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Hendersons - Barristers' Chambers

Jack Castle

‘Jack is a very effective cross-examiner and an impressive, unperturbed advocate.’

Legal 500 2024


Call
2018

Jack has a busy practice in line with Chambers’ expertise, encompassing commercial, financial services, product liability, employment, procurement and public law. He acts for claimants and defendants in individual and group claims.

He is regularly instructed in high-profile cases as junior counsel across his areas of practice. Current instructions range from a claim concerning intellectual property rights in the Bitcoin blockchain and the identity of its pseudonymous founder ‘Satoshi Nakamoto’, to an appeal to the Court of Appeal concerning Universal Credit and EU social security coordination, including the power to refer questions to the CJEU under the Withdrawal Agreement.

He also regularly appears as sole counsel in the High Court, Upper Tribunal, county court and a variety of tribunals, and has particular experience of interim, proprietary and freezing injunctions, including urgent relief. A number of his cases have been reported on by the national press. Clients include individuals, corporations, public authorities, finance houses and NGOs.

In 2023 Jack was appointed to the Attorney General’s C Panel, the first year he was eligible. He is an editor of Practical Lending and Securities Precedents covering assignment and participation of loans, of the judicial and statutory review chapters of Butterworth’s Civil Court Precedents, and has recently completed a forthcoming chapter on FCA regulation and authorisation in the consumer credit sphere.

In early 2021 Jack was a Judicial Assistant in the Commercial Court, chiefly to Cockerill J (Judge in charge of the Commercial Court).

Prior to joining Chambers Jack was a Visiting Lecturer in European Law at City Law School, and worked in the commercial art world. He is a trustee of Poetry London.


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.

Please click here for a copy of Jack Castle’s privacy policy.

 

Expertise


Commercial

Jack acts in complex commercial litigation. This includes, particularly, disputes arising out of banking and finance, partnerships, joint ventures, real property, product liability, intellectual property and cryptocurrency as well as confidential information, restraint of trade and general contractual matters.

He also acts in cases involving secret commissions, bribery, breach of fiduciary duty and unjust enrichment.

He frequently acts in applications for interim relief, including urgent and pre-action injunctions. He recently secured, unled, urgent proprietary relief preventing imminent sale of an investment property on behalf of a partner alleging misuse of partnership assets and constructive trust worth over £700,000 ([2023] EWHC 2647 (Ch)).

He is also instructed in commercial matters raising other areas of law, mainly public law and commercial cases with a financial regulatory element.

In 2021 Jack was a judicial assistant in the Commercial Court, chiefly to Cockerill J (Judge in charge of the Commercial Court). He is an editor of Practical Lending & Security Precedents. 

Representative cases

grid list
  • Breach of director's duties and diversion of profits

    Instructed, as sole counsel, in a High Court matter alleging appropriation of significant sums from the business by the company secretary and their accomplice, listed for an 8-day trial in 2024.

  • Matter involving sale of artwork

    Instructed as sole counsel in a contractual and consumer law dispute by a buyer of a significant work of Modern British Art.

  • Breach of restrictive covenants, fiduciary duty and accessorial liability

    Instructed, as sole counsel, in a High Court pre-action injunction and claim involving misuse of confidential business information on behalf of (and diversion of business to) a competitor.

  • Wright v BTC Core & Oths

    Instructed in a significant cryptocurrency matter concerning database and other intellectual property rights in the Bitcoin Core blockchain and Bitcoin White Paper, and the identity of the pseudonymous founder of Bitcoin ‘Satoshi Nakamoto’ (led by Terence Bergin KC and Adam Heppinstall KC).

  • Breach of contract arising out of provision of agency workers

    Instructed as sole counsel in a complex £500,000 breach of contract claim where a recruitment agency supplied agency workers to a client, which then recruited them as employees.

  • Partnership dispute

    Instructed as sole counsel in the High Court in a long-running dispute concerning a partnership formed to invest in residential property, involving allegations of misuse of partnership assets and breach of constructive trust. Jack also secured urgent, without notice proprietary relief to prevent imminent disposal of partnership property ([2023] EWHC 2647 (Ch)).

Public and Regulatory

Jack undertakes the full spectrum of public law work as both junior and sole counsel in a broad range of areas, including financial services, healthcare, law enforcement, transport, legal services, health and food safety, freedom of information, data protection and environmental law.

This includes judicial review and statutory and administrative appeals processes, as well as civil claims against public authorities and the overlap between public and other areas of law.

Recent instructions include: advising a well-known trade union on regulatory matters and freedom of speech concerns, judicial reviews relating to protected species, biodiversity and matters relating to renewable energy subsidies (see ‘Environmental’), a challenge to the lawfulness of inspections by a regulator and linked A1P1 damages claim (led by Patrick Green KC) and an appeal to the Court of Appeal regarding the classification of Universal Credit for the purposes of the EU social security coordination rules and the power to refer questions to Luxembourg post-Transition Period (led by Thomas de la Mare KC).

