At 2TG our people are hard-working, forward-thinking and approachable. We believe our supportive culture is one of our greatest strengths.
With the set comprising around 60 barristers, we know each other well and work effectively together. We often operate in large teams with clients. Our practice management team is modern and commercial, matching barrister experience thoughtfully to clients’ requirements.
At 2TG our barristers are expert in a broad range of complementary practice areas and we enjoy repeat instructions from a variety of loyal clients.
Practised advocates from the start, all our Silks and the vast majority of our Junior barristers are recognised as leaders in their chosen fields. Many of us are at the forefront of shaping the law in our specialist areas and we pride ourselves in having excellent industry knowledge.
At 2TG our barristers have excellent experience acting across a range of industry sectors and we are able to offer advice in an informed and commercial context.
Our combination of practice area excellence and industry expertise means we possess real insight into the commercial realities facing our clients operating in these areas. Secondment plays an important part of our commitment to developing our skills and understanding.
2TG is home to award-winning accredited mediators, arbitrators, adjudicators and experts with considerable experience of alternative dispute resolution.
Our barristers are also skilled as advocates in different alternative dispute resolution procedures and work strategically with clients to understand their commercial objectives, and then to resolve litigation as cost-effectively and expeditiously as possible.
Work with an international dimension forms a significant part of many barristers’ work at 2TG.
We appear in international courts and arbitral tribunals all over the world, frequently acting on complex multi-jurisdictional disputes. We are particularly well-known for managing cross border litigation on matters of jurisdiction and applicable law and appear regularly in the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal.
At 2TG, in addition to our professional advice, we are recognised for our excellent contribution to education and development. We provide regular high-quality training.
Our reputation among the legal profession and other clients for our first-rate webinars and in-person conferences is very important to us. We also contribute frequently at industry events and as editors of leading texts and authors on topics of legal interest.
David Thomas is an experienced junior with particular interests in property damage, insurance, product liability and professional negligence work. He takes on extensive advocacy and advisory work for both claimants and defendants.
Since 2018 David has been representing a core participant in the Grenfell Tower Public Inquiry. As well has gaining extensive experience of public inquiry practice and procedure over the last 6 years, David has developed a deep understanding of the legislative and regulatory requirements of construction and fire safety in this context. This enables him to provide commercial, practical advice on the many issues currently being raised over the remediation of modern tall buildings.
David is ranked in the 2024 editions of Chambers & Partners and the Legal 500.
David has a busy professional liability practice, frequently taking on professional negligence claims concerning solicitors, brokers, architects and surveyors.
David’s professional negligence practice has been recognised in both the Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners in recent years, where he has been described as: “very approachable”, “exceptionally bright, enthusiastic and hard working” and “easy to work with, very reliable and hard-working; he can take the lead when he needs to; He turns things around quickly and always gives good-quality work.”
David’s professional negligence practice overlaps with his construction practice. David is regularly instructed on architects’ negligence matters and claims arising out of the negligent design or construction of buildings.
David also has a good deal of experience with accountants’ negligence claims. Cases have included defending a firm of auditors who failed to prevent an employee from embezzling money and proceedings involving a firm of accountants whose solicitor client was found to be in breach of SRA reporting rules.
Defending a firm of litigation solicitors alleged to have negligently advised upon and/or issued a Part 20 Claim in proceedings concerning the alleged forgery of financial documentation.
Advising solicitors in a claim against a barrister instructed to write a ‘standard form’ letter of claim, but which was plagiarised from another firm’s standard form letter.
Acting (with Charles Dougherty KC) for a leading Silk and the Bar Mutual in the defence of a £15m claim arising out previous unsuccessful litigation relating to a historic share sale agreement in the IFA sector.
Defending a firm of family law solicitors who in wardship and committal proceedings for a client who was imprisoned for contempt of court due to his refusal to return his children to the UK.
David acts for insurers and insureds on a variety of coverage and claims issues; he has extensive experience of advisory and court work.
Recently David has advised extensively on the various insurance repercussions arising out of the ‘cladding crisis’ following the Grenfell Tower fire, and in respect of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Alongside his general insurance work, David has a specialist practice pursuing and defending claims on permanent health, critical illness (and similar) insurance policies.
David has also developed a niche practice in respect of art insurance related disputes.
Advising an art wealth management company in a claim on its PII policy following a loss of funds arising out of a sophisticated email interception fraud.
Acting for an insurer in respect of an insurance claim arising out of arson at a cinema and nightclub in where the scope and application of a malicious person’s exemption is in dispute.
Representing insurers seeking to recoup money paid on a BII policy prior to learning that the insured had failed to disclose its director’s string of previous failed business ventures.
Advising on scope of notification and aggregation as part of a coverage dispute under the solicitors’ MTC in respect of a firm of solicitors involved in selling ‘hotel development’ schemes (with Charles Dougherty KC).
