Joseph Lavery

Professional Summary

Called 2023

Contact Details

E T +44 (0)20 7632 8500 Clerk Harry Gilson Clerk Private: Iva Mirjam Stipanovic Clerk Isabella Quill E

Joseph practises in all of Chambers’ core areas including public law and human rights, information and data law, public procurement, education and employment, and sport.

Current and recent highlights include acting in:

  • Wikimedia Foundation and another v Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology [2025] EWHC 2086 (Admin): Judicial review proceedings concerning the lawfulness of regulation 3 the Online Safety Act 2023 (Category 1, Category 2A and Category 2B Threshold Conditions) Regulations 2025.
  • NAA v An Independent Review Panel, London Borough of Haringey [2025] EWHC 1845 (Admin): Judicial review proceedings concerning the interaction between the school exclusion process and Article 4 ECHR/the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
  • Judicial review proceedings concerning the Student Loan Company’s powers to undertake investigations into suspected student loan fraud.
  • Judicial review proceedings concerning a challenge to Birmingham City Council’s decision to close adult day centres.
  • Tees Valley Combined Authority v The Information Commissioner [2025] UKFTT 215 (GRC): Proceedings concerning the application of the commercial interests exemption under the Freedom of Information Act, in which the Tribunal described Joseph’s submissions as “detailed and persuasive“.
  • Airwave Solutions Limited v Secretary of State for the Home Department: a procurement challenge concerning the UK’s Emergency Services Mobile Communications Network.

Prior to coming to the Bar, Joseph was the Judicial Assistant to Sir Geoffrey Vos, Master of the Rolls, in the Court of Appeal. In this role Joseph worked on notable and high-profile appeals spanning the breadth of civil law, including in the area of public law and human rights. Joseph has a LLM from Harvard Law School, where he studied comparative public law as a scholar of the Saint Andrew’s Society of New York, and a BA in Jurisprudence from the University of Oxford.

Specialisms

Public and Human Rights

Joseph accepts instructions from individuals, corporations, NGOs, local and central government, and a range of other public authorities in all aspects of public law.

Current and recent highlights include:

  • Wikimedia Foundation and another v Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology [2025] EWHC 2086 (Admin): Judicial review proceedings concerning the lawfulness of regulation 3 the Online Safety Act 2023 (Category 1, Category 2A and Category 2B Threshold Conditions) Regulations 2025.
  • NAA v An Independent Review Panel, London Borough of Haringey [2025] EWHC 1845 (Admin): Judicial review proceedings concerning the interaction between the school exclusion process and Article 4 ECHR/the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
  • Judicial review proceedings concerning the Student Loan Company’s powers to undertake investigations into suspected student loan fraud.
  • Judicial review proceedings concerning a challenge to Birmingham City Council’s decision to close adult day centres.
  • Acting for the Ministry of Defence on the Covid-19 inquiry in relation to Module 5: Procurement.

As a pupil Joseph worked on public law across the field, including both domestic and ECtHR proceedings, on issues consultation challenges, rationality, Convention challenges, jurisdictional issues, and statutory interpretation.

In his previous role as Judicial Assistant to the Master of the Rolls, Joseph worked on high profile public law cases including:

  • R (EOG) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2022] EWCA Civ 307 (on the compliance of the Secretary of State’s policy on victims of human trafficking with international obligations).
  • R (Counsel General for Wales) v Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy [2022] EWCA Civ 118 (on the legislative competence of the Senedd).
  • R (CN) v Secretary of State for Health and Social Care [2022] EWCA Civ 86 (on the exclusion of hepatitis B sufferers from the Infected Blood Support Scheme).

Joseph has a particular interest in matters relating to devolution, having worked on devolution issues throughout his academic and professional career.

