Gavin Dingley

Year of Call
2024

Contact

gavindingley@amadvocates.co.uk 0131 260 5824

Practice Profile

Gavin is a dual-qualified Scottish Advocate and English Barrister, holding chambers in Edinburgh and in London with Five Paper. His practice encompasses international commercial litigation, public and regulatory law.

Gavin’s commercial practice has a focus on international commercial arbitration, cross border litigation and related court applications. He advises international corporations and often acts as part of large multi-jurisdictional legal teams as led or sole counsel in complex commercial disputes involving parties from Africa, Asia and the Middle East. He represents clients in disputes administered by the DIFC, GAFTA or under the LCIA, SCC, ICC, SIAC and UNCITRAL rules, and also has experience handling a range of court applications related to arbitration, including anti-suit injunctions, freezing orders or interim relief in support of arbitration or other related commercial proceedings.

As part of his regulatory practice Gavin represents institutions and individuals before various disciplinary tribunals and regulators with a particular focus on professional discipline and sports. He is ranked as a leading junior by the Legal 500 in Sports law. He is often instructed by international clients requiring specialist advocacy skills before domestic and international arbitral tribunals such as the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Fédération Equestre Internationale and the Basketball Arbitral Tribunal. To date, Gavin has advised on contractual disputes, immigration, compensation, selection, doping, eligibility, safeguarding, integrity and disciplinary issues affecting athletes, management, clubs and leagues from a range of different sports and jurisdictions.

Gavin is currently Standing Junior to the Advocate General for Scotland (2024 – 2028).

Education & Professional Career to Date

Education:
LLM (International Law), SOAS University of London, 2016
Graduate Entry LLB (Hons), City University of London, 2014
BA (Hons), University of Exeter, 2012

Scholarships and prizes:
Master of Laws – LLM (International Law)
• Honourable Society of Inner Temple, Rachel Lawrence Pupillage Scholarship
• Sir Joseph Priestly Scholarship
• ICLR Pupillage Scholarship – Shortlisted
• The International Bar Association Scholarship (International Criminal Law)
• Sir Geoffrey Nice Bursary, The Honourable Society of Inner Temple
• 2nd Place at The Times/One Essex Court Law Awards
• SOAS Academic Postgraduate Scholarship Award for LLM (full-fee scholarship)
• Kalisher Advocacy Scholarship

Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC)
• Dean’s Award Scholarship (full-fee scholarship)
• The International Bar Association Scholarship, Vienna Annual Conference
• Winner of the International Bar Association Magna Carta Essay Competition
• Human Rights Lawyers’ Association Bursary
• Finalist, Clifford Chance Intelligent Aid Essay Competition

Bachelor of Laws – Graduate Entry LLB (Hons)
• Winner of the International Marcianum Moot, representing the Honourable Society Inner Temple
• Honourable Society of Inner Temple, BPTC Major Exhibition Scholarship
• Winner of the Holman Fenwick & Willan LLP – Global Lawyer Essay Competition

Professional career:
Gavin commenced practice as a Scottish Advocate in June 2024. Prior to his call, Gavin practised and continues to practise as Barrister at the Bar of England and Wales. Prior to commencing practice at the Bar, he gained experience at South Africa’s premier law firm: Webber Wenzel and at Mishcon de Reya LLP in London. In addition, Gavin acquired international experience working on human rights and prison reform in Africa at the Zambian Law Development Commission and as a legal assistant for Julian Burnside OA QC in Melbourne, Australia.

Appointments

  • Standing Junior to the Advocate General for Scotland (2024–present)
  • Sports Resolutions Pro Bono Panel (2019–present)
  • Specialist Extradition Crown Prosecutor (CPS) (2019–present)
  • Specialist Regulatory Advocate in Health & Safety and Environmental Law (C-List) (2018–present)
  • Serious Fraud Office Disclosure Counsel Panel (2018–present)
  • Treasury Solicitors’ Immigration List (2018–present)
  • Home Office Appeal Review Panel (2018–present)
  • Attorney General’s Civil Panel Scheme (Junior Junior) (2016–present)

Selected Cases

  • International Arbitration
  • Swiss Arbitration Centre – (Value £500,000)

    Swiss arbitration proceedings against parties involved in a citizenship by investment scheme (Zurich)

  • GAFTA Arbitration – (Value $750,000)

    GAFTA arbitration proceedings against importer and exporter of grain (London)

  • LCIA Arbitration – (Value £12,000,000)

    LCIA arbitration proceedings representing the Claimant in an import/export dispute (London).

  • *
  • Sports Law
  • Court of Arbitration for Sport – Football transfer related disputes

    CAS 2022/A/8689 (Lausanne)
    CAS 2022/A/8616 (Lausanne)
    CAS 2021/A/8020 (Lausanne)
    CAS 2020/A/7442 (Lausanne)

  • EFL Club v EFL Club, Rule K Arbitration, The Football Association, London.

    Rule K – Football transfer related dispute

  • Anti-doping

    CAS 2021/A/8247 (Lausanne)

  • *
  • Public Inquiries
  • The Infected Blood Inquiry

    Junior Counsel, (2020 - 2022)

  • Under Cover Police Inquiry

    Junior Counsel, (2018 – 2019)

  • *
  • Professional Discipline
  • Behzad Tavakoli v General Medical Council
  • XYZ v Disclosure and Barring Service [2024] UKUT 85 (AAC)

Areas of Practice

Publications & Seminars

Estoppel in International Arbitration - Jus Mundi, June 2021 https://jusmundi.com/en/document/wiki/en-estoppel

SOAS Law Journal, SOAS L.J. 2017, 4(2), 143-152 Title: Playing musical chairs with international justice: evaluating the appointment of judges ad hoc in proceedings before the International Court of Justice’

Keep Calm Talk Law Blog, February 2016 “Raising the Dead – Lord Janner” http://www.keepcalmtalklaw.co.uk/rising-from-the-dead-the-trial-of-lord-janner/

The Times, November 2015 Title: Does Europe need a new legal framework to tackle mass migration? https://www.oeclaw.co.uk/images/uploads/documents/2._Gavin_Dingley_Essay.pdf

Human Rights Lawyers’ Association Journal 2015 ‘Case Comment: Karsten Kaltoft’ https://www.hrla.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/The-Young-Human-Rights-Lawyer-2015-1-YHRL.pdf

The International Bar Association Human Rights Committee Newsletter, 2015 ‘Selecting a clause from the Magna Carta, discuss how it is still relevant today’

African Arbitration Association – 2020 Annual Conference (speaking engagement)

Invited as a Panel Speaker on High-Tech in International Arbitration and its Risks (speaking engagement)

Junior Lawyers Division Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire 2020 (speaking engagement)

Directories

The Legal 500: Tier 4 – Leading Junior for Sports Law (2023)

Additional Information

Other Qualifications:
SCC Foreign Arbitrators Diploma (2023)
Certificate in International Sports Arbitration, Malaysia – AIAC (2021)

CEDR – Certified Civil & Commercial Mediator (2020)
FCIArb - Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (2019)
The Siracusa International Institute for Criminal Justice and Human Rights, Italy -
16th Specialization Course in International Criminal Law: The International Criminal Responsibility of Non-State Actors (2016)

Teaching:
The Bar Council - BPTC Ethics Examination question writer (2019-2020)

Additional:
Gavin is empanelled as an independent Legal Chair/Arbitrator for 15 different domestic and international Sports Governing Bodies. This includes Scottish Gymnastics, Fédération Internationale de Volleyball, the International Boxing Association and Paddle UK to name a few.