spent 14 years as Head of Monckton Chambers, 10 of which as sole Head, before handing over the leadership to Tim Ward QC and Philip Moser QC on 14 March 2016.

Under Paul Lasok’s direction, Monckton Chambers grew substantially, trebling its fee income in 10 years from £9.5m in 2006 to a current reported turnover of £29.7m. The last twelve months has seen a particularly significant leap with an increase in turnover of a record £8M. The change at the top took place not only on a financial high but it was also appropriately timed in that it was almost 20 years to the day since Monckton Chambers was established under its current name.

Paul Lasok’s areas of work include agriculture, competition, public & administrative law, public procurement, telecommunications, state aid, trade law (anti-dumping) and VAT & Customs Duties but he is best known for being a heavyweight in EU law.  Recognised for his “encyclopaedic knowledge of European case law”, one client commented that “He seemingly knows more about European law than anyone at the court itself.”

Graduating with an MA in Law from Cambridge, Paul completed an LLM in European Legal Studies at Exeter. Paul’s father, Dominik Lasok QC was one of the pioneers of the study and teaching of European Law in the academic world and the first Director of the University of Exeter’s Centre for European Legal Studies and so it could be said that European Law was in Paul’s blood.

Paul’s road to Monckton Chambers and his position as “a real doyen of the Bar” was far from straight.  Paul initially took up a position as a legal secretary to Advocate-General J-P Warner and Advocate-General Sir Gordon Slynn, Court of Justice of the European Communities. The experience proved invaluable as it gave Paul the opportunity to use his academic knowledge and aptitude to work on theories which could be included Advocate General’s opinions, most notable being his work developing the “Private Investor Principle” used in EU State Aid law. It was also in Luxembourg that Paul started his ongoing academic interest in the rules of procedure, a topic which resulted in a book, “Lasok’s European Court Practice and Procedure”, but also the basis of his subsequent PhD at Exeter.

After a two year stint in Brussels in private practice in EU law, London finally became Paul’s professional base in 1987. An invitation from Jeremy Lever QC of Gray’s Inn Chambers, which was later to become Monckton Chambers, saw Paul join those members of the set who had taken the farsighted decision to specialise in what is now EU law.  Paul’s European practice experience proved a perfect fit with other members as the set emerged as the leading EU and competition law practice for which Chambers is now best known.

Paul will be remembered for his wise leadership, particularly his approach to actively encouraging and supporting individuals, both barristers and support staff, to develop to their full potential.  His key mantras for recruitment were to attract the “intellectually curious” and that Chambers wanted “the best people for us” whilst at the same time showing that Monckton has the “best people for them”.

When it came to work, Paul believed that “when you lose a case, it rankles; when you win, well, that is what should happen.”  His case career ended on a high, acting for HMRC in a landmark win in the Supreme Court against the £100m UBS and DB ‘bankers’ bonus’ tax scheme appeal.

Joint Head of Chambers, Philip Moser spoke for all the members and staff when he said: “Monckton Chambers has been tremendously well served by Paul Lasok. He has established a collegiate ethos by which each member of chambers knows that individual success rests on the success of chambers as a whole. All members have benefited from his wisdom and his leadership.”

Paul Lasok officially retired from Monckton Chambers on Friday 29th April.

On Monday 16^th May, 618 teams from law firms and barristers’ chambers took part in the London Legal Walk in aid of the London Legal Support Trust, the Free Representation Unit and the Bar Pro Bono Unit.

Monckton’s Tim Ward QC, Steve Broach, Clair Matthews, Caroline Gowan, Gemma Goodwin, Aimee Dittmer, Daiva Eitkeviciene and Claire Bowers stepped out alongside the Lord Chief Justice and over 10,000 other walkers. To date Monckton’s eight fund-raising walkers has raised over £1,000 for these good causes and there is still time to add your support by donating here.

The Lawyer Awards, now in its 22nd year, commend excellence in the profession across private practice, the public sector, commerce and industry, and the Bar. In the shortlist just published, Monckton Chambers, is nominated for “Chambers of the Year”. The winners will be announced at a ceremony on 29 June 2016 at the Intercontinental Hotel, London – The O2.

Writing in the European Advocate, Christopher Muttukumaru CB explains why, in respect of three aspects of the renegotiated relationship  between the UK and the EU, the Prime Minister’s aims were, in legal terms, successfully met . In his article, published on 29 April, Christopher deals with the impact of the renegotiation on “ever closer union”, the role of national parliaments and competitiveness- better regulation.

Please see article here.

 

The current private enforcement “sweet spot” enjoyed by the UK, attracting worldwide claimants to its courts, could significantly shrink if the UK leaves the EU, and divergences between legal systems leads to “forum shopping”, Monckton Chambers’ Anneli Howard cautioned junior lawyers, in a keynote speech, held at the Competition Appeal Tribunal in Bloomsbury, on Friday (15 April).

Anneli Howard was a key speaker at the annual event, organised by Jordan Publishing’s Competition Law Journal and aimed at junior lawyers, economists and academics with an interest in competition issues. This year’s conference was entitled: Brexit? Divergence and convergence in UK and EU competition law & Private enforcement: calm before the storm?

Focussing on the topic “Brexit – exit stage left for competition law damages?”, Anneli Howard predicted that the immediate fall out from BREXIT is likely to be minimal in the short term but, over time, divergences could appear between the UK and the rest of the EU in terms of litigation practice or substantive competition law. Importantly, Commission Decisions would no longer be binding on English courts, who would be free to hear claims in parallel with Commission investigations, appeals and concurrent proceedings elsewhere in the EU. UK Judgments would no longer be recognised and enforced in 28 Member States. The UK would play no role in preliminary references before the CJEU and lose the opportunity to shape and influence future legal developments. “Brexit” could lead to a significant long-term reduction of global follow-on claims being heard in London if legal uncertainties unpick the vital toolkit of private claims and undermine the confidence of litigation funders in the UK. Ms Howard tempered her caution by highlighting that alternatively there could be a positive conclusion should standalone litigation could increase, which the UK’s specialist judges would be equipped to deal with and move UK competition law forward. Divergence might actually make the UK a more attractive forum than other Member States, particularly if they are distracted in the detail of the new Damages Directive for the next 5 years.  Either way, following an analogy throughout the talk  to Shakespeare’s “The Winter’s Tale”, Ms Howard concluded  that there was a real danger that both the new Directive and competition litigation in the English Courts could  become a “lost child” if forced to survive alone.

The talk will be the basis of an article on the topic, by Anneli Howard, to be published by Jordans in June.