John Blackburn has spent his entire career at Atkin Chambers. He served as Head of Chambers from 1997 to 2001. He is authorised to sit as a deputy High Court Judge. He is a member of the Middle Temple Bench.

He was called to the Bar in 1969 and took silk in 1984. His career has been predominantly in the fields of building and civil engineering disputes, professional negligence actions involving contractors and engineers and arbitration, including international arbitration. He also has a wide experience of telecommunications and computer software supply and development. He has accepted many appointments as arbitrator and has acted as Chairman of I.C.C. arbitral tribunals.

He has accepted numerous nominations to act as arbitrator in the last two years. The disputes giving rise to these appointments include a very large claim arising out of a contract for the construction of a road interchange in Dubai (an Uncitral arbitration), claims and counterclaims connected with two separate cases about cement plants in Saudi Arabia and in Bangladesh (one an ICC arbitration, the other an Uncitral arbitration) and a massive dispute concerning transactions affecting an oil terminal in Lithuania (an ICC Arbitration).

John Blackburn was last in Hong Kong in October 2000 to advise on issues about defective piling and to argue preliminary issues. In 1999, he was in Hong Kong to appear for Claimants in a dispute over the roof to the extension of the Convention Centre.

In London, Mr Blackburn's most recent substantial engagement as Counsel was (a) for the defence in a multi-million pound claim arising out of a contract for the construction of a prestige building between Poultry and Queen Victoria Street in the City and (b) for Claimants in the pursuit of claims connected with the development of a co-generative power plant near the river Derwent. He is also one of the leading advisers to London Underground Ltd. over the extension of the Jubilee line.