Nicholas Jones

Public law, ratings and tax

Having recently been appointed to the Attorney General’s C-panel of counsel (to commence 1 September 2026) Nicholas is growing his practice in public law, ratings and tax in particular.

In the field of ratings, recent experience has included:

• Advising HMRC in respect of a proposed challenge to the classification of self-catering holiday lets in Wales.
• Being instructed by a charity in Magistrates’ Court proceedings brought by a billing authority in respect of the non-payment of non-domestic rates.

He also enjoyed undertaking a complex piece of advisory work concerning ratings law during his pupillage and is keen to build his practice in this area further.

Nicholas has a strong interest in public law and human rights, and worked on a range of high-profile matters during pupillage. As a tenant, he has appeared in a number of cases, including an immigration bail application and an asylum appeal in the First-Tier Tribunal. He was recently part of a team instructed by an NGO to draft submissions in proceedings before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

In tax, Nicholas is especially interested in developing his practice in areas where tax intersects with public law and judicial review. His recent experience in this field includes being instructed by HMRC as part of a team working on a high-profile ongoing judicial review matter concerning VAT. Nicholas has also written about tax in the latest edition of 1COR’s Tax Newsletter, where he explored the Court of Appeal’s decision in Hotel La Tour v HMRC [2024] EWCA Civ 564.