J Richard McManus QC

Date of call: 1982 Middle Temple
Year of silk: 1999

Richard McManus QC practices in all areas of public law. He has represented most Departments of Central Government, many Local Authorities, the CAA, other statutory corporations and a wide range of applicants. He practices principally in the High Court and the appellate courts. He has handled litigation in the Luxembourg, Cyprus, Bermuda and Bangladesh. He is particularly well known for education disputes and is cited both by Chambers and Partners 2007 and The Legal 500 as the joint leading silk in this area. He is the author of “Education and the Courts” (Jordans) 2004.

His recent leading cases have been in the fields of Human Rights and Education. He was involved in both R (on the application of Begum) v Denbigh High School and A v Lord Grey School which were heard together. In the Begum case he persuaded the House of Lords that Denbigh High School had not breached Ms Begum’s rights under article 9 of the ECHR or article 2 of the First Protocol when it required Ms Begum to wear the school uniform rather than the jilbab, (a long cloak) she wished to wear in school. In the Lord Grey School case, which also concerned Article 2 of the First Protocol, he successfully petitioned the House of Lords for leave to appeal, and then persuaded the School’s insurers to take over the case. His other leading education cases include the Dunraven case, which concerned the content of the duty to act fairly when excluding from a state school, and Gray v Marlborough College where the Court of Appeal imported public law concepts of fairness into a contractual duty to consult prior to requiring a parent to remove a pupil from an independent school. His other notable education cases include B v Harrow (House of Lords) which concerned Special Educational Needs.

Other appearances in the House of Lords include Equal Opportunities Commission v Birmingham City Council, (Discrimination in relation to the provision of grammar school places), R v ICS ex parte Bowden (Financial Services), and several Social Security cases both for and against the government (Bate v CAO, Plewa v CAO, Cockburn v CAO , Fairey v CAO and CAO v Quinn)

From 1992 to 1999 he was on the Government A panel of Counsel. Apart from the Social Security work he was instructed on a wide range of cases including, discrimination, education, employment, and European Union law.

His notable discrimination cases include Smith and Grady v Ministry of Defence (the Gays’ in the Military case) and Coker and Osamor v Lord Chancellor (which concerned the Lord Chancellor’s appointment of a special advisor).

Recent Local Government work has included advice in relation to finance, freedom of speech and the Local Government Code of Conduct, and community care.

AFFILIATIONS
ALBA

EDUCATION
Neale-Wade Comprehensive School, March, Cambs
Downing College, Cambridge

SCHOLARSHIPS
Maxwell Law Prize for top first in Part 1A of the Tripos

DIRECTORY ENTRIES
Chambers & Partners, 2010:
Recommended as the joint leading silk in Education law: “Intellectually rigorous” and “capable of realistic assessments that will sweep all of the debris out of a case” he is known for his tough approach and hard work ethic. Clients found that he “showed great empathy” and “went way beyond what you would normally expect of Counsel" (2007). "A Clear thinking and capable advocate" (2008). "Extraordinarily brainy, utterly trustworthy and incredibly eloquent [he] pulls out all the stops in his cases" (2009). "one of those rare silks who is technically superb whilst always keeping an eye on practical consequences" (2010).

Legal 500, 2009:
Recommended leader in Administrative & Public Law: "a leading silk" (2007); Education Law: "..first rate brain...who impresses by going straight for the killer point" (2007), "good choice for complex litigation" (2008) and “able to establish good rapport with clients” (2009).

Legal Experts, 2010:
Leading expert in Administrative & Public Law (Inc Judicial Review) and Education Law .

CLERKS EMAIL
Michael Kaplan and Elliot Langdorf