Edward Morgan KC

Corporate liability and Directors' duties
Professional Regulation (Including Safeguarding)
Charities Governance and Compliance
Clinical Governance
Inquests
Judicial Review
Confidentiality and Data Protection
Professional Negligence
Ecclesiastical Law
Contentious & Non-Contentious Employment matters
Canon Law
Education Law
Human Rights

PROFILE

Ed Morgan's private law High Court practice has particular emphasis upon those areas of litigation within which internal governance and regulatory laws converge. These include obligations of Charitable Trustees, director responsibilities; breach of fiduciary duties and related restitution claims; shareholder disputes; restrictive covenants; confidentiality; and passing off. Mediator and Arbitrator appointments are also accepted in these areas.

In the regulatory field, his experience is extensive, ranging from issues of internal regulatory compliance (charity compliance, local government, safeguarding, education, healthcare) to external private and public law litigation. Ed has considerable experience in the conduct of public law proceedings (judicial review) on behalf of public bodies and government departments. He is regularly instructed to undertake internal audit compliance and/or regulatory reviews in these areas.

Ed has extensive experience of all forms of Employment Law (contentious and noncontentious) ranging from multiple claimant actions arising out of harmonisation of terms and conditions in the Financial Services Sector and discrimination claims within public services sectors to pre-emptive advice in connection with the public sector procurement arrangements. He has undertaken numerous internal regulatory investigations in these areas.

Ed is a regular speaker on employment law and regulatory matters.

For many years, he has conducted large and heavy scale employment litigation in a number of specialist sectors requiring detailed awareness of regulatory frameworks, and professional conduct regimes. These have also led to appointment to Chair of internal processes and/or to Report upon wider institutional governance issues. These have included Clinical Regulation, Education and Specialist training of doctors, Private Sector Healthcare provision, conduct of regulatory intervention in the legal profession, the status, regulation of Charities and related personnel, internal regulation and discipline within faith communities, and safeguarding and corporate governance. He has conducted inquests in which Art 2 ECHR has been engaged.

His expertise in canon law has given rise to a wide range of instructions and the conduct of internal investigations and litigation in other jurisdictions. Such instructions have included the resolution of significant property trust related issues (i.e. temporal goods) and the restructuring of public juridic bodies.

Ed’s extensive regulatory experience has led to frequent instructions to advise upon and represent clients in public law proceedings, including judicial review.

NOTABLE CASES INCLUDE

HEALTHCARE RELATED

• Reddy v GMC [2012] EWCA Civ 310
• Thorneycroft v NMC [2014] EWHC 1565 (Admin)
• Chawla v Northamptonshire University Hospitals [2016]
• Jackson v County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust [2017]
• Ilango v Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust [2018]
• Vishwanath v Health Education England and ors [2022]
• Moon v Lancashire NHS Foundation Trust [2022]
• Tattersall v NHS England [2023] EWHC (Admin)
• Worrall v Future Directions CIC [2023]
• Re Regulatory Body [2023] (Powers of Intervention of Regulator)

EDUCATION

• A v B and Anor [2010] EWCA Civ 316
• Anderson v Chesterfield College [2015] UKEAT
• Ham v Beardwood College [2015] UKEAT
• Re Independent School- Challenge to Ofsted Inspection in relation to matters of governance and safeguarding. [2022]
• Re Inquest Touching Upon the death of a Pupil [2021]
• Re Inquest Touching Upon the death of a Pupil – Art 2 ECHR [2022]

EMPLOYMENT LAW (INCLUDING DISCRIMINATION AND WHISTLEBLOWER CLAIMS)

• Fulton & Baxter v Bear Scotland [2014]
• Harrison v Preston BC and Driver [2003]
• Dynamex Friction Ltd and Anor v Amicus and Anor [2008] EWCA Civ 381
• QLog Ltd v O’Brien [2014]
• Shinwari v Vue Entertainment [2015]
• Hoppe v HMRC and ors [2021]
• Clarke v Lisburn and Castlereagh Council [2022]
• Hancock v Warrington and Halton NHS Trust [2023]

SAFEGUARDING AND RELATED

• IICSA - Advising in relation to participation in Public Inquiry and provision of witness statements in relation to matters of historic sexual abuse [2020-2021]
• Member of the Elliott Review - Sub-Committee concerning internal regulation and accountability of religious ministers in relation to safeguarding [2020].
• Re Faith Charity - Internal Investigation and audit report following prevention of future death reports [2021]
• Re National Charity - Appointed to conduct independent investigation into safeguarding procedures and the handling of complaints against senior personnel.
• Re Professional Regulator - Advising a clinical regulator in relation to the evidential threshold for proceedings in the context of public inquiry and pending criminal investigation.

ECCLESIASTICAL LAW AND GOVERNANCE

• Church of Wales v Brooks [2016]
• Hollis and Ors v Rolfe and Ors [2008] EWHC 1747 (Ch)
• Re St Peter’s Prestbury [2013] Chester Const. Ct
• X v United Reformed Church [2016]
• Madden v Jamison and Ors [2020] EWHC 446
• Grabe v United Reformed Church [2022]
• Re Religious Order [2023-2024] – Charitable Governance and Divesting of Temporal Goods.

