Mark Stephens

Mark Stephens CBE has been described by the Law Society Gazette as “the patron solicitor of previously lost causes”.

He is a lawyer, broadcaster, writer and lecturer and has undertaken some of the highest profile cases in the UK and abroad, including the occupation of the Brent Spar oil platform, the censorship of the blasphemous film, Visions of ecstasy, and the so-called "McLibel Two", which became the longest running court case in UK history. The Times described him as both a "passionate supporter of human rights" and "one of the best advocates for freedom of expression".

Mark has practiced before every level of court in England and Wales, and before international tribunals and courts. He is also a Privy Council agent regularly working with a range of overseas lawyers. He has been retained by a number of foreign governments to advise and to represent their interests. Additionally, Mark has litigated in countries as diverse as Antigua, India, Iraq, Iran, Malaysia, Samoa, Singapore and the US.

Mark is extremely active in many other areas, having been appointed by the UK foreign secretary to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Free Expression advisory board and he is the vice president of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association.

He chairs a number of bodies including the Contemporary Art Society and University of East London, and sits on the board of Index of Censorship, the Bianca Jagger Human Rights Foundation, and the Human Rights Council of the International Bar Association.