Ian read Jurisprudence at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford University, where he was awarded the Emily Parks and Sheilagh Griffiths Scholarships. He was called to the Bar in 2009 by Middle Temple as an Astbury Scholar. Prior to joining Six Pump Court after successful completion of pupillage in 2010, Ian worked in the field of regulatory and competition law with the Office of Fair Trading in the fields of anti-competitive and cartel trading investigations.
Ian has a wide-ranging general common law practice, in keeping with Six Pump Court’s broad breadth of experience and knowledge.
Clients who wish to instruct via public access without the involvement of a solicitor are welcome to contact Chambers’ clerks – Ian is qualified to accept direct access instructions and regularly acts for lay clients directly across the wide range of his practice from the inception of claims to final trial hearings. Ian also accepts instructions upon a conditional fee (CFA or no-win, no-fee) basis.
Public Access Scheme
Ian Rees Phillips is qualified to accept direct instructions from members of the public under the Public Access Scheme.
Information about the Public Access Scheme and how it works can be found on our Public Access page.
Certain specific Public Access services are subject to price and service transparency regulatory requirements. By clicking on the links below you will be directed to the required information for those specific categories of work in respect of which Ian accepts instructions.
Employment Tribunal
Inheritance Act Claims
Licensing Applications (Businesses)
Motoring Offences (Summary Only)
Personal Injury
Winding-Up Petitions
Commercial
Ian appears in all possible hearings in claims across a range of fields of civil and commercial law. Ian acts in the County Court in fast track and multi-track matters and appears regularly in the High Court Chancery and Queen’s Bench Divisions, as well as in the First Tier and Appeal Tribunals.
He has extensive experience across an expansive range of fields, including breach of contract; breach of trust; construction; insurance; bill of exchange; contentious probate; consumer credit; insolvency; housing; property; unfair prejudice; and commercial and partnership disputes. He is regularly instructed by landlords, estate agents, recruitment agencies, commercial bodies and public authorities.
Ian commonly advises on paper and is consistently instructed to draft all necessary forms of pleadings; submissions; applications; and other papers.
Employment
Ian appears in trials and preliminary hearings before the Employment Tribunal, as well as before the EAT, representing both claimants and respondents in cases involving all aspects of employment law, including unfair dismissal; breach of contract and unauthorised deduction of wages; discrimination; whistleblowing; and TUPE.
He has a particular specialisation acting for professional and director claimants, whose claims often have associated and related civil claims arising out of shareholder prejudice, commercial interference or trademark and copyright disputes. Ian presently has an enviable perfect record of securing his clients, both claimants and respondents, a successful outcome where employment claims go to trial. Ian regularly lectures for CLT Law for Employment Law CPD alongside other members of chambers.
Personal injury
Chambers’ strength in the field of personal injury, which has grown despite the extensive changes to procedure and funding since 2013, has been assisted by Ian’s expanding practice in claimant-side work in this area. Ian regularly represents claimants in road traffic accident and industrial injury claims, including catastrophic and life-limiting injuries. Ian takes part in Chambers’ frequent lectures to solicitors and to law societies.
Public, planning and environmental
Ian has a wealth of experience in advising local authorities and developers on planning matters. He is equally adept at providing advice on environmental issues, with a particular focus on watercourses, dust and littering/fly tipping. He regularly appears on behalf of LPAs and developers in inquiries and in appeals by written representations. He also has developed extensive experience before the civil courts on matters related to planning, such as the enforcement of s.106 agreements, including acting for major developers facing injunction applications.
Regulatory
Ian has a particular interest in the field of regulatory criminal and civil law and acts for both public authorities and corporate clients. He prosecutes a large number of environmental enforcement matters each month in the Magistrates’ Court and has an uncommon breadth of experience for someone of his call in this field. He appears in the Social Security Tribunal and before local authority Licensing Sub-Committees, and regulatory criminal matters in the Crown Court, as well as in the High Court on appeal. Ian often acts for both prosecution and defendants in proceeds of crime proceedings.
He advises clients on a broad range of regulatory matters, such as environmental protection; fire safety regulations; licensing; food safety; trading standards; product safety; breach of planning enforcement; and football orders.
Appointments
- Appointed to the List of Specialist Regulatory Advocates in Health & Safety and Environmental Law (List B)
- Lecturer, University College London, Bartlett School of Planning
Memberships
- Bar Pro Bono Unit
- Employment Bar Association
- South Eastern Circuit Bar Mess