Data Protection and Information

Joseph accepts instructions in data protection and information matters including under the UK GDPR/Data Protection Act 2018, Freedom of Information Act 2000 and Environmental Information Regulations 2004. Current and recent highlights include:

  • Wikimedia Foundation and another v Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology [2025] EWHC 2086 (Admin): Judicial review proceedings concerning the lawfulness of regulation 3 the Online Safety Act 2023 (Category 1, Category 2A and Category 2B Threshold Conditions) Regulations 2025.
  • Tees Valley Combined Authority v The Information Commissioner [2025] UKFTT 215 (GRC): Proceedings concerning the application of the commercial interests exemption under the Freedom of Information Act, in which the Tribunal described Joseph’s submissions as “detailed and persuasive“.
  • Gangadharan v The Information Commissioner [2025] UKFTT 00963 (GRC): Proceedings concerning whether requested information amounted to personal data under the Freedom of Information Act.
  • Acting and advising both for and against the Information Commissioner in relation to various Freedom of Information Act matters.
  • Advising on a data subject access request made to a professional services firm.

Joseph’s recent work in this field as a pupil includes:

  • An upper tribunal appeal on the meaning of “personal data” for the purposes of the data protection legislation (assisting Rupert Paines).
  • An upper tribunal appeal concerning the disclosure of information under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (assisting Rupert Paines).

Procurement

Joseph accepts instructions from economic operators and authorities. Current and recent highlights include:

  • Airwave Solutions Limited v Secretary of State for the Home Department: a procurement challenge concerning the UK’s Emergency Services Mobile Communications Network.
  • Acting for the Ministry of Defence on the Covid-19 inquiry in relation to Module 5: Procurement.

During his pupillage, supervised by Rupert Paines, Joseph gained experience in a range of procurement matters including:

  • A claim by an unsuccessful tenderer that the contracting authority had failed to request supplemental information clarifying the tender.
  • A challenge to the direct award of a contract for the provision of technology services for GP practices.

Joseph is instructed by the MOD on the Covid-19 Inquiry in relation to Module 5: Procurement, and has a detailed understanding of MOD procurement practice.

Education

Joseph accepts instructions in a wide range of education-related matters, including judicial review proceedings and discrimination claims, from local authorities, schools, universities, parents, students and education campaigners. Current and recent highlights include:

  • NAA v An Independent Review Panel, London Borough of Haringey [2025] EWHC 1845 (Admin): Judicial review proceedings concerning the interaction between the school exclusion process and Article 4 ECHR/the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
  • Acting in a claim against a university for breach of contract and disability discrimination.
  • Acting in a claim against a private school for breach of contract and negligence.
  • Acting for a school in a claim for negligence, breach of data protection legislation, and misfeasance in public office.

Prior to coming to the Bar, Joseph worked as a paralegal at a law firm specialising in special educational needs law and has extensive knowledge in the area.

Employment

Joseph accepts instructions across the full range of statutory and commercial employment law matters. Current and recent highlights include:

  • Various employment tribunal proceedings concerning issues including discrimination, whistleblowing, unlawful deduction from wages, and unfair dismissal.
  • High Court proceedings concerning breach of post-termination covenants.

Joseph’s recent work in this field as a pupil includes:

  • A disability discrimination claim brought by a former employee who was made redundant.
  • A jurisdiction challenge in proceedings concerning a multi-jurisdictional conspiracy claim relating to multiple unlawful team moves in the insurance and reinsurance sector (assisting Rupert Paines).
  • An arbitration concerning breach of contract in the high-frequency trading sector (assisting Rupert Paines).

Sport

Joseph accepts instructions in a wide range of sport-related matters. Recent instructions include a dispute relating to a boxing punditry contract.

Awards

Lord Denning Scholarship, Lincoln’s Inn (2022)

Residential Scholarship, Lincoln’s Inn (2022)

Best Public Law Submission, Oxford University Undergraduate Law Journal (2020)

LLM Scholarship, St Andrew’s Society of New York (2020)

College prizes for academic performance, Hertford College (2017-2020)

Publications

Rosalind Dixon & Joseph Lavery, Commissioning Economic Equality? Lessons from Scotland, 2023 FLR 315

Joseph Lavery, Determining the Extent of Devolved Legislative Competence: A Comparative Analysis Between Scotland and Canada, 2020 OUULJ 185

Education

University of Oxford, BA in Jurisprudence

Harvard Law School, LLM (Thesis: The United Kingdom Internal Market Act: A Comparative Analysis)

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Professional title: Barrister

Full name (as registered with Bar Standards Board of England and Wales): Joseph Lavery

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Legal Status: Sole Practitioner

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