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Hendersons - Barristers' Chambers

Lucy McCormick

"Lucy is very diligent with both a strong eye for detail and good strategic sense. She thinks outside the box, identifying potential issues well in advance."

Legal 500 2024


Call
2008

Lucy is a commercial barrister with a particular emphasis on product liability, property damage, property and related areas.

A substantial part of Lucy’s practice concerns group actions or other multi-party litigation. She has extensive experience in the procedure, tactics and reputational issues such cases raise, and is a contributor to the leading practitioner text, Hodge on Multi-Party Actions (2nd ed) (OUP, forthcoming 2022).

Lucy is particularly well known for her expertise in matters with a technology element. She has co-authored or contributed to The Law of Artificial Intelligence (1st ed) (Sweet & Maxwell; 2020), The Law and Autonomous Vehicles (1st ed) (Routledge; 2019), and An Introduction to Technology Law (1st ed) (Lexis Nexis; 2018). In 2021, Lucy co-authored the Bar Council response to the Law Commission’s third consultation paper on automated vehicle law. She is on the Consulting Editorial Board for Lexis Nexis Technology, Media and Telecoms.

Prior to starting practice, Lucy served as Judicial Assistant to Mummery LJ in the Court of Appeal. She also spent several months assisting the Financial Markets Law Committee at the Bank of England. In 2014-15, she was seconded to HSBC to work on the FCA’s Interest Rate Hedging Product Review. Between 2016 and 2022 Lucy was on the Attorney General’s ‘C’ Panel of Junior Counsel to the Crown, advising and litigating for HM Government in her areas of specialism.

For a number of years, she has been recommended as a leading barrister by the Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners. Fellow professionals have commended that she has “all the requisites one would expect of a top-class advocate….Poised, meticulously prepared and persuasive on her feet” (Legal 500 2019), that “her most exceptional skill lies in her ability to translate complex legal and sensitive factual problems for lay clients” (Legal 500 2020), and that she is “An excellent junior who provides sensible, pragmatic and commercial advice” (Chambers UK 2021). Most recently it has been said that she is “an extremely able barrister, impressive with the lay client and meticulous upon her paperwork. She has a way of exuding confidence and quickly grasps the key elements of the case. She is an incisive and determined advocate” (Legal 500 2022).  In 2019, she appeared as one of The Lawyer’s Top 10 busiest female juniors in the Commercial Court.

Lucy appears at courts and tribunals at all levels and is equally at home as sole advocate or as a member of a team. She also has extensive experience in representing clients at mediation and other forms of ADR.


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 Lucy McCormick’s privacy policy.

 

Expertise


Product Liability

Lucy undertakes a variety of product liability work, with particular expertise in the automotive and healthcare sectors. She is ranked in this field by the Legal 500 and by Chambers and Partners, the latter describing her as “An excellent junior who provides sensible, pragmatic and commercial advice” (2021) and as having “a fantastic eye for detail” and as “incredibly able” (2022).

A substantial part of Lucy’s practice concerns group actions or other multi-party litigation. She has extensive experience in the procedure, tactics and reputational issues such cases raise, and is a contributor to the leading practitioner text, Hodge on Multi-Party Actions (2nd ed) (OUP, forthcoming 2022).

Lucy is a leading expert in the product liability aspects of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs). She is a co-author of The Law and Autonomous Vehicles (1st ed) (Routledge; 2019) and contributed the ‘Liability for Physical Damage’ chapter to The Law of Artificial Intelligence (1st ed) (Sweet and Maxwell; 2020). She lectures nationally and internationally, with recent engagements including the European Robotics Forum, the Future of Transportation World Congress, the Society for Computers and Law, the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association, and the Government Legal Department. In 2021, Lucy co-authored the Bar Council response to the Law Commission’s third consultation paper on automated vehicle law.

Lucy is also familiar with the legal issues arising from the increasing use of e-scooters and other forms of micromobility.

