Gareth Rhys

Gareth accepts instructions across all of 1 Crown Office Row’s practice areas and has a broad practice. He has experience acting for Claimants and Defendants working on matters relating to taxation, customs, environmental law, medical law, personal injury, immigration, human rights and public law, as well as public inquiries and inquests (including Article 2 inquests).

Gareth is currently instructed by Baroness Hallett to act as junior counsel to the UK Covid-19 Public Inquiry. He was counsel for Module 2 of the Inquiry, investigating central political decision-making, and is currently counsel for Module 9 considering the government’s economic responses.

Gareth is a member of the Attorney General’s London C Panel of counsel. He undertakes a wide range of government work, including revenue law, customs, human rights and immigration. Gareth’s background is in public and revenue law. For two years, he was a government barrister at HMRC. He also spent a period as Crown Counsel in St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, advising the Attorney General and acting for the St Helena Government in civil and constitutional proceedings.

Before coming to 1 Crown Office Row, Gareth spent a year as Judicial Assistant to Lady Justice Andrews DBE and Lord Justice Stuart-Smith in the Court of Appeal. This gave him valuable experience of a breadth of areas of law, including public law, tax, immigration, environmental, employment and commercial law, and informs his practice. He also helped Andrews LJ update Sweet & Maxwell’s “Law of Guarantees” (8th edition).

Gareth is a Commissioner of the Equalities and Human Rights Commission for St Helena.

Gareth holds a first-class honours degree in Law from Queen Mary University of London, during which he received several awards including the Queen Mary Jurisprudence and Legal Theory Prize for outstanding academic achievement. Gareth also has a Masters degree in Taxation with Distinction from Christ Church, University of Oxford.

Gareth maintains a keen interest in art and architecture and holds an MA in History of Art from Magdalene College, University of Cambridge. Gareth worked on a number of art law matters while at HMRC and welcomes instructions in this area.

Outside his professional role, Gareth has been a supervisor on the Pink Law project at the Queen Mary Legal Advice Centre in Mile End, East London since 2020. This is a pro bono initiative that provides practical legal advice to members of the LGBTQIA+ community on a range of legal issues, such as obtaining asylum, medical treatment, housing and benefits.

For recreation, Gareth enjoys hillwalking with his husband, mainly in Scotland and the Alps. He is also an enthusiastic skier and used to race with the Ski Club Oz-Allemont. Gareth likes studying languages and speaks several European languages to a proficient level.