JUDICIAL REVIEW

• Tattersall v NHS England [2023] EWHC (Admin)
• Re Government Agency – decisions in respect of Modern Slavery Act 2015 [2023]
• Re Government Agency – decisions concerning restructure of rail network [2023]
• Re Devolved Government – Policy concerning regulation of Residential Lettings [2023]
• R (FH) v SSHD [2023] EWHC (Admin) (Modern Slavery and NRM)
  

  Ed is presently instructed in relation to the Rwanda litigation.

INVESTIGATION AND AUDITS AND GOVERNANCE REVIEWS

[2022] Re A Faith Charity: Investigation of potential financial irregularities and breach of fiduciary duty on the part of senior ecclesiastical personnel. Matter identified in consequence COVID related financial audit. Mandated to investigate and report upon (i) the duties and obligations of key personnel; (ii) identification of susceptible transactions; (iii)formulation of plan of action in respect of prospective recovery on behalf of charity; (iv) system and governance review/ recommendations concerning the issues identified and the measures necessary to enhance financial procedures. Process required extensive interviews of witnesses, the drafting of initial and final correspondence for onward transmission to the Charity Commission and other Regulators.

[2022] Re .Com Health Services Company: Investigation following attempted removal of CEO and hostile takeover by institutional shareholder. Review of extensive documentation comprising strategic email and related correspondence on the part of members of the board. In excess of 30 interviews conducted. Mandated to report upon (i) the cause of the boardroom fracture; (ii) the part played by key individuals; (iii) the role of external advisors; (iv) conflicts of interest and corporate governance; (v) potential breaches of fiduciary duties and grounds for regulatory action and disclosure.

[2023] Re. Network Provider: Investigation into relational difficulties between individual employee and senior management personnel of employer and related corporate entities. The difficulties had spanned several years, with repeated allegations of bullying, harassment, victimisation, discrimination and non-compliance with policies and procedures. The purpose of the investigation was to scrutinise the detail of the interaction which had occurred and its implications for future working relationships and/or policy review.

[2023] Re. Religious Body: Conduct of an urgent investigation arising out of pastoral conflict between local members of the faith denomination. The work required interviewing of key players in the conflict, provision of a detailed Canonical Report identifying the means of resolution and subsequent correspondence for the implementation of the strategy which had been identified.

[2023] Re Professional Regulator: Conduct of an appeal and compilation of subsequent Report arising from allegations of discrimination, bullying and harassment against senior executive. Target of complaint not holding an employee position. The Investigation was undertaken to a tight timescale in line with the employer’s internal policy; whilst requiring detailed disclosure of additional documentation not previously provided to the complainant employee. The Investigation and subsequent Report had the potential to adversely impact upon continuing professional relationships at a key stage of the Regulator’s external development.

[2023] Re A Company: Investigation and Reporting upon a Company’s due diligence arrangements concerning Directors' fit and proper person status, professional development and corporate governance. This involved interviews across the organisation and the compilation of a Report preparatory to a Capital Funding exercise.

[2023] Re Safeguarding: Conduct of investigation and co-authoring of an extensive and detailed operational Report relative to the handling of safeguarding concerns. The process arose following the death of a person implicated in a safeguarding concern. At the resultant inquest, HM Coroner issued a prevention of future death report. Appointed to formulate a systemic operational response and lessons learnt report on behalf of the relevant faith organisation. The work was undertaken with a member of the House of Lords.

Re A Council: Commissioned to compile a governance review following extensive conflict between Chief Officers. The Report identified governance related management and training issues intended to insulate the Council (and its officers) against future legal challenge and adverse scrutiny.

[2023] Re Religious Body: Conduct of Investigation into complaints regarding interaction between senior operational officers and safeguarding personnel.

[2024] Re A Charity: Extensive Corporate Governance Review in relation to Charity and connected commercial entities. Audit of compliance, reporting (SORP and FRS 102) and scrutiny of Trustee obligations.

[2024] Denominational Charity: Corporate Governance, Review and Recommendations concerning the wholesale revision of internal regulatory proceedings applicable to ministers and other office holders within the denomination.

[2024] Re Educational Charity: Ed is instructed to undertake a constitutional review and implementation Report of a national institution. This work is continuing.

PUBLICATIONS

"The Canonical Directory for Clergy" (CTS, London)
Contributor to the Encyclopaedia of Employment Law (Sweet & Maxwell)
Contributor to "The Confluence of Law and Religion" (Cambridge, 2016)
“Fathers and Brothers - Legitimate Expectation of Diocesan Clerics in the light if c384 CIC”  (Peeters, Leuven, 2018)
“Leading Works in Law and Religion” (ed  Sandberg, Routledge, 2018) 

QUALIFICATIONS

LLB, LLM, JCL, JCD, PhD and FCIArb