Chris called to the Scottish Bar in 2022 as a recipient of a Lord Hope scholarship.  His principal areas of experience and interest are public law, international law and extradition.

Chris was appointed as Standing Junior Counsel to UK Government departments by the Advocate General for Scotland in December 2022. In that capacity, he has acted as junior Counsel for the UK Government in the judicial review of the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill (Prohibition on Submission for Royal Assent) Order 2023 and in relation to immigration matters and in a peerage matter before the Lord Lyon. Since calling he has also assisted with several public inquiries, including the Scottish Covid-19 Inquiry, Scottish Hospitals Inquiry and the Sheku Bayoh Inquiry. He has also been instructed as junior Counsel in extradition matters in the Sheriff Court and High Court, with reported cases including:

• Lord Advocate (representing the French judicial authorities) v Vincent Raynouard [2024] HCJAC 2
• Nicholas Rossi (appellant) v His Majesty’s Advocate [2023] HCJAC 50
• Lord Advocate (representing the USA) v Nicholas Rossi [2023] SLT (Sh. Ct) 143

Prior to calling to the Bar, Chris was dual-qualified as a solicitor in both Scotland and England & Wales. He trained as a solicitor at Brodies LLP with seats in dispute resolution, employment, commercial property and an external secondment to a financial institution. He practised as a solicitor for over twelve years, including ten years spent in London.

Chris spent three years (2018-2021) as Legal Secretary (Deputy Director) to the Advocate General for Scotland, one of the UK Government’s Law Officers. In doing so, Chris worked on public law litigation of national significance including: the prorogation case (R (Miller) v The Prime Minister and Cherry v Advocate General for Scotland ([2019] UKSC 41); the UK Withdrawal from the EU (Legal Continuity) (Scotland) Bill reference ([2018] UKSC 64); and the Article 50 (Wightman) case heard before the Inner House of the Court of Session ([2018] CSIH 62) and the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) (C-621/18).

Chris also has particular expertise in public international law.  He was an Assistant Legal Adviser at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) for over five years (2013-2018), during which time he represented the UK at the United Nations in New York and before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in contentious proceedings. Prior to joining the FCDO, he worked for law firms Latham & Watkins LLP and Volterra Fietta in London representing private clients and States on a wide range of contentious and non-contentious issues, including arbitration proceedings brought under bilateral investment treaties (BITs).  Chris was also an intern with the International Law Programme at Chatham House and is a founder member of the Young Public International Law Group (YPILG).

Chris also worked previously as a Judicial Assistant to Lord Hope of Craighead and Lord Mance in the House of Lords (now the UK Supreme Court).