Francis Taylor Building is delighted that Jeremy Phillips KC has been appointed as an Independent Specialist Panel Member of the FA Safeguarding Review Panel for a three-year fixed term to October 2025. Jeremy has been addressing the legal and practical issues of individuals' fitness and propriety for more than four decades. This experience covers the broad range of sports and professions, including horseracing, athletics and swimming, as well as the casino, taxi & PHV, nightclub, sex entertainment, pub and security industries.  Having been a partner in international law firms before transferring to the Bar (where he sat on the Bar Council's Ethics Committee), Jeremy also advises and represents legal and healthcare professionals in relation to a wide range of disciplinary matters. Jeremy also sits on the British Equestrian Foundation's Judicial Panel, the Lawn Tennis Association's Disciplinary & Safeguarding Panels, the Professional Conduct Panel of the Teaching Regulation Agency and Sport Resolutions' Mediator and Development Arbitrator Panels & Safeguarding Case Management Programme (SCMP) Legal Advice Service.

Jeremy recently took part in Advocate's 25 for 25 Challenge, more than doubling the requirement with his own time…

Advocate is a charity that sources free legal assistance from volunteer barristers. For more information visit weareadvocate.org.uk.

A message he recently received from a client who he was able to support before a professional disciplinary panel highlights the truly invaluable support that the Advocate service makes available to those in society who are often the most in need: 

 i.  "You .. worked so hard to achieve the better results and without your help and support I had no chance whatsoever. I am very grateful to you …  "

ii.  "Thank you so much for your kind emails, advises, help and supports for last few months.  Thank you for your hard work and all the submissions and everything.  I can not thank you enough.  There were time that I though – there are no chance for me and I would not be able to get back to any more but then you came to help me out and now I have 'hope'/possibility to get back to work [ .. ] thank you.  You have restored my faith and I am very grateful to you.  Thank you."

Since volunteering in the Battersea Law Centre in the late '70s and subsequently setting up his first law firm a few years later, Jeremy has always believed that it is important to give back to society. For this reason he takes on a limited number of cases each year without fee.

Examples of assistance he has provided in the past include:

• inquest concerning a family member in the care of an NHS Trust
• drafting pleadings for judicial review of disciplinary decisions
• advising on a pending appearance before a disciplinary medical panel
• potential claim of a Paralympic athlete against their coach
• formal advice for a community association through a national charity concerning a claimed breach of licensing legislation
• formal representation before an Inspector on behalf of a regional Rambler's Association
• taxi licence appeals in the Crown Court
• advising national Inquiry
• representation in a 4 – 5 day disciplinary hearing

Originally working with LawWorks to consider the suitability of cases for legal support, Jeremy subsequently assisted parents of children with special educational needs through the charity IPSEA. His interest was formalised though his April 2015 appointment as a Trustee of the Licensed Trade Charity (the LTC runs one mainstream school and two catering for young people with a range of special needs). Jeremy is also a member of the Bar Council Pro Bono Participant and/or Paid Participant Mediation & Expert Databases.

"Very many thanks for looking at so much of this; for skilful changes as ever (hope you picked up the message about how impressed people were with how you turned the cross-examination around); and for your encouragement …"

Regional Ramblers' Association

"I wanted to thank you so much for helping out Community Matters with the [premises] and providing an Opinion.  I appreciate that you are probably very busy most of the time so won't bother you with other queries, but I am glad I mentioned to [my colleague] you may be able to help with this particular situation."

Environmental charity