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Andrew Otchie

Andrew Otchie

Call:2005

Practice areas

Andrew Otchie

Andrew read law at South Bank University and Queen Mary College, University of London, and was called to the Bar by the Honourable Society of Gray’s Inn (November 2005). He went on to complete an Internship at the British Institute of International & Comparative Law (BIICL) where he contributed to the Bulletin of International Legal Developments (BILD). He accepted a tenancy and became a member of 12 Old Square Chambers (2010).

Andrew has also passed the New York Bar Exam and was admitted to practice as an Attorney and Counselor-at-Law of New York State (2011). He was awarded an MPhil degree (by research) from the University of Hull following his study of International law, NATO and the Use of Force (2015).

Pro bono

Andrew is a member of the ELAAS panel (the Employment Lawyers Appeals Advice Scheme) and performs voluntary advocacy for appellants before the Employment Appeal Tribunal.

Additional areas of specialism

Commercial law

Notable cases

Successfully represented a Postman who was found to have been unfairly dismissed for urinating in public; a case widely reported by the national press. See: here, here, here, here, and here

Represented Claimant in substantial Employment Tribunal proceedings. A claim of unfair dismissal was upheld.

Represented the Respondent to the Secretary of State’s appeal concerning the interpretation of section 117B(6) of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002. The Court of Appeal considered whether s.117B(6) applies only in cases where the qualifying child will in fact leave the UK as a consequence of the parent’s removal; and whether “genuine and subsisting parental relationship” requires at least some element of direct parental care to the child. Reported here

Publications

Andrew is the author of numerous peer refereed journal articles, including:

  • Just Mercy Film review Counsel Magazine, March 2020, page 42
  • Sharing Something in Common Counsel Magazine, March 2016, 31-32 Reflects upon the history, core aims and contemporary relevance of the Commonwealth-in-England Barristers Association.
  • The Art of Article 5 The Utility of Nato’s Jus Ad Bellum in the Face of Ambiguous Warfare’Air Power Review, Volume 18, Number 3, Autumn/Winter 2015, examines the legal complexities faced by air power practitioners in the contemporary operating environment. Highlighting the current paradigm of NATO power being one of international dominance and prominence, but with its greatest challenge being how to ensure a sound, workable, legal basis for its future military operations.
  • Is Military Law Appealing Criminal Bar Quarterly, Issue 2, Summer 2014 It has been said: ‘Military law is to law what military music is to music’. If this is supposed to mean that military law is boring and lacks imagination, then perhaps it is time to think again.  
  • Upping the Anti New Law Journal 2013, 163(7572), 18-19, Assesses the Commercial Court judgment in Ecom Agroindustrial Corp Ltd v Mosharaf Composite Textile Mill Ltd that, where a sale of goods contract provided for all disputes to be resolved by arbitration and the buyer then obtained an anti-suit injunction in Bangladesh, the buyer should be restrained from pursuing Bangladeshi proceedings and was obliged to arbitrate all contractual disputes. Discusses the clarification of the circumstances for the grant of an “anti-anti-suit injunction”.  
  • The True Cost of Mistakes Solicitors Journal 2013, 157(6), pages 10-11 Reviews case law involving appeals to the Administrative Court against decisions of the Solicitors’ Disciplinary Tribunal. Considers the nature of regulatory proceedings and examines the issue of costs.  
  • Killing off lawyers Criminal Law & Justice Weekly 2013, 177(13/14), pages 220-221, considers the implications for the legal profession of changes to the regulatory regime for solicitors implemented under the Legal Services Act 2007, including changes to the jurisdiction of the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the granting of full operational independence to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT). Notes the guidance published by the SDT on the sanctions it imposes.  
  • Reaching a Safe Haven in the Law of Duress? Criminal Bar Quarterly, Issue 3, Autumn 2013 Welcomes the Court of Appeal ruling in R. v GAC on whether a woman who had suffered from acts of violence at the hands of a man she had been in a relationship with could belatedly rely on the defence of duress because of battered woman syndrome. Comments on the circumstances in which a defendant might raise the defence of duress in relation to criminal conduct for which they might be otherwise liable and considers whether the defendant met the high threshold needed to rely on the defence of duress.
  • Ghana Law – Past, Present & Future Counsel Magazine, December 2012 Reflects upon the experience of administering an intestate estate in Ghana as background to a discussion of the history of the legal system in Ghana and the structure of its legal profession.
  • State of Play New Law Journal, June 2012 Explains the process by which foreign judgments can be registered in the UK, with reference to the provisions of the Administration of Justice Act 1920 and CPR Pt 74. Considers the factors which will prevent foreign judgments being enforceable within the UK as set out by case law, including the European Court of Justice in Owens Bank Ltd v Bracco (C-129/92), and with reference to academic texts. Notes the evidence which parties need to present when seeking to enforce a foreign judgment.

