John is a pre-eminent junior with an outstanding reputation for his property disputes practice. ‘He is wholly in his own league. His expertise is phenomenal and there is no safer pair of hands for any property or chancery case.’
 

Chambers UK 2024, Real Estate Litigation

John is a very experienced adviser and advocate and has practised in the area of Highways and Public Rights of Way for many years.

He is ranked in Band 1 for both real estate litigation and chancery in Chambers UK and is one of Legal 500’s leading individuals. Chambers UK describe him as “… an exceptional barrister both in terms of his judgement and his people skills and as good as any senior junior in the country.”

John has expertise advising and representing clients in relation to the following:

  • Existence/creation of public rights of way
  • Nature of those rights (public footpath, bridleway or highway)
  • Physical extent of those rights
  • Ownership of roadside hedges/fences, verges and ditches/drains
  • Ancillary rights and responsibilities (drainage, etc.)
  • Re-routing and stopping up of highways
  • Claims concerning others’ use of highway land
  • Flooding claims relating to highways

Cases

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Directory Quotes

John is outstanding on commercial property matters. He has vast knowledge, which he employs with great thoroughness.”

The Legal 500 2024, Property and Construction

John has a superb ability to identify and crystallise the issues and apply the law to them. He is thorough and decisive in his work and utterly reliable in this field.”

Legal 500 2023, Property & Construction

He is my go-to specialist in chancery. He is scarily intelligent and he will always find an angle that everyone has missed. He’s incredibly approachable, user-friendly and client-friendly. He is able to set out technical legal points clearly and concisely and in plain English. He is calm, collected and measured in his delivery.”

CHAMBERS UK 2022, CHANCERY

John is incredibly approachable, user-friendly and client-friendly. He is able to set out technical legal points clearly, concisely and in plain English. He is also a very good trial advocate and never seems flustered; he is clam, collected and measured in his delivery. John is brilliant and a first choice in any complex and important property dispute.”

Chambers UK 2022, Real Estate Litigation

He has brilliant social and analytical skills. Quick both in terms of intellect and turnaround time. Solicitors wish he was able to clone himself.”

LEGAL 500 2022, PROPERTY AND CONSTRUCTION

  • Qualifications & awards:

    • BA (Oxon) 1st Class 1986
    • LLM (Cantab) 1987
    • LLM (University of Pennsylvania) 1988
    • Thouron Scholar (University of Pennsylvania) 1987-8
    • Attorney-at-Law New York State 1991
    • Queen Mother’s Scholar 1992
    • Sachs Prize & Campbell-Foster Prize 1993 (all Middle Temple)

  • Professional memberships:

    • Member of Chancery Bar Association
    • Member of the Agricultural Law Association
    • Secretary of the Western Chancery & Commercial Bar Association

  • Additional information:

    Before joining the Bar, John practised as an attorney-at-law in a Wall Street law firm from 1989 to 1991. His practice there included contentious take-overs and major litigation for international banks, insurance companies and brokerage houses.

  • John Sharples is regulated by the Bar Standards Board (BSB) and holds a current practising certificate. If you are not satisfied with the service provided, please read here.