Direct Access Barrister

Gavin Lamont Arthur Dingley

Direct Access Barrister

Gavin Lamont Arthur Dingley

Gavin has a domestic and international practice specialising in commercial and public law.

Gavin has a domestic and international practice specialising in business immigration, professional discipline and international arbitration. As part of his international practice, he has acquired rights of audience before the Astana International Finance Centre Court in Kazakhstan and Abu Dhabi Global Market in the UAE and is working towards further admission in Scotland.

Gavin’s immigration practice focuses on creating immigration solutions for individuals and businesses moving to the U.K. or those interested in recruiting the best talent from abroad. In addition, Gavin is regularly instructed by solicitors and general counsel to help businesses become licensed sponsors and he advises on maintaining A-rated status with the Home Office. He brings a unique perspective from his work as counsel instructed by the Home Office and Government Legal Department at every tier of the court and tribunal system.

As part of his regulatory practice Gavin represents professionals before disciplinary tribunals and has a particular focus on sports. He appears before domestic regulators such as the Solicitors’ Regulatory Authority, National Midwifery Council, Teaching Regulation Agency and General Medical Council and advises on subsequent challenges to the High Court. He also has a growing sports law practice where he represents and advises athletes.

Area of Law

Commercial

Gavin has experience in both sports and international commercial arbitrations. He has advised on cases under the LCIA, SIAC, ICC and UNCITRAL rules. Due to Gavin’s multiple Bar admissions, he is uniquely placed to act in matters concerning the United Kingdom and Belgium. He is currently working towards further admission in Scotland and Ireland.

Much of Gavin’s arbitration practice involves arbitration-related applications to the Commercial Court under the 1996 Act. This includes applications for interim relief in support of arbitrations (e.g. anti-suit injunctions); seeking or resisting enforcement of domestic or foreign awards under the New York Convention; and challenging or defending awards under sections 67, 68 and 69 of the 1996 Act. Recent examples of this type of work include:

Gavin’s experience includes:

- Advised on jurisdiction in a UNCITRAL arbitration concerning breach of a guarantor agreement for sums loaned to state-owned entities in the Middle East.

- Advised on a substantial section 67 Arbitration Act 1996 appeal regarding whether or not the tribunal had jurisdiction to hear the case.

In addition, Gavin advises clients on all facets of the arbitral process (including pre- and post-arbitral steps), such as drafting arbitration agreements, securing pre-arbitration injunctions, and acting as counsel

Health and Safety, including Product Liability

Gavin has a growing health & safety, criminal regulatory and environmental law practice. He has represented corporate Defendants in the Magistrates’ and Crown Courts in prosecutions brought by the Health and Safety Executive as well as the Environment Agency. He is a member of the Specialist Regulatory Advocates in Health and Safety and Environmental Law (C-List).

Gavin has experience of a wide range of cases in this area both in his own right and as a result of completing a 12-month pupillage at a criminal set. Those cases have covered a range of settings including construction sites, work at height, residential care, waste management, manufacturing, agricultural, supported housing and road traffic accidents.

Immigration, Asylum and Nationality

Personal Immigration:
Gavin has expertise handling complex immigration applications, appeals, pre-action correspondence and judicial review challenges involving the deprivation of nationality, revocation of indefinite leave to remain, the right of abode, deportation orders and applications under the Turkish Ankara Agreement. He also regularly advises and acts in urgent applications and injunctions, civil penalties for immigration offences and civil claims for damages for unlawful detention.

Gavin also has extensive experience handling cases under Appendix FM, Adult Dependent Relative, Spouse Entry Clearance, TOEIC appeals and those involving paragraph 322(5) where individuals are alleged to have cheated on an English Language test or falsified their tax returns to secure an extension on their Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa and therefore fail on suitability grounds.

Business Immigration:
Gavin acts as an advocate and advises in all aspects of immigration, asylum, nationality and EU law. He has particular experience in securing interim relief in complex sponsor licence applications, drafting representations to the Home Office to avoid litigation and dealing with substantive proceedings in the High Court involving the revocation or suspension of a licence. He brings a unique perspective to his immigration practice as he is regularly instructed by the Home Office.

Professional Discipline

Gavin regularly undertakes instructions to represent both individuals and professional regulatory bodies before a variety of regulatory tribunals. His practice includes cases before the various medical regulatory bodies, the Solicitors Regulation Authority, and the Teaching Regulation Agency. In addition, Gavin has experience of representing professionals in the criminal courts when their conduct is alleged to have met that standard and challenging decisions made by the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Sport

Gavin represents athletes, sports governing bodies, agents and clubs before a range of domestic and international tribunals and courts, including the Court of Arbitration for Sport and Sports Resolutions, the Premier League, EFL and FA. He advises on all sports-related matters, including contract disputes, anti-doping rule violations, match-fixing charges, selection disputes, disciplinary matters, governance and corruption. He also takes instructions in non-contentious matters, such as drafting and advising on regulations and governance issues.

What sort of work do I do?

- Professional Regulation
- Regulatory Crime
- Immigration
- Sports Law
- Commercial Arbitration

Who do I work for?

Gavin is both direct access and litigation qualified. This means he can be instructed directly by general counsel from international corporations, governments, state officials, businesspeople, federations, agents and athletes.

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