Lucy is a regular participant in BIICL’s Product Liability Forum.

The Law of Artificial Intelligence

 

Representative cases

grid list
  • Hormone Pregnancy Test Litigation

    Lucy is representing the interests of a manufacturer of hormone pregnancy test pharmaceutical products in the defence of claims brought by multiple claimants alleging congenital defects as a result of in utero exposure to HPTs.

  • VW NOx Emissions Litigation

    Instructed by Volkswagen in the ongoing litigation arising out of NOx emissions, having previously been instructed in the VW NOx Emissions Group Litigation.

  • Re Willenhall Town Gas Works

    Instructed (as sole junior to Charles Gibson QC) in this matter in which it is alleged that residents of a housing estate built on the site of the former gas works sustained personal injuries due to environmental contamination.

  • Metal-on-Metal Hips litigation

    Instructed as part of a team by a prominent manufacturer.

  • G v B (parties confidential)

    Advised the insurers of a major provider of household goods on limitation issues arising out of the CPA 1987.

  • Arnold v Woodteam Limited

    Dispute over the quality of vinyl coating applied in commercial premises in Spain.

Property Damage

Lucy has a busy insurance practice, with a particular focus on property damage. She has extensive experience of acting in multi-party and high value claims arising out of:

• Fire
• Flooding
• Storms
• Subsidence (including tree roots)
• Gas and electricity tampering
• Industrial accidents
• Trees
• Pests
• Corrosion and chemical damage
• Damage to highway infrastructure

Claims of this nature typically involve complex issues that span a number of specialisms. In such cases, Lucy is able to bring to bear her complementary expertise in property law, product liability and mass torts. She is regularly instructed to act on behalf of both claimants and defendants.

Lucy is a member of the British Insurance Law Association (BILA).

Representative cases

grid list
  • T v P (parties confidential)

    Advised on damage to industrial plant during loading of wind farm components.

  • H v O (parties confidential)

    Advised on fire damage arising out of alleged use of a property as a cannabis farm.

  • X v J (parties confidential)

    Advised a leading confectionary manufacturer on causation issues and expert evidence in relation to the breakdown of several items of production line machinery.

  • S v A (parties confidential)

    Advised on a substantial Water Industry Act flooding claim arising out of the failure of a pumping station.

  • Kanahasunderam & Ors v British Gas

    Acted for British Gas in a matter where a gas supply at a commercial property had been disconnected for alleged tampering. Defended substantial claim for business interruption and successfully counterclaimed for value of abstracted gas.

  • Baloun v Central Bedfordshire Council

    Acted for the RTA insurer, establishing at trial that the local council was liable for property damage to a car crushed by a falling branch on a public highway.

Property

Lucy’s practice covers the full spectrum of property law, with a particular emphasis on real property.

She is recognised by the Legal 500 as a leading junior in Property Litigation, and in the related field of Agriculture. The current edition notes that “Lucy is an extremely able barrister, impressive with the lay client and meticulous upon her paperwork. She has a way of exuding confidence and quickly grasps the key elements of the case. She is an incisive and determined advocate. “ (2022). Previous editions have noted her experience in “overage, grazing rights, rights of way, wayleaves, and ownership disputes” (2021).

Her practice includes:

  • Real Property, including adverse possession, boundary disputes, easements, land registration and conveyancing disputes, mortgages, options and rights of pre-emption, overage, rights of light and restrictive covenants.
  • Commercial Property, including break clauses, consents, dilapidations, forfeiture, renewals, and rent reviews.
  • Residential Landlord and Tenant, including enfranchisement, dilapidations and disrepair, possession proceedings, and service charge disputes.
  • Co-ownership and trusts of land

In 2014/15, Lucy was seconded to HSBC as part of the FCA’s review of the alleged mis-selling of interest rate hedging products. Her role focused on assessing a number of claims made by property developers and agricultural businesses for loss of profit. In 2016, she sat on the Estates Committee of Middle Temple. As such, she has valuable practical insight into the property and agricultural sectors.

