Home | Our People

Zachary Bourne

Associate

About

Zac is an associate in the firm’s Dispute Resolution team and specialises in transport (aviation and rail), public sector, and regulatory matters. He regularly assists clients in respect of complex litigation, regulatory proceedings, investigations and incident response.

Zac’s rail practice includes acting for train operating companies in connection with major incidents, regulatory investigations and enforcement matters, and coronial proceedings. His aviation experience includes High Court proceedings for a large European commercial airline, commercial advice and advising airlines and other aviation businesses on a wide range of UK and European regulatory issues.

He also has extensive experience of statutory public inquiries in acting on behalf of Inquiry and Core Participant clients across both the public and private sector.

Zac is a member of the firm’s Sports sector team, advising football clubs and prospective purchasers on regulatory matters arising under EFL rules and the Independent Football Regulator framework in connection with proposed club acquisitions.

Experience

Aviation disputes: Advising a European airline on regulatory and commercial matters, including the Package Travel Regulations, EU and UK Regulation 261/2004, the Montreal Convention 1999, aircraft maintenance and safety compliance and general contractual disputes.
Rail incident response: Acting for a train operating company following a serious rail incident, including managing its response to investigations by the Office of Rail and Road and Rail Accident Investigation Branch, and the related coronial process.
Public inquiries: Acting on the UK Covid-19, Post Office Horizon IT and Omagh Bombing Inquiries, advising on healthcare systems, core participant matters, disclosure, governance reviews and expert evidence.
Sports sector: Advising an EFL Championship club on EFL and IFR regulatory compliance matters associated with the prospective sale of the football club.
Procurement disputes: Acting in procurement challenges for bidders and contracting authorities, including central government departments and global companies, across sectors including transport, technology and healthcare.
Public sector regulatory advice: Advising public sector clients on procurement and regulatory risks and associated mitigation strategies.