John 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 a very experienced adviser and advocate in real estate- and chancery litigation, an area in which he has specialised for over 25 years.

John is ranked in Band 1 for 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 judgment and his people skills and as good as any senior junior in the country.” and brilliant at property problems.”

He is the author of Land Licences (Jordans Publishing 2011), for which Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury wrote the foreword. Follow him on Twitter @sharples_john for updates on property cases, legislation, regulation and market developments.

John has a First Class degree in law from Oxford University and Masters degrees from Cambridge University and the University of Pennsylvania. Before coming to the Bar he worked as an Attorney in a Wall Street law firm, where he was involved in major international commercial litigation.

He has a wide ranging, litigation-based practice covering all aspects of real estate especially sales of land, easements, restrictive covenants, options/rights of pre-emption, overages, land registration, boundaries and adverse possession), commercial-agricultural-and residential landlord and tenant, and associated professional negligence. He is also a qualified mediator.

Cases

See all

Resources

See all

Seminars & Events

See all

  • Qualifications:

    • 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.