Ravi Randhawa
Ravi Randhawa assists clients to act within the parameters set by their governing statutory and regulatory frameworks, and where applicable the broader requirements of public administrative law, and to make decisions which are fully informed by and compliant with the legal framework within which they operate. She works collaboratively with in-house lawyers, policy makers, board members, chief executives, commercial directors and managers to provide focused and well-reasoned support and advice.
Working across a range of sectors, including energy, education, transport, social care, health, water, and food and drink, Ravi has a detailed understanding of the complex legal, policy, commercial and practical environments within which her diverse range of clients, and with a diverse range of clients, including sector regulators, regulated companies, consumer councils, government departments, NHS bodies, local authorities, major corporates, trade associations, and SMEs, operate and the legal issues faced by them.
Ravi gets to the heart of the issues by working as an integral part of the client's internal team, ascertaining and explaining the applicable legal issues and playing a leading role in the development of robust compliance strategies and procedures and the drafting of documents underpinning them.
Her areas of practice include judicial review, human rights and equalities law, constitutional law, statutory interpretation, regulatory disputes and appeals, development and drafting of legal instruments (including regulatory licences and codes), EU law, due process and consultation and regulatory enforcement and sanctions.
Highlights
- Representing Infinis in its successful judicial review in the High Court and the Court of Appeal. Eventually resulting in the first award of damages for breach of the Human Rights Act made against a regulator, it is now regarded as leading case authority.
- Advising the Northern Ireland Utility Regulator on all aspects of the statutory, legal and regulatory frameworks governing the Northern Ireland gas, electricity and water sectors. Recent work includes advising on its reference to the Competition Commission (now the CMA) of NIE Ltd's transmission and distributions price control, drafting licence conditions to implement the requirements of the latest Energy Efficiency Directive, advising on the legal issues applicable in respect of a number of recent electricity connection disputes referred to the regulator for determination.
- Representing Ofqual in a successful defence at permission stage of an application made in January 2013 by an awarding organisation (AABPS) for judicial review of Ofqual's continuation of an enforcement sanction.
- Advising a large food business on the packaging and labelling of a new range of products and facilitating compliance with applicable EU law.
Experience
- Advising NIAUR on all aspects of the statutory, legal and regulatory frameworks governing the Northern Ireland gas, electricity and water sectors. This includes advising on:
- its reference to the Competition Commission of the NIE Ltd's transmission and distributions price control.
- the implementation of the Third Energy Package in Northern Ireland. This included reviewing and advising on the specific requirements of the Third Package for each category of market participant, reviewing and advising on implementing regulations, drafting licence conditions and modifications for all categories of licences, drafting policy papers and recommendations for consideration by the Board and contributing to the content and drafting of public consultation papers.
- Advising the Department of Energy and Climate Change in relation to its smart metering programme which will see the introduction of energy smart meters in all homes in Great Britain by 2019. It involves helping to shape the statutory and regulatory framework through changes to primary legislation, secondary legislation and industry licences, codes and agreements.
- Representing Ofqual in a successful defence at permission stage of an application made in January 2013 by an awarding organisation (AABPS) for judicial review of Ofqual's continuation of an enforcement sanction.