He has a particular interest in social security and welfare benefits. He regularly represents claimants in the Upper Tribunal and accepts instructions on a publicly funded or pro bono basis.

Representative cases

grid list
  • LR (by her litigation friend RR) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

    Instructed, as sole counsel, in the Upper Tribunal in a matter concerning the renewal process for Disability Living Allowance and Thlimmenos discrimination.

  • C v A Regulator

    Instructed in a commercial judicial review involving alleged apparent bias by a regulator’s inspector and a linked A1P1 damages claim (led by Patrick Green KC)

  • Re: Regulation of Advertising

    Instructed, as sole counsel, by a well-known trade union in potential judicial review proceedings arising out of potential regulatory action relating to advertising, raising issues of jurisdiction (including a “precedent fact” challenge) and Article 10 ECHR. The regulator dropped its investigation following pre-action correspondence.

  • MS v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

    Acting for a Slovakian national in an important Court of Appeal matter concerning entitlement to the child element of Universal Credit, raising issues concerning the interaction of Universal Credit with EU Regulation 883/2004 on the coordination of social security systems (led by Thomas de la Mare KC). Jack represented MS before the Upper Tribunal as sole counsel, reported as [2023] UKUT 44 (AAC).

  • Private Healthcare Provider v CQC

    Acted for a private healthcare provider challenging conditions placed on registration by the CQC in breach of legitimate expectations and the Tameside duty. Notice withdrawn after grounds of appeal filed.

  • GP v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

    Acting in an appeal to the Upper Tribunal for a pensioner deprived of state pension while held on remand and subsequently given a suspended sentence, raising statutory interpretation and human rights issues (Articles 6, 7, A1P1 and 14).

Financial Services

Jack is regularly instructed by major UK lenders for his expertise in financial services, as well as representing investors and customers.

This includes disputes and advisory work concerning, for example, the execution and enforcement of secured and unsecured loans, asset financing, guarantees, financial product mis-selling, secret commissions and fiduciary duties owed by brokers and advisors, and matters involving suspension of bank accounts due to fraud and/or money laundering.

He has a particular interest in financial regulation, including matters involving compliance with FSMA, the RAO, the Financial Promotions Order, the Consumer Credit Act 1974, and civil consequences for regulatory breaches under FSMA.

In 2022 he was seconded to the FCA to assist with investigations into the adequacy of advice given to customers transferring out of Defined Benefit pensions.

Jack is editor of the ‘Assignment & Participation of Loans’ chapter of Practical Lending & Security Precedents and has recently completed a chapter on FCA regulation and authorisation in the consumer credit sphere.

Representative cases

grid list
  • Appeal against "fit and proper" assessment for AML purposes

    Instructed as sole counsel by HMRC defending an appeal against the “fit and proper person” decision under the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017.

  • A v B Ltd and C

    Instructed as sole counsel in a claim against a claims management company alleging breach of the general prohibition and seeking compensation under section 26 FSMA.

  • Advice on s.138D action and FOS complaint

    Advising an investor on potential breaches of the FCA Handbook and the FPO by an Appointed Representative with a view to recovering their investment in a failed £2m property venture.

  • FCA Defined Benefits Pensions Enforcement

    Assisted the FCA in a large-scale enforcement action arising out of inadequate provision of advice surrounding transfers out of defined benefits pension schemes.

  • Claim against major online bank

    Instructed as sole counsel defending a major online bank against an alleged breach of the Quincecare duty and breach of the Payment Services Regulations 2017 arising out of an alleged authorised push-payment fraud.

  • Claim for frustration of a credit agreement

    Acting for a major lender in a claim alleging frustration of a credit agreement due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Group Actions

Jack has assisted leading counsel on procedural and substantive aspects of domestic and international group actions.

He has experience of group claims involving financial mis-selling, medical devices and medications, consumer rights, environmental disasters and international tort claims, including what is reportedly the biggest group action in English legal history arising from the collapse of the Fundão dam in Brazil.

This has included issues ranging from choice of law and management of the claimant group to novel points in the law of tort, parent company liability, and the immunity of international organisations.

He has also advised and assisted in advising on the preliminary stages of a number of group actions, including considerations of the most suitable substantive causes of action to certain group claims, organisation of the claimant cohort, strategy, tactics, and potential funding issues.

