David Pickup Email & Phone Number

On being called to the Bar, I joined Old Bank Street chambers, later known as Peel Court Chambers, in Manchester. I later joined St John’s Buildings Chambers. A wide-ranging general common law practice developed over a 30-year career to specialisation in criminal law, primarily as a senior junior prosecuting ‘heavy’ crime, for the Crown Prosecution Service, The Post Office, Customs & Excise, the Bank of England, and other Treasury work. I also undertook public law cases, including statutory licensing, environmental protection, and Health and Safety at Work claims. From time to time, I taught part-time at Manchester Metropolitan University and kept up my interest in EU law by publishing articles in law journals. I have also lectured or presented seminars on a number of topics including computer security. Much of my prosecutorial work involved Public Interest Immunity (PII) and money laundering cases. Because of that expertise, I was called on to redraft the Isle of Man Law Society’s Anti-Money Laundering Guide. I became a Special Advocate for the Special Immigration Appeal Committee (SIAC). Over the years, I was short-listed for a number of other legal posts, including: FCO, EU Commission, CERN, IAA, and Attorney/Solicitor General for a couple of Commonwealth countries. However, the judicial bench beckoned and in 2006 I became a fee-paid judge in both the Mental Health Tribunal and what later became the Immigration and Asylum Chamber (IAC) of the First-tier Tribunal (FTT). In 2012, I was appointed as a Deputy Upper Tribunal Judge in the IAC. Eventually, the judicial roles took up the bulk of my professional workload and in 2014 I ‘retired’ from the Bar to judge full-time. A salaried judge role in the FTT was shortly followed by appointment as a salaried judge in the Upper Tribunal. I have somewhat eclectic leisure interests. My wife and I took up sailing a few years ago, obtaining our RYA qualifications, and often sail in the Ionian Sea. With fluent French, gained whilst living in France as a young man, we often return there. I’ve also written articles and books on Victorian social and religious history. I previously undertook occasional photojournalism assignments for a US newspaper, which took me around the world. When time allows, I enjoy pursuing my interest in photography. With our adult children having flown the nest perhaps a change of direction is in contemplation for my recently retired wife and myself?