Phil Chessum
Biography
Phil Chessum is a Director General in the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel (OPC), appointed in June 2022.
He leads the team responsible for the primary legislation needed by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the Department for Business and Trade, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Department for Health and Social Care. He also leads on equalities legislation and legislation on the United Kingdom’s relationship with the European Union.
Phil joined OPC in 2008. Over the years, he has played a pivotal role in drafting legislation across a wide range of areas, including tax, public spending, local government, criminal law and policing, national security, planning and the environment and international relations. Some of his work has led the way internationally, for instance on the implementation of OECD recommendations.
Phil’s experience also extends beyond the UK. He has drafted legislation on civil service reform for a Commonwealth country and has worked on financial services legislation for another country while on secondment to the banking and finance department of a major Anglo-American law firm. He currently serves on the ruling Council of the Commonwealth Association of Legislative Counsel.
After studying philosophy at the Universities of Glasgow and Sheffield and law at the College of Law and BPP Law School, Phil trained as a solicitor at an international law firm in the City of London. Before joining OPC, his practice encompassed a wide range of commercial litigation and arbitration, with a particular focus on the energy, transport and healthcare sectors.