Lucy is Secretary to the Henderson Chambers Property Group.

Representative cases

grid list
  • T Ltd v S & Ors (parties confidential)

    Dispute concerning an alleged conspiracy between a number of local residents to obstruct a property developer’s access to a shared passageway over which it held a right of way.

  • Ellis v (1) Fitton (2) Newman

    Four-day trial over the beneficial ownership of agricultural land.

  • Radiosite Limited v O’Connor

    Dispute about access to a telecommunications tower, leading to an application for an injunction.

  • F Ltd v X (parties confidential)

    Successful strike out application in an unusual case involving on the one hand a contractual/chancery dispute about mooring rights and on the other allegations of a breach of the Gender Recognition Act 2010 and the Data Protection Act 1998.

  • Whittle v Western Power Distribution Limited

    Dispute concerning placement of electrical/telecoms cables in agricultural land.

  • Trustees of St Mary’s Church House Trust v Bollen

    Claim for possession under the now rarely encountered Rent Act 1977. The matter raised capacity and Equality Act issues and involved cross examination of a vulnerable witness.  Represented the landlord at a number of interim hearings and full day trial.

Commercial and Finance

Lucy’s commercial practice is informed by her time at the Financial Markets Law Committee at the Bank of England and on secondment to HSBC. As a result, she has a particular insight into the financial industry and the City. She is also well-known for her work in the automotive sector. While the majority of Lucy’s commercial practice is contentious, she also does purely advisory work.

Particular areas of expertise include:

  • Banking and finance
  • Civil fraud
  • Contractual disputes
  • Consumer law (particularly the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008)
  • Debt recovery
  • Energy and utilities
  • Insurance disputes
  • Motor Finance issues
  • Sale of goods issues
  • Technology and telecoms

Lucy is a member of COMBAR.

Representative cases

grid list
  • DHSC v X (parties confidential)

    Instructed by the government in a £100m+ dispute with a supplier of Covid-19 tests.

  • X v Y (parties confidential)

    Advised a well-known sporting institution as to the effect of an existing contractual agreement and its impact on a new development opportunity.

  • Sekhon & Ors v Khatkar & Ors

    Acted in a 26-handed partnership dispute between black cab drivers.

  • Gibbs Gillespie (a partnership) v (1) Sturch (2) Sturch Estate Agents

    Commission claim: Established that a commonly used clause in the industry was in fact an unenforceable penalty clause, and successfully argued in favour of a novel application of the Cancellation of Contracts made in a Consumer’s Home or Place of Work Regulations 2008.

  • SMG v (1) Vanchhawng (2) Nakarintrakupt

    Acted in a complex claim by a mortgage broker arising out of a dispute with investors over the re-mortgage of their portfolio.

  • Aktiv Kaptial Portfolio AS Zug Branch v Hackett

    Claim for substantial credit card debt, raising issues of validity of assignment and CCA 1974 s.78 issues. Successful at trial, additionally obtaining rare order under CPR 31.22 for commercially sensitive documentation used at trial to be kept confidential.

Personal Injury, Inquests, and Inquiries

Lucy is presently instructed on behalf of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Local Communities in the UK Covid-19 Inquiry (led by Adam Heppinstall KC).

During her time on the Attorney General’s ‘C’ Panel of Junior Counsel to the Crown (2016-22), Lucy undertook a substantial amount of personal injury work on behalf of the government, with particular emphasis on multi-track litigation involving Highways England, the Prison Service, and the MOD. Lucy maintains a busy private practice acting for both claimants and defendants.

She regularly acts in cases involving:

  • Civil assault
  • Credit hire
  • Employer’s liability
  • Health & Safety
  • Highways Act cases
  • Inquests (including acting for families, insurers and the State)
  • Occupier’s liability
  • Personal injury
  • RTAs (especially those with a technical element arising out of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems or involving HGVs/Buses)

Lucy is regularly involved in cases where a party is a child, lacks capacity or is otherwise vulnerable, and is experienced in the practical and procedural issues this raises. As well as acting in substantive trials, she is particularly sought after for her insight into ‘tricky’ procedural issues.

