Harrison Denner
"Excellent written skills and thorough pleadings. Very good on his feet. Easy to work with."
Legal 500 2023
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Harrison has a broad practice, with a wealth of experience both led and unled in a variety of fields. Harrison has a particular focus on commercial litigation, as well as consumer finance, product liability and group actions.
Prior to joining Chambers, Harrison graduated from Oxford University with a BA in jurisprudence, followed by obtaining a Distinction from UCL in the LLM and an Outstanding on the BPTC. He also worked at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP as a corporate paralegal.
For more information about the way barristers at Henderson Chambers work, including our terms of engagement, fee transparency statement and our complaints process, please click here. Barristers are regulated by the Bar Standards Board.
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Expertise
Group Actions
Harrison welcomes instructions in group actions. Examples of current and recent group action instructions include:
- Acting (alongside Charles Gibson KC, Malcolm Sheehan KC, Andrew Kinnier KC and others) for GlaxoSmithKline in its successful defence of the Seroxat Group Litigation. This was a Consumer Protection Act group action alleging discontinuation symptoms following the use of a leading antidepressant/anxiolytic. After the trial judge defined the limited scope of the case the claimants were permitted to advance at trial as to why it was alleged that Seroxat was defective, the Court of Appeal dismissed the claimants’ appeal. This case was featured as one of The Lawyer’s Top 20 cases of 2019.
- Acting for Volkswagen in the Volkswagen NOx Emissions Litigation: claims arising out of vehicle emissions testing.
- Acting for thousands of individuals in the Mortgage Prisoners Litigation (alongside Oliver Campbell KC, Adam Heppinstall KC and William Hibbert), who held mortgages with Northern Rock prior to its nationalisation. The claim alleges that those individuals were, post-nationalisation, treated unfairly in a variety of ways and raises questions of unfair terms, breaches of implied terms and breaches of statutory duty (arising out of the MCOB rules). This ongoing litigation has received widespread media attention (see, for example https://www.ftadviser.com/mortgages/2019/12/18/mortgage-prisoners-launch-legal-action-against-lenders/).
- AAA v Unilever (as a pupil): a claim brought by workers and visitors to a tea plantation in Kenya against the local Kenyan subsidiary and the English parent company.
Product Liability
Harrison also welcomes instructions relating to product liability. Examples of current and recent experience include:
- Acting (as junior to Philip Shepherd KC, Akhil Shah KC, Geraint Webb KC and others) for Qatar Airways in its dispute with Airbus relating to the supply of Airbus A350 aircraft which the Claimant argued were defective and supplied in breach of contract. A 10-week trial was listed for summer 2023 prior to the parties agreeing terms of settlement.
- Acting (as junior to Geraint Webb KC) for the Claimant in Dana UK Axle Ltd v Freudenberg FST GmbH [2021] EWHC 1751 (TCC). Following a 3-week trial heard remotely in May 2021 judgment was entered in full for the Claimant in the amount of £11.2 million. This dispute raised complex issues of jurisdiction, choice of law clauses, a “battle of the forms” dispute, as well as complex expert evidence relating to engineering, materials science and production data analysis.
- Acting (as junior to Geraint Webb KC) for the Claimant/Applicant in Dana UK Axle Ltd v Freudenberg FST GmbH [2021] EWHC 1413 (TCC). On day 7 of a TCC trial, the Claimant made a successful application to debar the Defendant from relying on its three technical expert reports and to debar those experts from giving evidence at trial. The judgment is a key authority relating to the importance of full compliance with the CPR when it comes to the instruction of experts and the control of communications with those experts throughout the litigation process.
- Acting for GlaxoSmithKline in the Seroxat Group Litigation.
- Advising a major pharmaceutical company in relation to a potential group action arising out of an allegedly defective drug. Specifically, advising on questions of pre-action disclosure and limitation periods (details confidential).
Commercial
Harrison regularly advises on questions of contractual interpretation and litigation tactics in commercial matters more generally and welcomes all commercial instructions. Examples of recent commercial instructions include:
- Advising a major international corporation on the recovery of sums owed to it by an embassy, raising complex questions regarding diplomatic immunity and enforcement.
- Advising companies on the recovery of sums owed where it is said by the paying party that the individual who signed the contract on their behalf lacked the necessary authority to contract.
- Advising on the fairness of contractual terms and the consequences of any unfairness.
- As junior to Oliver Campbell KC: advising a potential defendant on questions of contractual interpretation in a proposed claim relating to infrastructure damage (details confidential).
- As junior to Prashant Popat KC: advising on an arbitration claim for damages for infrastructure damage and performance-related charges arising out of a major train derailment (details confidential).
Banking (including consumer credit)
Harrison has experience acting for a variety of lenders and financial institutions in relation to consumer credit disputes. In particular, Harrison has experience of:
- Trials raising questions of unfairness under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 in respect of PPI policies linked to credit agreements.
- Trials dealing with motor finance commission payments made by lenders to dealers/brokers in respect of Hire Purchase Agreements or Conditional Sale Agreements.
- Trials in respect of solar panels where consumers bring claims of misrepresentation pursuant to section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 against the lender.
EU & Competition Law
Harrison has experience in competition law cases, recently acting on behalf of Japanese smart card chip producer Renesas in relation to a follow-on damages claim brought in the High Court by Vodafone in relation to a decision by the European Commission. Harrison has studied economics extensively, including a module on Economics in Competition Law during his LLM, and is particularly keen to put that knowledge to use in competition law matters.
Personal Injury
Harrison has experienced a great deal of personal injury work during his time in Chambers, advising on both on liability and quantum, as well as frequently appearing in small claims and fast track trials.
Health & Safety
Harrison also welcomes health and safety instructions and recently acted as junior to James Purnell, advising a major manufacturer in its defence of a prosecution brought against it for alleged breaches of health and safety legislation.
What the directories say
"Harrison is a safe pair of hands. He’s able to grapple with papers and issues in dispute quickly and he has a good intuition for how a case is progressing. Any questions Harrison poses are always relevant, and he has a good commercial awareness – namely higher value and more complex claims warranting a greater proportion of time."
Legal 500 2024
"Excellent written skills and thorough pleadings. Very good on his feet. Easy to work with."
Legal 500 2023
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Instructing Harrison Denner
If you require help or advice please contact our clerking team
Call +44 (0)20 7583 9020
or email
- Government Legal Department, Junior Junior Scheme (30/05/2018 to 17/09/2022)
- Commercial Bar Association
- Personal Injuries Bar Association
- Health & Safety Lawyers’ Association
Education
- MA, Oxon (Jurisprudence)
- LLM, UCL (Distinction)
- BPTC, University of Law (Outstanding)
Awards
- Hardwicke Entrance Award, Lincoln’s Inn
- Lord Denning Scholarship, Lincoln’s Inn
- Buchanan Prize, Lincoln’s Inn
- Wolfson Scholarship, Lincoln’s Inn
- Performance Award, University of Law
- Ede & Ravenscroft Prize, University of Law
- Diploma in Music Performance (piano) ABRSM
- Orchestral and Choral Scholarships, St John’s College Cardiff
All members of Chambers are registered with the Bar Standards Board of England and Wales. For our standard contractual terms click here.
For more information about the way barristers at Henderson Chambers work, including our fee transparency statement and our complaints process, please click here.
Bar Council Number: 67721
VAT Registration Number: 303105077
Legal Status: Barrister
Professional Insurance: All members of Chambers have professional liability insurance provided by the Bar Mutual Indemnity Fund Ltd. Territorial coverage is world-wide and subject to the term of the Bar Mutual. Click here for details.
Regulated by the Bar Standards Board.