Matthew Flinn

Matthew has extensive experience in the principles of tort law (breach of duty, causation, consent, quantification of damage), group litigation and cases involving foreign / conflict of laws, and appeared regularly in the English courts, including the County Courts, the Coroner’s Court, the First-Tier and Upper Tribunals (Information, General Regulatory and Immigration Chambers) the High Court and multiple public inquiries.

He has particular skill in negotiating successful outcomes in contentious matters, and his experience in dealing with vulnerable clients makes him especially suited to managing cases which involve both complex legal issues and a sensitive human element.

In 2004 Matthew was awarded the Girdlers’ Scholarship, enabling him to complete his law degree at Cambridge University. He graduated with first class honours in 2007 and was named a Foundation Scholar of Corpus Christi College.

After spending six months as an advisor on the Official Information Act in the Office of the Prime Minister in Wellington, Matthew returned to London for further professional study on a Lord Mansfield Scholarship from Lincoln’s Inn, and was called to the English Bar in March 2010. He spent six months as a judicial assistant to Lord Justice Mummer in the Court of Appeal and then completed his pupillage at One Crown Office Row Chambers in London, where he was offered tenancy in July 2011. He went on to develop a broad civil practice as a barrister, specialising in clinical and professional negligence, personal injury, regulatory and public law.

Prior to joining Bell Gully in 2024: 

Information law, data protection and privacy:

Represented Royal Mail in a large number of claims for accidental disclosure of the personal information of employees and users of the postal service.

Represented a hearing aids retail company in a matter relating to the disclosure of salary information of a disgruntled employee (Ashley v Amplifon Ltd [2021] EWHC 2921 (QB)).

Represented the Serious Fraud Office in successfully resisting a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 for information relating to the historic collapse of a pensions company and life insurer (Wynn v Information Commissioner [2012] 9 WLUK 128). 

Acted for a General Practitioner in a dispute between a patient and the Information Commissioner’s office relating to persistent and vexatious requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act (on the basis of allegations, without any good foundation, or racism) from the doctors’ surgery (Adedeji v Information Commissioner’s Office [2022] UKFTT 391 (GRC).

Personal injury and clinical negligence:

Successfully represented the Metropolitan Police in a multi-party negligence claim in the High Court (Webley v St George’s Hospital NHS Trust [2014] EWHC 2099 (QB)).

Advised two NHS Hospital Trusts on quantification of damage in catastrophic birth injury claims, one pleaded in excess of GBP 15 million and the other pleaded in excess of GBP 50 million.

Represented a patient with chronic facial pain and trigeminal neuropathy, dealing with breach of duty causation and quantification of damage in a claim involving eight medical expert disciplines and pleaded in excess of GBP 2 million.

Professional negligence:

Represented the claimant in a professional negligence claim against her former solicitors, who managed her post-car accident personal injury claim as a simple whiplash matter, when in fact the claimant had developed a widespread catastrophic pain syndrome. The failures of her former solicitors led to an under-settlement of her previous claim in the region of GBP 2.5 million.

Public law and human rights:

Junior Counsel to the Inquest in the investigation of the IRA bombing of the Horse & Groom pub in Guildford, on 5^th October 1974, resulting in the death of four people.

Part of a team of lawyers representing over 500 individual soldiers in the Al Sweady Public Inquiry, which examined serious allegations of murder and torture in the aftermath of the battle of Danny Boy in Iraq in May 2004. After a public inquiry lasting many years, the allegations were found to be wholly false.