Public
to a head in court and this is where a lot of the satisfaction of the job lies.”
The public law Bar spans the full range of administrative, public and constitutional law. Specific areas within the field include civil liberties and human rights, commercial judicial review, community and healthcare law, disciplinary proceedings and the internal administration of public bodies, education law, housing law, planning law, prison law, and social services and social security law. Public lawwork has a European influence, with a steady stream of cases being referred to the European Court of Justice for preliminary rulings and other cases raising the issue of the application of the European Convention on Human Rights. Hugh Southey QC’s career in public law started as a criminal solicitor. Speaking to LCN in June 2020, Hugh explains that: “Attending police stations, I met many clients with immigration problems and it was clear that there were very few people providing the representation they needed,” he says. “I happened to be working at a law firm at which there was a colleague with significant experience in immigration cases, so I was able to begin learning about immigration law, which was not taught at law school.” Having at first not considered the Bar realistic (“I thought it was a career for posh boys – both parts of the description used advisedly”), Hugh requalified as a barrister after reaching “a point that many solicitors arrive at, where you either become more of a manager – because as you increase in seniority, you run larger and larger teams – or you do something else. The first option means gaining a range of important skills as a manager but reducing the time you spend specialising in law.” With his passion for legal analysis, argument and access to justice, the choice was clear. Another influence was the increasing sense of frustration “at having to hand cases over at the trial stage. In public law, many cases come
Win or lose He completed pupillage at leading civil liberties set Tooks (the former Chambers of Michael Mansfield QC that collapsed in 2013), where he practised for 17 years. Later he joined Matrix Chambers, established in 2000 by leading human rights barristers including Cherie Booth QC. Now a silk himself and a Deputy High Court Judge, Hugh’s practice has expanded from its original immigration focus to cover various other areas of public law, often with a human rights element, such as prison law, healthcare and judicial review in criminal matters. He still does a significant amount of immigration work with a focus on cases where people are accused of terrorism activity. Hugh has also been called to the Bar in Northern Ireland, where his work has centred on issues such as the right to life, and investigations into human rights violations during the Troubles. Working with prisoners is another important part of his practice, for example, he is currently leading the legal challenge against controversial legislation to delay the release of prisoners convicted of terror offences. Much of the action in these types of cases happens in court – and proceedings have continued as much as possible during the UK’s coronavirus lockdown. “Public law does not tend to settle – it is win or lose,” explains Hugh. “Before the national lockdowns that started in March 2020 due to covid-19, I was in court two to three days a week on average, with preparation taking up the rest of my time. More recently, remote hearings have been frequent. I think the courts have worked better during the lockdowns than many people had feared. Trying to focus on a laptop is never going to be the same as being physically in court, where you can see everything around
For more chambers that work in this practice area, please use the ‘Pupillage index’.
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