Roland Scarlett

My practice is built around a long-standing fascination in how international business, government policy and law interact.

I am a keen practitioner of international and domestic economic/regulatory law – particularly, antitrust, life sciences regulatory, and trade (sanctions/export controls). I represent governments and businesses as they interact with one another, providing complex legal advice and, where necessary, litigation expertise. Prior to becoming a lawyer, I worked in both government (UK FCDO and EU Commission) and industry (leading management consultancy firm).

Over recent years, I have provided sophisticated, commercially-minded regulatory advice to major international businesses including a pre-eminent international e-commerce platform and a number of multinational pharmaceutical companies (both innovators and generics).

In the international trade space, I represent the UK government in negotiating a number of major free trade negotiations, and recently undertook a secondment to the UK Department for International Trade to provide emergency legal assistance. I also advise the UK government and private sector businesses on WTO disputes. Within government, I worked on trade matters at the European Commission (DG Trade) and as a diplomat at the UK FCDO.

In the public law space, I recently led an EU judicial review against the European Commission on behalf of two international organisations, deploying both public law submissions concerning procedural impropriety and reasonableness, and arguments concerning the legality of the disputed measure on the basis of the proper domestic application of WTO law.