Julian Santos

Julian Santos

Julian advises claimants and defendants in all of Chambers’ areas of practice, and in particular regularly advises professional sportspersons (including footballers, boxers, cricketers, rugby players, tennis players and sprinters), musicians, actors and other individuals in relation to defamation, privacy, data protection, harassment and breach of confidence issues.

He also advises on sports law matters, having appeared before the British Boxing Board of Control and Sports Resolution UK, and advised on matters before the Court of Arbitration for Sport and disputes involving UK Anti-Doping and the World Anti-Doping Agency, as well as other international sports bodies.

Current/recent work includes:

  • Acting for the Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry, in his claim against MGN Ltd, the publisher of the Mirror and People newspapers, for misuse of private information through unlawful information-gathering techniques (trial due to take place in May and June 2023).
  • Acting for the Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry, Elton John, David Furnish, Elizaabeth Hurley, Baroness Doreen Lawrence, Sadie Frost and Simon Hughes in their claims for misuse of private information against Associated Newspapers Ltd, the publisher of the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday and MailOnline (summary judgment hearing heard in March 2023).
  • Counsel to the Inquiry into the Retirement of the Former Commissioner of Police (Ian McGrail) in Gibraltar.
  • Acting for the boxer heavyweight boxer Dillian Whyte in his privacy, breach of confidence and GDPR claim against the publishers CBS Interactive and Boxing Acquisition Inc.

Julian regularly advises in other common law jurisdictions, including Gibraltar and the Bahamas.

For several years he has acted as junior counsel for the claimants in the Mirror Newspapers phone-hacking litigation, recently representing for Ryan Giggs, Glenn Hoddle, Danny Cipriani, Abigail Crouch, Stanley Collymore and Frank Sinclair in their settled claims against the publishers of the Mirror and the People, and previously in the parallel litigation relating to News Group Newspapers.

Julian is ranked as:
A Band 3 Defamation/Privacy Junior by Chambers and Partners (2023)
A Leading Defamation/Privacy Junior (Tier 3) by Legal 500 (2023)
A Leading Sports Law Junior (Tier 4) by Legal 500 (2022)

‘‘Julian is great. A pleasure to deal with and excellent at strategy.‘ Legal 500 2023. Ranked (Defamation and Privacy)

…a highly rated barrister with particular expertise in cases concerning defamation, privacy, data protection, harassment and breach of confidence. He is active in ongoing matters arising out of the phone hacking scandal.

Julian is very responsive and available.

An incredibly safe pair of hands; Julian is knowledgeable in all matters GDPR.” Chambers and Partners 2023. Ranked (Defamation and Privacy)

“He is exceptional at dealing with media and privacy issues arising in the context of sports litigation and arbitration, in particular sports disciplinary proceedings.” Legal 500 2022. Ranked (Sports Law)

He is technically very strong and has great attention to detail. He is also very good with clients.” “He is very bright and judges like him.” Chambers and Partners 2022. Ranked (Defamation/Privacy).

Very hard working, knowledgeable and user friendly.” Legal 500 2022. Ranked (Defamation/Privacy).

Previous work includes:

  • Sakho & MS Top Ltd v World Anti-Doping Agency – Acted for a Premier League footballer in a defamation claim relating to a publication by the World Anti-Doping Agency, which settled for a substantial sum of damages, reasonable costs and a statement in open court.
  • Various Claimants v MGN Limited – Junior Counsel for the Claimants, including Ryan Giggs, Glenn Hoddle, Abigail Crouch, Danny Cipriani, Stanley Collymore, Frank Sinclair and others in their claims against the publisher of the Mirror and People newspapers for misuse of their private information through voicemail interception (also known as phone hacking) and other unlawful information-gathering activities. This has included a decision in relation to disclosure and confidential sources, which was upheld by the Court of Appeal, and an unsuccessful strike-out application and appeal by the Defendant.
  • Mahmudov and anor v Sanzberro and ors – Acted for the Claimants in a jurisdictional challenge under CPR Part 11 to a defamation claim against a number of Spanish publications.
  • Pallet v MGN Ltd – Acted for the Claimant Roxanne Pallett in her privacy claim against the publisher of the Mirror and People newspapers.
  • Cruz v Barrass, Taylor and the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission – Acted in the Gibraltar Supreme Court and Court of Appeal for the claimant in a defamation claim against the Gibraltar financial services regulator.
  • Cilliers v Gibraltar Health Authority – Acted for the defendant health authority in successfully striking out defamation, slander and malicious falsehood claims arising in an employment context on “Johnson exclusion area” grounds.
  • Monir v Wood – Counsel for the Claimant in a successful defamation claim relating to a tweet published by the Bristol Branch of UKIP. Claimant was awarded £40,000 in damages following trial.
  • Various Claimants v News Group Newspapers – Junior Counsel for the Claimants in their phone hacking claims against the publisher of The News of the World and The Sun . This included a successful application by various Claimants to amend their Generic Particulars of Claim to include a claim against The Sun. There have been recent strike-out and amendment decisions.
  • Koutsogiannis v Random House Group LtdActing for the Claimant in a trial on meaning against a book publisher.
  • Fox v Lawrence and ors – Acting for a musician in a libel and harassment claim against a number of defendants relating to online publications.
  • Suresh v Samad & ors – Counsel for the Claimant, a chairman and trustee of a charity, in a successful claim against three defendants in respect of videos published on YouTube and Facebook, which included a successful application for summary judgment over two hearings and culminated in a Statement in Open Court.
  • ERY v Associated Newspapers Ltd – Junior Counsel for the Claimant in a successful injunction application to restrain the Daily Mail from publishing the Claimant’s private information, namely that the Claimant was being investigated by the police suspected involvement in financial crime.
  • Weller v Associated Newspapers Ltd – Junior Counsel for Paul Weller’s children in the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal by the publishers of MailOnline against a finding that their publication of photographs of the Claimants was a misuse of their private information and breach of the Data Protection Act.
  • Optical Express Ltd and ors v Associated Newspapers Ltd – Junior Counsel for the Claimants in a libel and malicious falsehood claim against the publishers of the Daily Mail and MailOnline for publishing an article making various claims about the Claimant’s laser surgery.
  • Lokhova v Longmuir/Lokhova v Tymula – Junior Counsel in libel claim by city trader against former work colleagues following her successful claim against her former employees in the Employment Tribunal.
  • Fabian Picardo v Manos Limpias – Sole Counsel for the Chief Minister of Gibraltar in a libel claim against a Spanish trade union – awarded £30,000 in damages.
  • Suresh v Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis – Sole Counsel for the Claimant, a chairman and trustee of a charity, in a claim against the Metropolitan Police for a defamatory email sent by an investigating officer to the Charity Commission and other individuals. The claim was settled with an agreement to pay a substantial sum in damages to the Claimant as well as making a Statement in Open Court and publishing apologies to the Claimant and the publishees.
  • Gahir v Bansal – Libel claim relating to two letters allegedly sent by the defendant to various members of the Sikh community in the midlands.
  • Mahendrah Shah v Croydon Advertiser and others – Counsel for several defendants in a successful application to set aside default judgment and strike out a libel claim.
  • Pre-publication advice for various publications including The Times, The Sunday Times, The Racing Post as well as HarperCollins and Macmillan publishers.

An impressive junior with excellent client-handling and advocacy skills. A pleasure to work with: he is extremely approachable and engaged with the cases he takes on.” “Julian is very helpful and knowledgeable and is great to have on your team.” “Incredibly hard-working and brilliant with clients.” Chambers and Partners 2021. Ranked (Defamation/Privacy).