David is an established commercial practitioner, having experience of a wide range of commercial disputes, including commercial disputes where fraud is alleged.
David has a busy and varied commercial practice, which overlaps with his insurance and professional indemnity work.
David has also been involved in a number of high value commercial fraud cases, often with an international element, including a claim against the former partner of a solicitors’ firm for diverting client funds and an action for injunctive relief against the legal advisor to a high net worth individual.
Representing an international school in a dispute concerning the correct interpretation of a shareholders’ agreement.
Advising a Turkish business in respect of the enforcement of personal guarantees held by directors of an English company.
Defending a claim made by a Dutch executive search company for commission said to be due under an agreement to find candidates for leadership roles in a UK design firm.
Advising on contribution proceedings following the commercial settlement of claims arising out of allegedly defective water pumping equipment.
David is regularly instructed in proceedings arising out of claims made on permanent health and critical illness policies, where he is able to draw upon his experience of both insurance and personal injury work. He is also instructed in a range of life insurance matters, from issues of policy construction and administration to attendance at inquests.
Representing permanent health and critical illness insurers in contested High Court proceedings arising out of claims in respect of CFS/ME.
Advising and representing a life insurer in respect of allegedly fraudulent withdrawals made from a life insurance bond.
Successfully representing a permanent health insurer at a three-day trial where an indemnity had been denied on the basis of a pre-existing condition.
Advising and securing an advantageous settlement for a life insurer/pension scheme administrator who had allegedly overpaid benefits to a deceased member of a pension scheme.
Attendance and representation of a life insurer’s interests at an inquest in a case of suspected suicide.
David has extensive experience of a wide range of product liability matters, with particular experience of cases arising from all manner of products resulting in fire, and he has particular experience of claims under both Parts I and V of the Consumer Protection Act 1987.
David is part of a multi-specialist team in the Grenfell Tower Public Inquiry representing the designer and commissioner of the smoke extraction system installed at Grenfell Tower. This role continues call upon David’s expertise in understanding extensive expert and technical evidence. David has also developed a deep understanding of the legislative and regulatory requirements in this context.
David’s involvement in the Inquiry has also given him a detailed knowledge of the issues arising out of the use of various cladding and insulation products in tall residential properties.
David regularly advises and appears in a wide range of property damage proceedings including flood, fire, tree root subsidence and defective premises claims. His work is evenly balanced between representing claimants and defendants.
David’s involvement in the Grenfell Tower Public Inquiry, combined with his insurance knowledge, have made him well placed to advise on the many construction and fire safety issues faced by the owners, developers and insurers of modern residential buildings; and he has extensive experience of such work.
David’s property damage practice overlaps with his professional liability work, and he regularly acts for or against professionals in claims arising out of property design or construction.
Acting for a firm of consulting structural engineers alleged to have designed foundations inadequate to withstand the effect of nearby vegetation leading to a client’s home being demolished.
Pursuing claims against a fire prevention advisor and an industrial cleaning company following catastrophic fires at fast food units in London railway stations.
Representing the importer of LED spotlights which were alleged to have caused a significant house fire.
Representing a home and business owner in a flooding claim said to have been caused by the change of use of farmland surrounding his property.
My contact details:
ICO Reg No: Z2493752
Address: 2 Temple Gardens, London, EC4Y 9AY
Email: clerks@2tg.co.uk
Phone: +44 (0)20 7822 1200
The type of personal information I collect
To enable me to provide you with legal advice and representation in courts, tribunals, arbitrations and mediations, I currently collect and process the following personal information:
Personal identifiers, contacts and characteristics (for example, name, date of birth and contact details), bank and financial details, your background and circumstance and education.
Other personal data relevant to, or included in instructions to provide legal services, including data specific to the instructions in question and data included in documents provided to me as part of instructions or otherwise.
Such information may include personal information relating to family members, associates, agents, employees, shareholders or beneficial owners. By providing such personal information to me, you automatically confirm that you are authorised to do so. It is not reasonably practicable for me to provide the information set out in this Privacy Notice to those individuals. Accordingly, where appropriate, you are responsible for providing this information to any such individuals.
Where necessary, I may also need to process Special Category data about you including
How I get the personal information and why I have it
Most of the personal information that I process is provided to me directly by you or via the professional you have instructed such as a solicitor or consultant or other professional adviser who instructs me on your behalf to provide legal services.
I use the information that you have given me in order to
I may share this information with
Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the lawful basis I rely on for processing this information is
How I store your personal information
Your information is securely stored in Chambers or at my home. I use reasonable technical and organisational security measures such as password protection and encryption of computer generated data and keeping paper data secure to prevent personal information from being accidentally lost or destroyed, or used or accessed in an unauthorised way.
In this connection, Chambers, as data processor, acting on my behalf, will only process your personal data on my instructions and is subject to a duty of confidentiality.
