He has consistently appeared in the Directories since 2005 and was described in 2006 as "enjoying a burgeoning reputation". In 2007, Adam was ranked as a leading junior. The 2008 edition of Chambers and Partners recommends Adam as "extremely client-friendly, helpful and with an upbeat can-do attitude. He handles all aspects of employment and commercial litigation and is becoming increasingly adept at emergency injunction work."

Adam has an international practice (he is called to the Bar of the British Virgin Islands) and is regularly instructed in the highest appeal courts. He has recently appeared in the House of Lords (Seal v Chief Constable of South Wales Police (2007) 1 WLR 1910) and is now instructed to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights. Adam also recently appeared successfully as an advocate in his own right in the Privy Council (Hanna v Imperial Life Assurance Company of Canada [2007] All ER (D) 30), a case concerning breach of contract and employment status, which was on appeal from the Court of Appeal of Bahamas.

Employment Law

Adam regularly appears in the High Court in relation to applications for injunctive relief and trials arising from the employment relationship. He is also often instructed in the Employment Tribunal and EAT, on behalf of both employers and employees, and covers all areas of employment litigation.

He is currently instructed by Luton Town FC in the claim brought against them by Mike Newell, their former manager, and has previously acted in a number of high profile and legally significant cases.

Adam successfully represented Ms Forsyth, an art teacher employed by Eton College, in her claim for unfair dismissal. The case was widely reported in the press, not least for the allegations made concerning Prince Harry cheating in his exams. Other recent noteworthy cases in which Adam has appeared include James v Redcats [2007] IRLR 296, an important EAT decision on the definition of 'worker' and Canary Wharf v Edebi [2006] IRLR 416, the leading case on the definition of a grievance for the purposes of the statutory procedures.
Adam is currently instructed to appear in the Court of Appeal in Johns v Solent [2008] IRLR 88, having been successful in the EAT. Johns is the first case on Age Discrimination to reach the higher courts.

Commercial Law

Adam's commercial practice includes the areas of commercial fraud, breach of contract, and professional negligence. He also regularly appears in commercial cases requiring urgent injunctive relief, including obtaining or resisting freezing orders, Norwich Pharmacal relief and general restrictive covenant work.
His reported commercial fraud work includes TBL Realisations plc (in administration) v Awada and others [2004] All ER (D) 466, a 10 day trial in the Chancery division in which Adam represented Defendants 3 and 4 in a multi-handed multi-million pound claim.
He has also appeared Ali and others v Rauf and others [2006] All ER (D) 360, in which Adam successfully represented the Defendants in a 2 day interim application seeking injunctions and declarations against a charity. Adam also represented the Defendants in the mediation which settled the dispute.
In 2008, Adam appeared in a 5 day trial in the Chancery Division concerning a guarantee and shares held on trust, which settled on the final day of trial. He is currently instructed in a number of other cases due to come to trial in the near future: a trial in April in the Queen's Bench Division concerning breach of fiduciary duties and breach of contract, (a case in which Adam has previously appeared in order to obtain injunctive relief), a ten day partnership dispute (Chancery Division, listed for hearing in June 2008) and a trial in the Queen's Bench Division in July 2008 concerning unlawful means conspiracy and funds taken in breach of contract.

Education and Public Law

Adam has significant experience in the law of education. He has sat on a number of occasions as legal advisor to the General Teaching Council in teachers' disciplinary proceedings and was also formerly the contributing editor of the Education Law Review. Adam regularly contributed to the ELR while he was an editor. He has also acted as counsel in a number of high profile education cases both in the Employment Tribunal and in the civil courts.
His recent reported education public law cases include:

K v Newham London Borough Council [2002] ELR 390 (High Court) - Adam successfully represented a pupil who challenged the refusal to admit her to the school, relying on the breach of her human rights (Art 2 of Protocol 1 of the ECHR).
R (on the application of Leung) v Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine (2002) ELR 653 - Adam represented a student in the High Court challenging his university categorisation.
R v Richmond upon Thames London Borough Council, ex p. JC [2001] ELR 21 (Court of Appeal) - a leading education case on school admissions.

Adam has more general public law practice which includes acting for and against local authorities and public bodies. Recent reported cases include:

Seal v Chief Constable of South Wales (House of Lords) (2007) 1 WLR 1910, dealing with whether or not the failure to obtain the leave of the High Court under the Mental Health Act 1983 s.139(2) before commencing civil proceedings rendered those proceedings a nullity.
R v Oxford City Council ex parte Pye et al [2002] EWCA Civ 1116 (Court of Appeal) - Adam successfully represented the local authority in a challenge by house builders to the legality of its planning guidance.
R v Flintshire County Council, ex p. Armstrong Braun [2001] 3 LGLR 34 (Court of Appeal) - a case which went “to the heart of democracy”. Adam successfully represented a local councillor in his challenge to a local authorities’ standing orders.

EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL HISTORY

Adam studied English Literature as an undergraduate at Oxford University (Exeter College) and at Sussex University as a postgraduate (MA in Critical Theory). Adam converted to law by taking a CPE at City University (Commendation), and upon being called to the Bar was awarded the Gray's Inn Carmel Entrance award and Wilfred Watson scholarship.

Prior to becoming a barrister, Adam worked as a school master at Worksop College, was an MP's research assistant in the House of Commons, and worked for the European Commission in Brussels.

PUBLICATIONS

Adam has published widely on his areas of specialism, and is a contributing author to Butterworths Employment Law: Practice, Procedure & Precedents with CD Rom (5th Edition). Adam was also formerly the contributing editor of the Education Law Review, for whom he wrote a number of articles.

His other publications include:

"The Cost of Asylum" Solicitor's Journal Vol. 146 No. 44
"Exporting Human Rights - the extra territorial application of the HRA" Solicitor's Journal Vol. 145 No. 19.
"Delay and when to bring proceedings for judicial review", Judicial Review, May 2001
"Interim Declarations: a new power?", Judicial Review, January 2001
Contributor to "Commercial Judicial Review" by P. Engelman, 1st ed., 2000 (Sweet & Maxwell)
"New Competition for Supermarkets" DAC House Journal, April 1999
"How to stop "Go" - competition law in the air" Freight Transport Buyer, 07.1998
"The Long Arm of European Competition Law" Journal of American Institute of Defence Counsel, 03.1998
"Arbitrators are not lawyers" Lloyds List, 11.1997
"The EC Directive on Commercial Agents" Freight Transport Buyer, 11,1997
"Law on trial in Kazakhstan" Legal Action, the journal of the Legal Action Group, 11.1997, following participation in the Law Society’s pro-bono project to teach law in Kazakhstan.