He understands where clients and solicitors are coming from and can communicate in a way which is straightforward and easy to understand.” UK Legal 500 2021 (Defamation and Privacy – Leading Juniors)

Julian Santos is “conscientious and loved by clients” including sports personalities, musicians and actors seeking first-rate advice on defamation, data protection and breach of confidence matters.” Who’s Who Legal 2021

He’s very bright, works incredibly hard and is very impressive on the detail.” “Always goes out of his way to be available and consistently delivers concise but considered advice. A star in the making.” Chambers and Partners 2020. Ranked as a Leading Junior (Defamation/Privacy).

An excellent all-round barrister with an immense knowledge base, an extremely approachable manner and a tireless work ethic.” “He has a fantastic understanding of complex issues.” Chambers and Partners 2019. Ranked as Up and Coming (Defamation/Privacy)

Would strongly recommend based on his excellent results and his user-friendly style.’ UK Legal 500 2019 (Defamation and Privacy – Leading Juniors)

A real rising star, who achieves excellent results.’ UK Legal 500 2018 (Defamation and Privacy – Leading Juniors)

He has a great voice in court which he uses to his advantage. He catches the ear of the judge, he’s forthright in his advice, and he doesn’t shy away.” “He’s responsive, pleasant and his advocacy is persuasive.” Chambers and Partners 2018. Ranked as Up and Coming (Defamation/Privacy)

Hardworking, extremely knowledgeable and very easy to get on with.’ UK Legal 500 2017 (Defamation and Privacy – Leading Juniors)

Julian moved to the London Bar following 5 years of practice at the Gibraltar Bar,  joining 5RB in 2014 after a successful 12-month pupillage at chambers.

Before his pupillage at 5RB, Julian practised as a barrister in Gibraltar. There he had experience of a wide variety of work, including defamation and sports law, as well as commercial, banking, administrative, criminal and human rights law. Notable cases included:

  • Great Britain Rhythmic Gymnastics Group v British Amateur Gymnastics Association – Junior counsel for the Great Britain Rhythmic Gymnastics Group in its successful appeal against the British Amateur Gymnastics Association’s decision not to nominate the Group for a place at the London 2012 Olympics.
  • Junior counsel for the UK Foreign Secretary in constitutional proceedings on the age of consent for homosexual intercourse in Gibraltar – In the matter of the Reference of the Chief Minister [2010-12 Gib LR 178]
  • Dr Giraldi Home Inquiry – Junior counsel for the Care Agency.
  • R v CR v B – Sole counsel in two jury criminal trials (inflicting grievous bodily harm and indecent assault).
  • Bari Properties Ltd v International Franchises Ltd –  Sole counsel for a commercial landlord in the Gibraltar Supreme Court and Court of Appeal.

Julian is a member of Middle Temple and was awarded the Harmsworth Entrance Exhibition Scholarship in 2008. He has spoken at the University of Gibraltar.

 

Publications

“Quantum of confidence” – Interview with Lexis®PSL IP & IT discussing the High Court’s decision in Burrell v Clifford [2016] EWHC 294 (Ch), [2016] All ER (D) 206 (Feb) (first published on Lexis®PSL IP & IT on 2 March 2016).

Statements in open courtInterview with Lexis®PSL IP & IT discussing the Court of Appeal’s decision in Associated Newspapers Ltd v Murray [2015] EWCA Civ 488, [2015] All ER (D) 151 (May)  (first published on Lexis®PSL IP & IT on 27 May 2015).

“The Journey of Gibraltar’s Football Association” – article for the LawInSport website addressing the legal issues encountered by the Association in its applications for membership of UEFA and FIFA, and in its first full season as a member of UEFA (co-authored).

Father’s book shelved to protect son” – Interview with Lexis®PSL IP & IT discussing the Court of Appeal’s decision in OPO v MLA [2014] EWCA Civ 1277, [2014] All ER (D) 117 (Oct) (first published on Lexis®PSL IP & IT on 31 October 2014).

