Luke joined 5RB in 2020 upon successful completion of pupillage. He accepts instructions across all areas of Chambers’ work, including defamation, privacy, harassment and data protection. His recent work includes acting for the BBC in R. (on the application of Yar) v Secretary of State for Defence, and for the claimants (led by Adam Speker KC) in Wan-Bissaka & Anor v Bentley.
In 2021 Luke spent eight months on secondment with the BBC Litigation Department. He currently provides pre-publication advice to The Times, The Sunday Times and The Daily Telegraph. He is the current statutes, rules and damages awards author for Gatley on Libel and Slander (13th ed., 2022), the leading practitioners’ text on defamation law and practice.
During pupillage, Luke’s supervisors were Adam Speker KC, Aidan Eardley, Kate Wilson and Jonathan Scherbel-Ball. Cases with which Luke assisted during pupillage include:
- Serafin v Malkiewicz & Ors (first Supreme Court case on the public interest defence in s.4 Defamation Act 2013)
- Depp v News Group Newspapers Ltd & Anor (three-week libel trial in the High Court)
- ZXC v Bloomberg LP (Court of Appeal decision on the privacy rights of suspects in criminal investigations)
- Turley v Unite the Union & Anor (week-long libel trial in the High Court)
- DSM SFG Group Holdings Limited v Kelly (Court of Appeal decision on the use of covertly obtained confidential information in litigation)
Luke was called to the Bar of England and Wales by Middle Temple, where he was a Queen Mother Scholar. In 2020, he was called to the Bar of Ireland by the Chief Justice. He previously worked at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, the Permanent Mission of Ireland to the UN in New York, the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade of Ireland, and the International Rescue Committee, advising on human rights, conflict, humanitarian and UN issues.
Scholarships and Awards
- Queen Mother Scholarship (Middle Temple)
- Blackstone Entrance Exhibition (Middle Temple)
- Robert Gardiner Memorial Scholarship (University of Cambridge)
- Julian Prize (Trinity College Dublin)
- Entrance Exhibition Prize (Trinity College Dublin)
Called
2017 Called to the Bar of England and Wales
2020 Called to the Bar of Ireland
Education
BPP University of Law, London: BPTC
University of Cambridge: MPhil. Politics
Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris (Sciences-Po): International Diploma
Trinity College Dublin: LLB. Law
Areas of work
Privacy and Confidence
Defamation and Malicious Falsehood
Human Rights
Data Protection and Information Law
Injunctive Relief
Pre-publication Advice
Harassment
Reporting the Courts and Contempt
Languages
French
Memberships
Middle Temple
All cases
Privacy and Confidence
Wan-Bissaka & Anor v Bentley
[2020] EWHC 3640 (QB) 22/01/2021
Harassment
Wan-Bissaka & Anor v Bentley
[2020] EWHC 3640 (QB) 22/01/2021
Injunctive Relief
Wan-Bissaka & Anor v Bentley
[2020] EWHC 3640 (QB) 22/01/2021
5RB Talks
5RB Back to Basics talk - Misuse of Private Information
1 Sep 2021
With Luke Browne & Julian Santos
Articles
Publications
Gatley on Libel and Slander 13th edition
Thomson Reuters (Sweet & Maxwell)
By Luke Browne. 20 Jul 2022
In 5RB News
29 May 2022
New Gatley published
Gatley 13th edition now available
28 Sep 2020
5RB announces new tenant
Luke Browne joins 5RB from October 1, 2020
Contact
Email: clerks@5rb.com