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Laith Dilaimi

Call: 2011

"Laith is a superstar. He is super bright, with an ability to see the bigger picture and find a way through on the trickiest cases."

Chambers & Partners 2024

"Laith is an excellent speaker, his written work is fantastic, he is approachable and great to work with, and he is exceptional at understanding the key issues quickly."

The Legal 500 2024

"Laith is a delight to work with. He is extremely erudite, unflappable and very responsive. He is brilliant with clients and instils a sense of confidence and trust."

Chambers & Partners 2023

"Laith is an academic and extremely thorough barrister. He is very collaborative and respectful when working with other lawyers, and willing to go the extra mile for his clients - devotes time to his work, sometimes way beyond his brief fee."

The Legal 500 2023

Overview

Laith specialises in employment and discrimination, education law, professional discipline, and public law.

The legal directories describe Laith as:

  • “an incredibly impressive advocate”(Chambers & Partners)
  • “an excellent barrister with very strong advocacy skills”(Chambers & Partners)
  • “his interpersonal and client-handling skills are first-class”(Chambers & Partners)
  • “utterly unflappable”(The Legal 500)
  • “very friendly [and] approachable” (Chambers & Partners)
  • “he has a very assured advocacy style” (The Legal 500)
  • “a true professional and a credit to the Bar”(Chambers & Partners).

In his employment law practice, Laith covers the entire spectrum of employment disputes, acting for employers and employees. Laith regularly acts in multi-week hearings in the employment tribunals. In the High Court, Laith often deals with applications for injunctive relief. He has particular expertise in cases involving the healthcare sector and the education sector, as well as the public sector more generally. In the healthcare sector, he has considerable experience representing NHS trusts. In the education sector, he has experience representing schools, universities, teachers, school leaders and academics.

In his discrimination law practice, Laith appears for claimants and respondents/defendants in all forums: he has experience of cases involving discrimination in employment, discrimination in education (both schools and universities), discrimination by service providers and associations, and housing discrimination. Laith conducts cases in the County Court, the Employment Tribunals and the First-Tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability), as well as the appellate courts and tribunals. He is on the C Panel of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) Panel of Counsel.

In his education law practice, Laith accepts instructions across all areas of education law. He represents all types of clients, including local authorities, schools, parents, and university students. He regularly acts in SEN appeals in the First-Tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability), often dealing with Section B, Section F and Section I appeals. He also appears in disability discrimination cases in the First-Tier Tribunal, representing both parents and schools, and appears in discrimination cases in the County Court involving higher education institutions. Laith conducts appeals in the Upper Tribunal (Administrative Appeals Chamber) and advises on judicial review proceedings in the High Court. Laith sits as an IAP/IRP chair for school admission appeals and school exclusion reviews, so he is able to bring this experience to his work in the area of school admissions and school exclusions.

In his professional discipline and regulatory law practice, Laith represents professionals in disciplinary proceedings before their regulators. In particular, Laith represents healthcare professionals in front of their regulators and represents teachers (including school leaders) in front of the Teaching Regulation Agency. He has experience of misconduct cases, lack of competence/deficient professional performance cases, conviction cases and health cases. Laith accepts instructions for multi-day and multi-week proceedings.

In his public law practice, Laith has a focus on judicial reviews in the fields of education and community care. He has particular experience in cases relating to local authorities’ duties under the Children and Families Act 2014 and Care Act 2014 and associated regulations. He accepts instructions from claimants and defendants.

Laith is also a trained and accredited mediator and enjoys conducting mediations.

Before joining Chambers, Laith read Classics at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he took a Double First, won the Fotheringham Prize for Ancient History and was made a Demy (‘half fellow’) of Magdalen College. Laith completed the Graduate Diploma in Law at City Law School, gaining a Distinction. He was graded Outstanding for his Bar Professional Training Course at BPP. He was awarded three scholarships by Gray’s Inn.

