Barrister Profile

Main Areas of Practice

Administrative Law or Judicial Review
Immigration
Personal Injury
Public Inquiries

Biography

Andrew was called to the Bar in September 2016 and is available to accept instructions in all areas of practice.

The majority of Andrew’s practice is in the area of immigration and he has extensive experience appearing in both the First and Upper Tier Tribunals (Immigration and Asylum Chamber). Andrew also has experience of immigration related judicial reviews and regularly acts for and advises clients across the full spectrum of immigration issues including:

• Asylum and Humanitarian Protection appeals
• Applications and appeals under the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations
• Advices regarding the EU Settlement Scheme
• Article 8 applications and appeals including those made outside the Immigration Rules
• Removal and deportation cases
• Immigration bails and unlawful detention issues
• Family Reunion applications
• Further Submissions under Paragraph 353
• Unlawful delays in processing Asylum and Human Trafficking claims

Andrew also has experience appearing in the County Court and High Court acting for both Plaintiffs and Defendants across the full range of civil matters, including personal injury cases relating to road traffic collisions, noise induced hearing loss, asbestos exposure and actions under the Roads (NI) Order 1993. He also appears regularly in the criminal courts and various statutory tribunals, including the Review Tribunal.

Since 2017 Andrew was appointed to the Government Legal Services Northern Ireland Panel of Counsel (D Panel) before progressing to the C Panel in January 2020 and B Panel in April 2023.

Qualifications

2023; Appointed to Government Legal Services Panel for Counsel (B Panel)

2020; Appointed to Government Legal Services Panel for Counsel (C Panel).

2017; Appointed to Government Legal Services Panel of Counsel (D Panel).

2016; Called to the Bar of Northern Ireland.

2016; Postgraduate Diploma in Professional Legal Studies, Distinction, Institute of Professional Legal Studies, Queen’s University Belfast. Recipient of the following awards:

• J.P.B. Maxwell Scholarship
• Martin McBriney Memorial Prize for Criminal Procedure - Summary
• Directorate of Legal Services Prize for Family Law
• PricewaterhouseCoopers Prize for Accounts

2014; LLB (Honours) Law with Politics, First Class Honors, Queen’s University Belfast. Recipient of the following awards:

• Bar Library Scholarship
• Foundation Scholarship

Experience

Prior to being called to the Bar, Andrew worked as a paralegal secretary in a busy city centre practice. During his time there, Andrew gained experience in preparing cases for hearing and attend to Counsel at all levels of the Civil, Family and Criminal Courts in Northern Ireland.

Since 2018 he has been Junior Counsel to a number of Public Inquiries focused on health and social care governance. During this time Andrew has gained a particular interest in and understanding of data handling issues under the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) in the context of inquiries.

2022- Present: Junior Counsel to UK Covid Inquiry

2021 - Present: Junior Counsel to Urology Services Inquiry

2018 - 2022: Junior Counsel to Independent Urology Inquiry