Representative cases

grid list
  • A consumer rights group action

    Instructed to advise on a group claim involving deception by traders relating to past usage of second-hand goods raising complex issues of European-derived law (including whether certain domestic legislation is an implementation of an EU directive and indirect effect). This included advising on the suitability of certain causes of action for group litigation and organisation of a claimant cohort, as well as strategy, merits and quantum (led by Nazeer Chowdhury).

  • Group action concerning mis-selling of property investments

    Assisted in advising the claimant group following the collapse of a US property investment scheme, on issues including forum and choice of law, attribution of knowledge to a company, joint liability in tort and practical issues concerning how to arrange the claimant group.

Employment

Jack appears as sole counsel in Employment Tribunal claims for unfair dismissal, whistleblowing, discrimination, failure to make reasonable adjustments, holiday pay and unlawful deduction of wages. This includes potential lifetime loss of earnings cases with values exceeding £750,000.

He also acts in High Court employment-related commercial matters involving breach of contract and restrictive covenant, including for interim injunctive relief, and civil frauds involving diversion of company funds and property.

He has further experience of the TUPE regime, worker status, the agency workers regulations, pensions disputes, and public law issues arising in employment matters. He represents both employees and employers.

He is also instructed on non-employment discrimination matters, including relating to provision of services and education, and novel claims arising out of the employment relationship.

Jack is ranked in the Legal 500 for his employment work.

Representative cases

grid list
  • Breach of director's duties and diversion of profits

    Instructed, as sole counsel, in a High Court matter alleging appropriation of significant sums from the business by the company secretary and their accomplice, listed for an 8-day trial in 2024.

  • Retention of company property post-termination

    Instructed as sole counsel in a matter concerning the retention of company property post-termination, including allegations that the property was gifted and of a sham employment relationship.

  • Entitlement to parental leave

    Instructed as sole counsel in the EAT in a matter concerning the meaning of “sought” to take parental leave in the Maternity and Parental Leave etc. Regulations 1999.

  • Breach of restrictive covenants, fiduciary duty and accessorial liability

    Instructed as sole counsel in a High Court pre-action injunction for breach of covenant and misuse of confidential business information on behalf of (and diversion of business to) a competitor.

  • Claim for failure to properly report to pension scheme

    Instructed in an action for negligent failure by an employer to give a correct report of the reason for an employee’s dismissal to the pension scheme, leading to loss of pension from that scheme (led by Adam Heppinstall KC).

  • Breach of contract arising out of provision of agency workers

    Instructed as sole counsel in a complex £500,000 breach of contract claim in which a recruitment agency supplied agency workers to a client, which then recruited them as employees.

EU and International

Jack has extensive experience of international law, European Union law and retained EU law matters as they arise across his areas of practice.

Before joining chambers Jack was Visiting Lecturer in EU Law at City, University of London, and has been involved in a number of cases raising EU law issues as both sole and junior counsel, ranging from social security coordination to consumer rights, database rights (in the context of the Bitcoin blockchain) and employment law matters. He is also involved in a matter concerning the interpretation of the power to refer questions to the CJEU under Article 158 of the Withdrawal Agreement.

He is also frequently involved in matters concerning the ECHR, in particular Articles 6, 10, 14 and Article 1 of the First Protocol, particularly in regulatory and social security contexts.

Representative cases

grid list
  • Wright v BTC Core & Oths

    Instructed in a significant cryptocurrency matter concerning database and other intellectual property rights in the Bitcoin Core blockchain and Bitcoin White Paper, and the identity of the pseudonymous founder of Bitcoin ‘Satoshi Nakamoto’ (led by Terence Bergin KC and Adam Heppinstall KC).

  • C v A Regulator

    Instructed in a damages claim under A1P1 and linked judicial review alleging apparent bias in the regulatory process (led by Patrick Green KC)

  • Re: Regulation of Advertising

    Instructed as sole counsel by a well-known trade union in potential judicial review proceedings arising out of potential regulatory action relating to advertising, raising issues of jurisdiction and Article 10. The regulator dropped its investigation following pre-action correspondence.

  • MS v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

    Acting for a Slovakian national in an important Court of Appeal matter concerning entitlement to the child element of Universal Credit, raising issues concerning the interaction of Universal Credit with EU Regulation 883/2004 on the coordination of social security systems (led by Tom de la Mare KC). Jack represented MS before the Upper Tribunal as sole counsel, reported as [2023] UKUT 44 (AAC).

  • Advising on the Trade and Cooperation Agreement and Northern Ireland Protocol

    Advising central government on the subsidy implications of grants to improve social housing, under the TCA, Subsidy Control Act 2022 and Northern Ireland Protocol.

  • GP v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

    Acting in an appeal to the Upper Tribunal for a pensioner deprived of state pension while held on remand and subsequently given a suspended sentence, raising statutory interpretation and human rights issues (Articles 6, 7, A1P1 and 14).