Reports on the topics discussed at the American Bar Association’s Section of International Law 2011 Fall Meeting, held in Dublin from 11-15 October. Including an address by the President of Ireland Mary McAleese on Human Rights and contemporary challenges in Irish culture, Election Dispute Resolution, Privatization of Military and Security Functions, Ireland’s Arbitration Law, the UK Bribery Act, and “Speed Networking.”  

  • A Right to Die? Criminal Law & Justice Weekly, Volume 176(4) January 2012, pages 37-38 Reviews the recommendations of the Commission on Assisted Dying. Comparing the proposed regime with the equivalents existing in the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and Oregon, noting that it most resembles this last regime, which does not extend to euthanasia. Discusses the current position of assisted suicide in English law and the moral issues surrounding reform of that position, referring to relevant jurisprudence. Argues that, despite, or because of, the Commission’s efforts to resolve the issue of potential patient abuse, the proposals may prove unworkably contradictory.
  • The American Way Counsel Magazine, November 2011, pages 17-18, Reflects upon the experience of becoming a New York attorney, focusing on the New York Bar examination and particular issues faced by candidates with a foreign legal education.  
  • The Appeal of Summary Jurisdiction Criminal Bar Quarterly February 2011, discusses the implications for the administration of justice following the government’s announcement to close approximately one-third of Magistrates’ Courts in England & Wales, including a historical outline of the concept of Summary Jurisdiction.  
  • An American Dream Counsel Magazine November 2010, discusses developments in American law and practise at the American Bar Association Annual Meeting. Topics include same-sex marriage, marijuana regulation, anticipatory self-defence in International law and the use of Facebook.

Scholarships and Awards

Andrew was awarded a scholarship by the Honourable Society of Gray’s Inn to complete the Advanced International Advocacy Course, at Keble College, University of Oxford (2013).

He was a recipient of Scholarship by the South-Eastern Circuit to attend the Florida Bar Advanced Civil Advocacy Course (2011). His publication available here:Transatlantic Advocacy

He also received funding under the Bar Council’s International Legal and Professional Development Grant Programme to attend the American Bar Association Annual Meeting in San Francisco, California (2010).

Professional memberships

Andrew is a committee member of the Commonwealth-in-England Barristers’ Association (CEBA), an organisation that exists to promote the rule of law, the independence of the judiciary and the freedom of the legal professions in the Commonwealth. Please see:

CEBA International

He is also a member of the Lawyers’ Christian Fellowship (LCF).

Andrew has also been accredited as Junior Counsel in Personal Injury by the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL)

Qualifications

  • LL.B. (Hons)
  • LL.M. (Banking & Finance Law)
  • MCIArb
  • MPhil (The University of Hull)

Personal interests

Andrew has completed the 2005 & 2008 Flora London Marathons and raised money for the Disability Law Service. He is married, with a son and daughter, and is a member of the Metropolitan Tabernacle (Baptist) Church in London.