Appointments & Other

  • Leading junior, Chambers & Partners and The Legal 500
  • Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) Panel of Counsel
  • Lay chair of investigatory panels and disciplinary panels, Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM)
  • Panel chair, Independent Appeal Panels for London borough councils
  • Panel chair, Independent Review Panels for London borough councils
  • Reviewer Member, Advocate (formerly the Bar Pro Bono Unit)
  • Mediator, accredited by ADR Group
  • Direct access registered

Professional Memberships

  • Administrative Law Bar Association (ALBA)
  • Association of Regulatory and Disciplinary Lawyers (ARDL)
  • Discrimination Law Association (DLA)
  • Employment Law Association (ELA)
  • Employment Law Bar Association (ELBA)
  • Education Law Association (ELAS)
  • Industrial Law Society (ILS)

Professional Recommendations

“He has a wonderful manner with clients.”

Chambers & Partners 2024

“Laith is coming into his own in the area of education law and the law of transgendered people. He has cut a real niche for himself there; it is very complex transgender issues in the area of education law.”

Chambers & Partners 2024

“He is always extremely helpful in and out of tribunal.”

Chambers & Partners 2024

“Laith is a superstar. He is super bright, with an ability to see the bigger picture and find a way through on the trickiest cases.”

Chambers & Partners 2024

“Laith provides timely advice. He is very knowledgeable and clear.”

Chambers & Partners 2024

 

 

 

“Laith is an excellent speaker, his written work is fantastic, he is approachable and great to work with, and he is exceptional at understanding the key issues quickly.”

The Legal 500 2024

“Laith has persuasive and respectful approach to advocacy, and his advice is always valuable and sensible.”

The Legal 500 2024

“His quiet manner belies what can be quite devastating cross-examination.”

Chambers & Partners 2023

“Laith has a methodical approach and clearly breaks down the legal elements of the case to demonstrate the strength of his argument.”

Chambers & Partners 2023

“Laith has a lovely manner with clients. He is very reasonable, fully engaged and fights hard for his clients.”

Chambers & Partners 2023

“Laith is a delight to work with. He is extremely erudite, unflappable and very responsive. He is brilliant with clients and instils a sense of confidence and trust.”

Chambers & Partners 2023

“Laith has a lovely, measured advocacy style that is highly effective.”

Chambers & Partners 2023

“Laith is an incredibly smooth operator. He is always very well-prepared and has a lovely advocacy style which appeals to the court.”

The Legal 500 2023

“Laith is an academic and extremely thorough barrister. He is very collaborative and respectful when working with other lawyers, and willing to go the extra mile for his clients – devotes time to his work, sometimes way beyond his brief fee.”

The Legal 500 2023

“Professional and friendly, easy to negotiate with, and with a knowledge of the law beyond his call. ” “Very approachable and extremely clever, reliable, knowledgeable and pleadings in person and writing are excellent.”

The Legal 500 2022

“An effective and measured advocate. His legal knowledge is excellent.”

Chambers & Partners 2022

“He is seriously bright and a very reassuring presence in complex and difficult matters; his cross-examination is flawless and his written work is smart and concise.” “He’s very smart; he prepares very thoroughly, absorbing great detail in little time.” “He is excellent in cross-examinations, but able to handle matters sensitively when needed.” “He is a technical barrister who leaves no stone unturned and has excellent client care skills.”

Chambers & Partners 2021

“Laith is a fountain of knowledge on education law and in particular on matters related to discrimination in that sector. A great advocate and certainly a barrister you want for you, not against.” “Very diligent and knowledgeable, leaving no stone unturned on a case. He has an unassuming style but always makes the right points in the right way, bringing about excellent results.”

The Legal 500 2021

“An incredibly impressive advocate – he has the ability to ask questions of witnesses in an incredibly sensitive and well-mannered way. His interpersonal and client-handling skills are first-class.” “An excellent barrister with very strong advocacy skills. He is very friendly, approachable and passionate about education law. He is a true professional and a credit to the Bar.”

Chambers & Partners 2020

“He has a very assured advocacy style and is utterly unflappable.”

The Legal 500 2020

Expertise

Employment & Discrimination

Education

Professional Regulatory & Discipline

Administrative & Public Law

Commercial Law

HR Professional Support

Mediation


Recent and current work

Notable cases

Key contacts

Evie Cocker

Junior Team Leader Assistant
Evie Cocker Telephone Clerk020 7269 0300 Email Clerk

Samantha Jones

Deputy Senior Clerk
Samantha Jones Telephone Clerk020 7269 0307 Email Clerk
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Shortlist Updated

Out of hours

William Meade (Senior Clerk)

07970 649 755