Product Liability

Jack has experience of both group and non-group action product liability work in line with Chambers’ main areas of practice.

This includes claims relating to medical devices, industrial units and the construction and haulage industries. He is currently instructed in a potential group action relating to a permanent birth control device, and as sole counsel by a well-known car manufacturer concerning allegedly defective brakes said to be caused by a manufacturing defect, and a £1.5m claim against a US-based manufacturer of electric bikes.

Representative cases

grid list
  • Claim involving fire caused by electric bike battery

    Instructed, as sole counsel, on behalf of a film production company and its director in a £1.5m claim arising out of a fire caused by the battery of an electric bike. Settled post-issue.

  • Claim against vehicle manufacturer

    Instructed as sole counsel by a well-known car manufacturer arising out of an accident allegedly caused by defective brakes said to be a manufacturing fault.

Environmental

Jack has a particular interest in environmental law.

He has experience of environmental cases in public, private and criminal law contexts, including habitat and species protection, climate change, nuisance, rights to water, drainage and flooding, as well as of the regime concerning access to environmental information.

He recently assisted in advising on a potential public law challenge to the regime of subsidy for low-carbon electricity generation.

Jack is a pro bono member of the Environmental Law Foundation.

Representative cases

grid list
  • Claim in noise nuisance

    Instructed in a claim between long leaseholders alleging noise nuisance due to defective sound insulation installed before either leaseholder was resident.

  • Dispute concerning “feed-in” tariffs

    Instructed by a “Big Six” energy supplier in relation to a dispute concerning renewable energy feed-in tariffs.

  • Advice on challenging adoption of a local plan

    As sole counsel, advised a resident on a potential public law challenge to adoption of a local plan due to the presence of EU-protected species.

  • Advice on response to planning application

    As sole counsel, advised residents on public law grounds to oppose grant of planning permission, including incompatibility with the local plan, loss of open space and overloading of local amenities, drainage/flooding issues and inadequate consideration of impacts on protected species, habitat, and climate change objectives.

  • Advice on drainage and flooding issues

    Assisted in advising on potential easements to drain into neighbouring land and liability for flooding.

Procurement and Subsidy Control

Jack has a particular interest in public procurement, and welcomes instructions in this area.

As a former Visiting Lecturer in European Law, Jack is comfortable advising on the domestic procurement regime and the impact of Brexit and the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement and Subsidy Control Act 2022 on procurement and subsidy control. In 2020 he was seconded to the Government Legal Department’s ‘Covid Cell’, advising on a variety of important procurement and state aid matters relating to the Covid-19 pandemic, including procurement of mass testing capacity and vaccines.

He is a procurement specialist member of LexisNexis’ Q&A Panel.

Representative cases

grid list
  • Advising on the TCA and Northern Ireland Protocol

    Advising central government on the subsidy implications of grants to improve social housing, under the TCA, Subsidy Control Act 2022 and Northern Ireland Protocol.

  • Advising Government departments on Covid-19 response

    Seconded to the Government Legal Department to advise a range of Government departments on procurement, state aid and commercial law issues associated with the UK’s pandemic response.

  • A financial services group action

     Assisted in advising on a potential state aid and/or public law defences to the setting of interest rates on certain financial products.

 

Instructing Jack Castle

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Appointments
  • Attorney General’s Panel of Counsel – C Panel (01/09/2023 to 31/08/2028)
  • Centre for Women’s Justice, Legal Reference Panel
  • Panel Member, Advocate
Publications
  • Contributing Editor of ‘Judicial Review, Statutory Review and Habeas Corpus’ in Butterworth’s Civil Court Precedents
  • Editor of ‘Assignment & Participation of Loans’ in Practical Lending & Security Precedents
  • Contributor to Lexis®PSL Public Law
  • Procurement Specialist Contributor to LexisNexis Q&A panel
Memberships
  • ALBA
  • COMBAR
  • Environmental Law Foundation
  • Employment Lawyers Association
  • Financial Services Lawyers Association
  • Young Public Lawyers Group
Education

Education

  • BA English Literature, Bristol University, First Class
  • MSt. English Literature Post-1900, University of Oxford, Distinction
  • GDL, City Law School, University of London, Distinction (6th in year)
  • BPTC, City Law School, University of London

Scholarships

  • Major Scholarship (BPTC), Inner Temple (2017)
  • Duke of Edinburgh Entrance Award, Inner Temple (2017)
  • Postgraduate Scholarship (BPTC), City Law School (2017)
  • Kalisher Trust Advocacy Training Programme (2017)
  • Exhibition (GDL), Inner Temple (2016)
  • Postgraduate Scholarship (GDL), City Law School (2016)
Regulatory Information

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: 70906

VAT Registration Number: 356025609

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.

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