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Profile Picture

Charles Falconer

Charles
Falconer

Partner

CONTACT INFO

cfalconer@gibsondunn.com

TEL:+44 (0)20 7071 4270

FAX:+44 (0)20 7070 9270

London

Telephone House, 2-4 Temple Avenue, London, EC4Y 0HB United Kingdom

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PRACTICE

Transnational Litigation Litigation

BIOGRAPHY

Charlie Falconer is an English qualified King’s Counsel and partner based in Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher’s London office.  The former UK Lord Chancellor and first Secretary of State for Justice spent 25 years as a commercial barrister, becoming a QC in 1991 and a KC in 2022.  His practice focuses on complex commercial litigation, international arbitration and investigations.

In June 2003, he became the Lord Chancellor and the first Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs.  He was called to the Bar (Inner Temple) in 1974 and was appointed Solicitor General in May 1997.  Between 1974 and 1997 he was a commercial barrister, and was involved in many significant commercial, industrial and financial issues of the day.

In 1997 he joined the Blair government as Solicitor-General, moving a year later to the Cabinet Office, becoming involved in all the critical issues which faced the government from 1998 until the 2001 election.

In 2001, after the general election, he became Housing, Planning and Regeneration Minister and in 2002 he became Criminal Justice Minister.  In both these jobs he was engaged in leading genuine public service reform, for example in relation to the planning system and the criminal justice system.

In 2003 he became Lord Chancellor.  In conjunction with the then Lord Chief Justice he worked out a detailed new relationship between the judiciary and the executive, which was embodied in the Constitutional Reform Act 2005.

His reform included the creation, for the first time, of a Supreme Court for the UK, the creation of a commission to appoint judges, making a full-time independent judge the Head of the Judiciary for England and Wales, and introducing an elected Speaker for the House of Lords.

In 2007 he became the first Secretary of State for Justice bringing together courts, prisons and justice policy for the first time.

Chambers UK 2017 recommends Mr. Falconer for Litigation. He is described as “a very bright man with huge reserves of energy.” He is also recognised by Legal 500 UK 2023 for Commercial Litigation and International Arbitration.

The Times has named Charles Falconer to The Times Law 100 (2012), its annual list of the 100 most influential lawyers in the UK.

Lord Falconer studied at Edinburgh Academy, Trinity College, Glenalmond and Queens’ College, Cambridge.

EDUCATION

University of Cambridge - 1974 Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.)

ADMISSIONS

Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (BVI)

England & Wales - Barrister

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Firm News - July 25, 2023 | Lawdragon 500 Names 39 Partners Among its 2023 Leading Global Litigators
Client Alert - January 29, 2021 | Procedural Implications for Cross-Border Litigation: A Post-Brexit Briefing Note
Webcasts - January 14, 2021 | Webcast: Brexit: The Christmas Eve Deal – Good or Bad for Business?
Client Alert - July 1, 2020 | COVID-19 UK Bulletin – July 1, 2020
Webcasts - June 29, 2020 | COVID-19 UK Weekly Webinar – June 29, 2020
Client Alert - June 17, 2020 | COVID-19 UK Bulletin – June 17, 2020
Webcasts - June 15, 2020 | COVID-19 UK Weekly Webinar – June 15, 2020
Webcasts - June 9, 2020 | Webcast: Brexit – where we are now and what to expect next (Part 2)
Client Alert - June 3, 2020 | COVID-19 UK Bulletin – June 3, 2020
Webcasts - June 2, 2020 | Webcast: Brexit – where we are now and what to expect next
Webcasts - June 1, 2020 | COVID-19 UK Weekly Webinar – June 1, 2020
Client Alert - May 20, 2020 | COVID-19 UK Bulletin – May 20, 2020
Webcasts - May 18, 2020 | COVID-19 UK Weekly Webinar – May 18, 2020
Client Alert - May 13, 2020 | COVID-19 UK Bulletin – May 13, 2020
Webcasts - May 11, 2020 | COVID-19 UK Weekly Webinar – May 11, 2020
Client Alert - May 6, 2020 | COVID-19 UK Bulletin – May 6, 2020
Webcasts - May 4, 2020 | COVID-19 UK Weekly Webinar – May 4, 2020
Client Alert - April 29, 2020 | COVID-19 UK Bulletin – April 29, 2020
Webcasts - April 27, 2020 | COVID-19 UK Weekly Webinar – April 27, 2020
Client Alert - April 22, 2020 | COVID-19 UK Bulletin – April 22, 2020
Webcasts - April 20, 2020 | COVID-19 UK Weekly Webinar – April 20, 2020
Client Alert - April 16, 2020 | COVID-19 UK Bulletin – April 16, 2020
Webcasts - April 14, 2020 | COVID-19 UK Weekly Webinar – April 14, 2020
Firm News - April 7, 2020 | Charles Falconer Appointed to UK Shadow Cabinet
Webcasts - April 6, 2020 | COVID-19 UK Weekly Webinar – April 6, 2020
Client Alert - November 21, 2014 | Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in 29 Jurisdictions Worldwide – UK
Client Alert - July 16, 2014 | Litigation: United Arab Emirates
Client Alert - September 1, 2013 | Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in 29 Jurisdictions Worldwide
Client Alert - January 27, 2011 | A Comprehensive Study of the New U.K. Bribery Act and What It Means for Multinational Corporations
Client Alert - September 7, 2010 | UK Serious Fraud Office Discusses Details of UK Bribery Act with Gibson Dunn
Client Alert - July 12, 2010 | The Long Arms of UK and US Law
Client Alert - April 8, 2010 | UK Enacts New Bribery Act
Client Alert - September 11, 2007 | IRS Issues Limited Extension to Section 409A Amendment Deadline; Provides Little Relief for Employers and Other Plan Sponsors
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