Darshan Patel

Darshan joined Old Square following pupillage at a leading clinical negligence set and is developing a broad practice across all areas of chambers’ expertise, with a particular focus on Employment, Clinical Negligence, Personal Injury and Professional Regulatory and Discipline.

Further details of Darshan’s work can be found under the relevant headings below.

Darshan qualified as a barrister with substantial prior advocacy experience, having worked as a County Court Advocate, where he attended over 850 hearings including infant settlements, CCMCs, interlocutory applications and small claims trials. He is also especially aware of the pressures faced by professional clients, having been on a secondment as in-house counsel within a large respondent solicitors firm.

Academics

University of Law, Bar Professional Training Course, 2013-2014 – Outstanding
London School of Economics, Masters in Law (LLM), 2012-2013 – Merit
Magdalene College (University of Cambridge), MA in Law, 2009-2012 – 2.i

Scholarships/Awards

Inner Temple Exhibition Award (2013)
Leathersellers’ Exhibition Award (2012)

Darshan is regularly instructed in all areas of employment and discrimination law, and he advises and acts for employees, trade unions, and employers from the private and public sectors. He has substantial experience of employment tribunal proceedings, having conducted a number of multi-day final hearings and having been instructed in cases involving the full range of employment law issues, including questions of employee/worker status, whistleblowing, holiday pay, discrimination and TUPE.

Darshan has experience of collective work, including claims of collective redundancy and of failure to consult under TUPE. Recently, he appeared as sole counsel in the Central Arbitration Committee in Unison v Cornerstone TUR1/1092(2019).

Darshan has been led by Oliver Segal QC at a joint settlement meeting in respect of a multi-million pound claim. He also has appellate experience, having appeared without a leader in the Court of Appeal in Nicol v Blackfriars Settlement [2018] 9 WLUK 353.

Having undertaken pupillage at a leading clinical negligence set, Darshan has experience of all aspects of this area of law. He has regularly appeared at interlocutory hearings in clinical negligence matters, including CCMCs.  Darshan also has a special interest in inquests after gaining exposure to this area whilst on secondment as in-house counsel in a leading respondent solicitors’ firm.

Darshan advises and represents Claimants and Defendants. He appears frequently in interlocutory hearings, CCMCs, applications, disposal hearings, small claims and fast-track trials in this area. He drafts pleadings and advises on matters concerning all stages of litigation. Darshan’s expertise includes employer’s liability, occupier’s liability, road traffic accidents and highways claims. He also has some experience of noise-induced hearing loss cases and of criminal injuries compensation appeals.

Prior to joining Old Square, Darshan gained substantial experience of personal injury law from pupillage at a leading clinical negligence set and from his work as a County Court Advocate. Darshan is a member of the Personal Injury Bar Association.

Darshan has a strong grounding in the healthcare sector from his clinical negligence background, and from acting for a number of NHS Trusts in employment proceedings. He has also gained exposure to a number of different regulators and to internal disciplinary hearings during pupillage. Darshan is keen to further develop his interest in this area.