Isabel McArdle and Gareth Rhys appear in the Supreme Court in Hotel La Tour Ltd v HMRC - Jun 2025
Gareth accepts instructions across all of 1 Crown Office Row’s areas of specialism and has a broad practice in courts and tribunals up to, and including, the UK Supreme Court. He has experience acting for individuals, corporate entities and government departments working on matters principally relating to public, administrative and revenue law, although he has experience of customs, environmental law, medical law, personal injury, and immigration, as well as public inquiries and inquests (including Article 2 inquests).
Gareth is a member of the Attorney General’s London C Panel of counsel and undertakes a wide range of work for government departments across Whitehall. 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 Senior Crown Counsel in St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, advising the Attorney General and acting for the Governments of the territories in a wide range of civil and constitutional proceedings, including judicial reviews.
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 and informs his practice. He also helped Andrews LJ update Sweet & Maxwell’s “Law of Guarantees” (8th edition).
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.
View full profile »9 members on the 2025 Pro Bono Recognition List of England and Wales - Apr 2025
We are delighted that 9 members of 1 Crown Office Row are featured on the 2025 Pro Bono Recognition List of England and Wales: Angus McCullough KC Laura Bayley Jo Moore Alice Kuzmenko ...
Gareth Rhys successful for Respondent in a statutory appeal to the High Court - Jan 2025
Gareth Rhys appeared on behalf of the Respondent Listing Officer in a statutory appeal to the High Court from a decision of the President of the Valuation Tribunal for England. The Appellant was a...
Congratulations to our seven members appointed to the Attorney General’s Panel of Counsel - Sep 2024
Congratulations to Isabel McArdle, Alasdair Henderson, Edward Waldegrave and Dominic Ruck Keene on their promotions to the Attorney General’s A Panel of Counsel, effective from 1st September. We are...
Gareth Rhys acts for the Attorney General of St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha in a five-day trial before the Chief Justice of St Helena in the territory’s Supreme Court - Jul 2024
The claim is a challenge brought under the Constitution by a former elected Member of St Helena’s legislature. He claims vindicatory damages for alleged breaches of his fundamental rights as...
Members of 1COR act in the Covid Inquiry - Dec 2023
Module 2 of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry is drawing to a close, with evidence from the Prime Minister due to be heard on Monday 11 December, followed by closing submissions. This module considered core...
Gareth Rhys completes Advocate’s Pro Bono Pledge - Jul 2023
We are delighted to see that Gareth Rhys has become the latest 1COR member to complete Advocate's Pro Bono Pledge. Gareth has undertaken more than 30 hours of pro bono work so far this year. "I...
1COR Quarterly Medical Law Review – Spring 2023 – Issue 13 – July 2023 - Jul 2023
Welcome to the thirteenth issue of the QMLR, brought to you by the barristers at 1 Crown Office Row. Download the Spring 2023 newsletter here: 1COR QMLR - Issue 13 - 2023 Spring ...
1COR is pleased to welcome Gareth Rhys as a new tenant - Apr 2023