Jamie Beagent – Solicitor

Jamie is a senior solicitor in the Human Rights department who specialises in judicial review and public law.

He is recognised as a leader in the fields of Administrative & Public Law and Civil Liberties by Chambers & Partners  (interviewees agree that Jamie Beagent "really shines in his devotion." He has particular experience in central government and immigration challenges; he is equally well-versed in planning, environmental and unlawful detention cases) and is also recommended by the Legal 500 (claimant firm Leigh Day & Co has expertise spanning immigration, planning, unlawful detention and healthcare. ‘At the top of his profession’, Richard Stein leads the ‘impressive team’, which also features Jamie Beagent and Frances Swaine).

Jamie works for a range of clients including individuals, groups, NGOs and charities.  He undertakes judicial challenges to the decisions and failings of public authorities from quangos to central Government departments.

With particular expertise in the fields of planning an environmental law and unlawful detention, Jamie has developed a wide-ranging judicial review practice.   He has worked closely with NGOs such as Bail for Immigration Detainees, Detention Action and Medical Justice to identify systemic unlawfulness by the Home Office and UKBA and bring strategic litigation to assist the large and growing marginalised group of immigration detainees.

Jamie has a strong interest in corporate accountability and worked the Corner House and Campaign Against Arms Trade in their challenge to the decision of the Serious Fraud Office to drop their investigation into BAE and Saudi Arms deals.  Recently, he also helped a group of complainants (including Corner House and the Kurdish Human Rights Project) bring the first successful complaint to the UK’s OECD National Contact Point.  The NCP upheld the complaint finding that a consortium led by BP had breached the OECD Guidelines by failing to consult properly with the local population in Turkey when developing the Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline.

Jamie has also been involved in some of the leading cases relating to the ‘war on terror’.  He worked on the case of Binyam Mohamed in the judicial review that helped secure his release from Guantanamo Bay and has worked with Reprieve on the cases of other victims of ill-treatment and unlawful detention, including the application for habeas corpus brought by Bagram detainee Yunus Rahmatullah.

An area of particular interest for Jamie is access to justice. He was involved in the leading case on Protective Costs Orders (Corner House-v-the Secretary of State for Trade & Industry[L]), intervened on behalf of the Public Law Project in the leading case on claimant’s costs (Bahta & Ors-v-SSHD) and has brought challenges to the Legal Services Commission where they have cut legal funding without proper consultation.

Jamie undertakes legal aid work and will also represent clients on a ‘no win, no fee’ basis where appropriate. He has considerable experience of advising on costs and funding issues for both individuals and groups. He can also advise organisations on litigation strategy in the context of policy objectives and on related media strategy.

After qualifying as a solicitor in 2003, Jamie joined Leigh Day & Co.  Jamie has published articles relating to a number of his cases and wider legal issues in the Judicial Review, the New Law Journal, the Journal of Environmental Law, and Socialist Lawyer magazine.  He is a member of the Administrative Law Bar Association, the Administrative Court Users Group and the Refugee Legal Group.