Public Law and Regulation

Our team is one of the few in the UK to have dedicated specialists advising in this area. This means it can deliver work of the highest quality and meet and exceed clients' expectations.

What the team does

The Public Law and Regulation team is a close-knit team of dedicated specialists, led by John Cooper – one of the UK's leading lawyers in this area (with over twenty years' experience). We work across a broad range of regulated sectors including energy, water, healthcare, education, life sciences and transport; working for central government, independent regulators, corporate clients, trade associations and charities. All of the team are exposed to a range of work and different sectors, but over time are often able to develop their expertise in a particular sector (working with the relevant firm-wide sector team).

As well as advising clients on complex questions around public law obligations and how different regulatory regimes apply, we represent clients in high-profile judicial review challenges against government decisions and on other statutory appeals (sometimes acting for the claimant and sometimes defending the public body involved). Examples of our larger projects include advising on the development of wholly new regulatory regimes, such as advising the UK Government on the regulation of smart meters and advising part of the Dubai Government on the design and drafting of new primary legislation in the transport sector.

A significant part of the work we do is performing a key legal support role for a number of UK Government regulators – working to support them in protecting consumers in the markets they oversee. A number of team members have previously worked in-house in government regulators before joining Gowling WLG and can bring that insight into the work they do.

What it's like to work with us

We aim to create a friendly and supportive environment, working collaboratively to ensure that advice provided to clients is of the highest quality.

The team's broad client base in both the public and private sector in the UK and internationally means that we are always doing a wide range of interesting work.

Our clients need us to apply our expertise to complex legal problems (which have often not been considered before). The work is intellectually challenging and requires all members of the team to have excellent legal research and analytical skills. We often need to think creatively to come up with innovative solutions, bringing our experience and expertise to help solve some of the new and difficult issues that are sure to arise as the UK moves forward with Brexit.

The close-knit nature of the team allows us to take a more informal approach to our training and development. More experienced members of the team ensure they are transferring their knowledge and all members work to communicate important legal developments to the rest of the team. Team members also willingly take on the role of mentor to new joiners and give them the time and attention they need to feel settled in their new role.

We regularly attend the top external public law conferences and indeed are often asked to present on public law and regulatory issues at a range of internal and external training and briefing events.

 

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Our application process will depend on the role you're applying for - but start by searching our vacancies. We will help you to be yourself - and the best you can be throughout the whole process.

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