Tim Johnston

Tim is recognised as a leading junior in all his key areas of work. The directories describe him as “a silk in waiting”, “very insightful and knowledgeable”, “an excellent communicator and advocate” with a “vivid turn of phrase” and “an obvious leader… [and] go to junior.”. His practice spans public law, public international law, civil liberties, competition and EU law. He has substantial expertise in business and human rights, international environmental law and ESG standards.

He regularly appears in leading and ground-breaking cases such as the ‘Rwanda’ litigation, Lungowe and Others v Vedanta Resources Plc [2019] UKSC 20, Pfizer Inc and another v Competition and Markets Authority [2022] UKSC 14, and “Miller 1” [2017] UKSC 5, In the past few months he appeared unled in the Court of Appeal in what is now the leading authority on interim relief in judicial review RRR v British Standards Institution [2024] EWCA Civ 530 as well as in the Visa/Interchange litigation.

Tim has particular expertise in climate and environmental matters. He regularly advises and acts for environmental charities, such as ClientEarth, and has advised public authorities in relation to scrappage schemes, low emissions zones, emissions targets and renewable energy.