Contributor to The Law of Privacy and the Media, Tugendhat and Christie (3rd Ed.) (2016).

Co-authored a chapter on Gibraltar defamation and privacy law in Carter-Ruck on Libel and Slander (6th ed.).

Called

2008 Called to the Bar of England and Wales
2008 Called to the Bar of Gibraltar

Education

Bar Vocational Course, BPP Law School, Holborn - 2007-8
MA Law, Jesus College, Cambridge - 2004-7

Qualifications

Called to the Bar of Gibraltar - 2008

Areas of work

Defamation and Malicious Falsehood
Privacy and Confidence
Data Protection and Information Law
Harassment
Injunctive Relief
Pre-publication Advice

Testimonials

“He is exceptional at dealing with media and privacy issues arising in the context of sports litigation and arbitration, in particular sports disciplinary proceedings.” Legal 500 2022. Ranked (Sports Law)

He is technically very strong and has great attention to detail. He is also very good with clients.” “He is very bright and judges like him.” Chambers and Partners 2022. Ranked (Defamation/Privacy).

Very hard working, knowledgeable and user friendly.” Legal 500 2022. Ranked (Defamation/Privacy).

An impressive junior with excellent client-handling and advocacy skills. A pleasure to work with: he is extremely approachable and engaged with the cases he takes on.” “Julian is very helpful and knowledgeable and is great to have on your team.” “Incredibly hard-working and brilliant with clients.” Chambers and Partners 2021. Ranked (Defamation/Privacy).

He understands where clients and solicitors are coming from and can communicate in a way which is straightforward and easy to understand.” UK Legal 500 2021 (Defamation and Privacy – Leading Juniors)

He’s very bright, works incredibly hard and is very impressive on the detail.” “Always goes out of his way to be available and consistently delivers concise but considered advice. A star in the making.” Chambers and Partners 2020. Ranked as a Leading Junior (Defamation/Privacy).

An excellent all-round barrister with an immense knowledge base, an extremely approachable manner and a tireless work ethic.” “He has a fantastic understanding of complex issues.” Chambers and Partners 2019. Ranked as Up and Coming (Defamation/Privacy)

Would strongly recommend based on his excellent results and his user-friendly style.’ UK Legal 500 2019 (Defamation and Privacy – Leading Juniors)

A real rising star, who achieves excellent results.’ UK Legal 500 2018 (Defamation and Privacy – Leading Juniors)

He has a great voice in court which he uses to his advantage. He catches the ear of the judge, he’s forthright in his advice, and he doesn’t shy away.” “He’s responsive, pleasant and his advocacy is persuasive.” Chambers and Partners 2018. Ranked as Up and Coming (Defamation/Privacy)

Hardworking, extremely knowledgeable and very easy to get on with.’ UK Legal 500 2017

Gibraltar Practice:

  • Ranked as an “Associate to watch” in Chambers and Partners Europe 2013: “Associate Julian Santos is highlighted as a rising star in the litigation department. He is increasingly visible on high-profile mandates and is praised for his ability to effectively bridge the cultural divide on cross-border deals involving both common and civil law jurisdictions.
  • Legal 500 Europe 2013: “Julian Santos ‘finds solutions and thinks one step ahead’

Languages

Spanish (bilingual) and French (basic)