The data will be held in line with any regulatory obligations and generally be kept for 6 years but may be 12 years, or longer where, for example, the case includes information relating to a minor, from the date of completion of instructions. At this point any further retention will be reviewed and the data will be marked for deletion or marked for retention for a further period.
All data will be securely deleted or securely shredded after this time without reference to you. I will store some of your information which I need to carry out conflict checks for the rest of my career. However, this is likely to be limited only to your name and contact details and the name of the case. It will not include any information that is “sensitive information” for GDPR purposes.
Your data protection rights
Under data protection law, you have rights including:
Transfer of your information outside the European Economic Area (EEA)
This privacy notice is of general application and as such it is not possible to state whether it will be necessary to transfer your information out of the EEA. If I do transfer your personal data I will use safeguards to ensure the data is fully protected as required by the UK Data Protection Regulations.
Changes to my Privacy Policy
From time to time, I may need to make chances to my privacy policy. If so, the changes will appear on my entry on the 2TG website.
Marketing
As above, I may share your personal data with Chambers who may in turn use that data to notify you by email, or post about an invitation to seminars and similar events. You may opt out of receiving any such marketing communications at any time by using the “unsubscribe” link in any emails. In relation to how Chambers uses such data, please see Chambers’ privacy policy. Other than sharing personal data with Chambers as described above, I will not share your information with any other third party for marketing purposes.
How to complain
If you have any concerns about my use of your personal information, you can make a complaint to me or to my Senior Clerk, Lee Tyler at 2 Temple Gardens, London, EC4Y 9AY or clerks@2tg.co.uk. You can also complain to the ICO if you are unhappy with how we have used your data.
The ICO’s address:
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Helpline number: 0303 123 1113
ICO website: https://www.ico.org.uk
© Briefed Ltd 2021. All Rights Reserved.
Winner of BPP Mooting Competition (2009)
“David’s advice is accessible and commercially focused.” “David is sensible, commercial and pragmatic. He has a smart legal mind and advises well.” “David is brilliant. He is great with clients and solicitors alike.” “David is excellent in terms of his legal expertise, advocacy and advice on strategy. He particularly stands out for his client service, as he is user-friendly and a real team player.” “David is not only technically excellent but also a real pleasure to work with. He is responsive, he turns things around within agreed deadlines, and his work product is always of a high quality.” “David is always a safe pair of hands and comes across well in client meetings and conferences, being both assertive but approachable.” “David’s level of expertise is very high and he is very professional.”
Chambers UK 2025
“David is a details man. He is very good and getting to the crux of the issues and assisting with the setting of overarching strategies in accordance with the client’s specific requirements.” “David is an exceptional barrister. He is utterly reliable and effective.”
Legal 500 2025
“David Thomas consistently provides sound commercial advice, and is extremely user-friendly and responsive.”
“He has attention to detail and a nice way with clients. He turns work around quickly – the quality of the work stands out.”
“He has demonstrated commerciality and responsiveness as well as providing technically excellent advice.”
“A valued junior who is user-friendly and knows his stuff.”
Chambers UK 2024
“Reliable and helpful. Good drafting skills and effective in Court, on what are often sensitive cases where the claimant has very strong views.”
Legal 500 2024
“David Thomas is an absolutely fantastic barrister. He is very analytical and extremely bright.” “David is able to quickly process and understand large volumes of information and complex issues.” “He is an incredibly safe pair of hands and has extremely good judgement.”
Chambers UK 2023
“David has a calm manner, is very thoughtful and offers considered advice in conference. His written work is also of high quality.” “A real gem – one of the best professional negligence barristers out there. Brilliant lawyer and a delight to work with.”
Legal 500 2023
“He’s helpful, completely on top of all documents and has a broad knowledge of property damage law. Whatever question you ask him, he’ll always have a practical answer.” “He’s thorough and has so much knowledge in his head. He’s good at analysing the issues and finding the right strategy to apply.” “He’s responsive and good at the technical detail of cases.”
Chambers UK Bar 2022
“David is beloved by clients and fantastically easy to work with. A real brain, and charming with it.”
“Very user-friendly with prompt turnarounds – my go-to mid-level junior.”
Legal 500 2022
“He’s a very bright and practical team player.”
“His diligence and ability to get on with tasks is impressive.”
“He has a very good attention to detail.”
Chambers UK 2021
“He is very bright, user friendly and a team player. He is an established practitioner in this area, and has expertise in “pure” professional negligence and technology and construction work.”
“Has established a first-class junior insurance practice, based on his excellent technical understanding of the law and his multi-disciplinary understanding of the issues underlying policy coverage claims.”
Legal 500 2021
“Diligent, thoughtful and displays a maturity of analysis above his year of call”
“He is impressive and very good with clients”
Legal 500 2020
“Exceptionally bright, enthusiastic and hard working”
Chambers UK 2018
“…easy to work with, very reliable and hard-working”
Chambers UK 2017