Hugh Preston QC

"An outstanding advocate" (Legal 500 UK 2012)

Hugh is ranked as a leading new silk by Chambers and Partners (in the previous edition he was ranked as one of the top 7 juniors in the country prior to taking silk) and the Legal 500, in the specialist field of Product Liability.   Hugh combines this with a specialist clinical negligence and commercial practice.

He is currently instructed in several major group actions including the PIP breast implant GLO, the DePuy ASR hip implant group litigation, and several other medical device and pharmaceutical actions.

His clinical negligence practice involves complex and maximum severity claims.   He is regularly instructed in birth injury claims of very high value (£4m+) and has a nationwide practice.  

He also practices in general commercial litigation including complex partnership disputes and high value construction disputes in the TCC.   This includes high value or group employment disputes, and he is currently retained in several group equal pay disputes.

Hugh also undertakes complex personal injury litigation.   He has developed a niche specialism acting for private security companies operating in Iraq, Afghanistan and international conflict zones defending severe head injury claims, and he is well known for his general employers liability defendant practice. 

Hugh is instructed in cases at every level of the civil court system, and has recently appeared in the House of Lords (Smith v Northamptonshire CC, 2009) and in the European Court of Justice (O’Byrne v Aventis Pasteur, 2009), on both occasions (prior to taking silk) acting without a leader against Queens Counsel in cases of significant wider interest.  

For detailed profiles by subject area, select one of the following:

• Product Liability
• Clinical Negligence
• Personal Injury
• Commercial

What the directories say:

"an outstanding advocate" (Legal 500 UK 2012)

“a massive presence in the product liability field” (Chambers and Partners 2013)

“one of the foremost juniors in the field” (Legal 500 UK 2011)

“a serious player in this field with a growing reputation .... he has a very subtle and tactful approach that’s well thought through, and he also proves very good with clients”(Chambers and Partners 2012)

 “charming and unshowy"(Chambers and Partners 2011)

"hard working, bright and without a whiff of pretence” (Chambers and Partners 2010)

“sound, sensible and knows what he’s doing” (Legal 500 UK 2009)

Recent cases

• Numerous instructions in very high value CP birth injury claims (ongoing).
• DePuy ASR hip group litigation (instructed by 20+ firms).
• PIP breast implant GLO (instructed by steering committee and numbers other firms) (ongoing).
• House of Lords ruling on PUWER (Smith v Northamptonshire County Council, 2009). Click here for case summary.
• ECJ ruling on House of Lords reference re. time limits in product liability claims (O’Byrne v Aventis Pasteur).  Hearing in Luxembourg in June 2009, Supreme Court 2010. Click here for case summary.
• Iraq/Afghanistan litigation:   A number of high value (£1m+) personal injury claims against private security companies operating in Iraq & Afghanistan [ongoing].
• Willmott Dixon Housing Ltd v RPS Services Ltd (2013) (£2m+ heavy TCC dispute).
• Muthana v Yafai (2012).   Partnership dispute – 7 year dispute.   £10m+.
• Cervarix vaccine damage claims (ongoing).
• ABG1 prosthetic hips litigation (2008).

Memberships

• AVMA
• Personal Injury Bar Association