Lucy is a member of the Health and Safety Lawyers’ Association (HSLA) and the Personal Injuries Bar Association (PIBA).

Representative cases

grid list
  • UK Covid-19 Inquiry

    Instructed on behalf of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Local Communities (led by Adam Heppinstall KC).

  • James Hall & Company Holdings Limited v Highways England Limited

    Acting for the government (as sole counsel) in an action arising out a fatal seven-vehicle motorway collision.The case revolved around various items of motorway technology, including the capabilities of VMS (“Variable Message Signs”), MIDAS (“Motorway Incident Detection and Automatic Signalling”) and ANPR (“Automatic Number Plate Recognition”) systems.

  • Re Gardner Inquest

    Represented a motorist who had inadvertently killed a pedestrian who had run onto a motorway to retrieve luggage which had dislodged from a roof rack.

  • Re Willenhall Town Gas Works

    Instructed (as sole junior to Charles Gibson QC) in this matter where residents of a housing estate built on the site of the former Works alleged personal injuries due to environmental contamination.

  • Jones v Country Pursuits UK

    Successfully defended an occupier’s liability claim arising out of a quad biking accident, in which the alleged breaches of Health and Safety legislation were key.

  • M v Highways England

    Acting in a dispute concerning liability for catastrophic injuries sustained in an RTA at an alleged ‘accident hotspot’.

 

What the directories say


"Lucy is an extremely diligent and intellectually rigorous junior."
Legal 500 2024

"Lucy is a personable and down-to-earth expert who provides practical and pragmatic advice. Her written work is clear and concise."
Chambers UK 2024

"Lucy McCormick is personable and down to earth. She is a true expert, who provides practical, focused advice."
Chambers UK 2024

"Lucy McCormick is an excellent barrister and a very experienced litigator."
Chambers UK 2024

“She is phenomenal at communicating with clients - she really cuts through complex cases in an incisive way and gets her point across.”
Chambers UK 2023

Instructing Lucy McCormick

If you require help or advice please contact our clerking team

Call +44 (0)20 7583 9020
or email

Appointments
  • Advocacy Tutor, Middle Temple (2017 to present)
  • Consulting Editorial Board, Lexis Technology Media and Telecoms (2017 to present)
  • Junior Counsel to the Crown – C Panel (2016-2022)
  • Judicial Assistant to Mummery LJ, Royal Courts of Justice (2008-9)
Publications
  • Contributor to Hodge on Multi Party Actions (2nd ed) (OUP; forthcoming 2022)
  • Contributor to The Law of Artificial Intelligence (1st ed) (Sweet & Maxwell; 2020)
  • Co-author of The Law and Autonomous Vehicles (1st ed) (Routledge; 2019)
  • Contributor to An Introduction to Technology Law (1st ed) (Lexis Nexis; 2018)
  • Researcher for product liability for medicinal products aspects of Powers & Harris Clinical Negligence (5th ed) (Bloomsbury; 2015)

The Law of Artificial Intelligence

 

Memberships
  • Commercial Bar Association
  • Health and Safety Lawyers’ Association
  • Personal Injury Bar Association
  • Property Bar Association
  • Society for Computers & Law
Education
  • Bar Vocational Course, ICSL (2007-8) awarded Queen Mother’s Scholarship (BVC), Middle Temple
  • Graduate Diploma in Law, Oxford Brookes (2006-7) awarded Queen Mother’s Scholarship (CPE), Middle Temple
  • Modern History, Somerville College Oxford (First class) (2003-6) awarded Cecil Roth Thesis Prize, Eugene Lee Hamilton Prize, Mary Somerville Prize, Coombs Exhibition
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.

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: 53425

VAT Registration Number: 110 163 968

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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