All cases

Defamation and Malicious Falsehood

Mahmudov & Mahmudova v Goni Sanzberro & ors

[2021] EWHC 3433 (QB) 17/12/2021

Zahir Monir v Steve Wood

[2018] EWHC 3525 (QB) 19/12/2018

Privacy and Confidence

Baroness Lawrence & Ors v Associated Newspapers Ltd

[2023] EWHC 2789 (KB) 10/11/2023

ERY v Associated Newspapers Limited

[2016] EWHC 2760 (QB) 04/11/2016

5RB Talks

5RB Back to Basics talk - Misuse of Private Information

1 Sep 2021
With Luke Browne & Julian Santos

5RB Back to Basics talk - Defamation

1 Sep 2021
With Lily Walker-Parr & Julian Santos

5RB talks - End of Trinity Term 2021

29 Jul 2021
With Adam Speker KC, Kate Wilson & Julian Santos

5RB Talks: Bristol

17 Feb 2015
With Jacob Dean, Felicity McMahon & Julian Santos

Articles

Statements in open court - ANL v Murray

By Julian Santos. 5 Jun 2015

The Journey of Gibraltar's Football Association

By Julian Santos. 18 May 2015

Father's book shelved to protect son

By Julian Santos. 28 Nov 2014

Publications

The Law of Privacy and the Media 3rd Edition

OUP
By Julian Santos. 22 Jan 2016

In 5RB News

9 Feb 2024

Indemnity costs after Mirror hacking trial

15 Dec 2023

Judgment in Mirror phone hacking trial

21 Nov 2023

Consequentials hearing in Lawrence & Ors v Associated

10 Nov 2023

Lawrence & Ors v Associated privacy claims can go to trial

20 Oct 2023

5RB tops rankings in Chambers & Partners

5 Oct 2023

5RB named Tier 1 set in Defamation and privacy by The Legal 500

19 Jul 2023

5RB barristers advise the McGrail Inquiry in Gibraltar

9 May 2023

Phone hacking trial to begin

27 Mar 2023

Lawrence & Ors v Associated: four-day hearing begins

3 Jan 2023

5RB cases dominate Spear’s reputation cases roundup 2022

7 Oct 2022

5RB named top set by The Legal 500

Directory rankings also released

4 Nov 2020

Statement in Open Court in Mamadou Sakho v WADA

Premier League footballer settles claim against the World Anti-Doping Agency

5 Feb 2020

Court refuses strike out in Enterprise Insurance libel case

Gibraltar Supreme Court dismisses five applications by Defendants

4 Dec 2017

Statement in Open Court in Suresh v Samad and others

Libel claim by Chairman of Oriental Fine Arts charity settles

2 Nov 2017

“The pre-eminent set”: Chambers UK

5RB and members recommended for Defamation & Privacy and Data Protection in 2018 Chambers UK Bar Guide

11 Oct 2017

5RB ‘dominates the field’ in Legal 500

Chambers and members recommended for Defamation & Privacy, Data Protection, and Media and Entertainment work in legal directory

25 May 2017

5RB at the London Legal Walk 2017

Over £2,500 raised for LLST, FRU and the Bar Pro Bono Unit

1 Feb 2017

Truth defence ruled out in charity case

Warby J refuses defences but allows Third Defendant to plead a new public interest defence

4 Nov 2016

High Court grants interim injunction

Criminal investigation and interview engage Claimant's Article 8 rights

19 May 2016

5RB at the London Legal Walk 2016

£2,157.19 raised for LLSU, FRU and the Bar Pro Bono Unit

29 Apr 2016

Sun phone-hacking claims to proceed

High Court allows amendments to include The Sun

30 Mar 2016

Supreme Court refuses permission in two media cases

Mirror phone-hacking damages case and Weller will not be heard by the SC

22 Jan 2016

New edition of The Law of Privacy and the Media published

Read an extract on Privacy, the Internet and Social Media

20 Nov 2015

Wellers win MailOnline photos appeal

Appeal against judgment in favour of Paul Weller's children dismissed

30 Oct 2015

Court of Appeal hearing in ANL v Weller

Appeal in relation to photos of Paul Weller's children heard

6 Jul 2015

Picardo awarded £30,000 in damages

Chief Minister of Gibraltar awarded damages in libel claim

17 Feb 2015

5RB Talks 2015: Bristol

5RB's Jacob Dean, Felicity McMahon and Julian Santos spoke at the Bristol office of Osborne Clarke

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