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Jolyon Maugham

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Jolyon Toby Dennis Maugham KC (/mɔːm/; born 1 July 1971[1]) is a British barrister.[2] Initially a practitioner in contentious taxation law, he stepped away in order to act as the founder and director of the Good Law Project, through which he has played a role in bringing to court a number of legal challenges to the Brexit process. He has written on Brexit and legal issues for publications such as The Daily Telegraph,[3] The Guardian[4] and the New Statesman.[5] He published his first book in 2023.

Jolyon Maugham
KC
Born
Jolyon Toby Dennis Maugham

(1971-07-01) 1 July 1971 (age 53)
St Pancras, London, England
NationalityBritish, New Zealander
Education
OccupationBarrister
Known forBrexit litigation
Spouse
Claire Prihartini
​
(m. 2007)​
FatherDavid Benedictus

Early life

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Maugham is the son of the novelist David Benedictus, although they did not meet until Maugham was 17. He was brought up in New Zealand by his English mother, Lynne Joyce Maugham, and his adoptive father, Alan Barker.[1][6][7] At 16 he had to leave his parents' house after a dispute, and did cleaning work. He went to England in 1989[8] and stayed with his mother's father after finishing school.[9]

Maugham went to Wellington High School, New Zealand.[1] He graduated with a first-class LLB in European Legal Studies from Durham University (Hatfield College) in 1995.[10] He also spent some time in Belgium at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, studying under Walter Van Gerven,[11] and later completed an MA at Birkbeck, University of London.[2] As a student he was sent by a temping agency to carry out secretarial work at a law firm, but was sent back for being a man. Maugham sued, claiming to be a victim of sex discrimination, and was awarded compensation.[12]

Career

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Maugham completed his pupillage in the chambers of Lord Irvine.[12] Initially practising from chambers in New Square, Lincoln’s Inn, Maugham was latterly a tenant at Devereux Chambers, specialising in taxation law. He was appointed Queen's Counsel in 2015.[2] He left Devereux Chambers at the end of 2020.[13]

In 2023, Maugham published Bringing Down Goliath: How Good Law Can Topple the Powerful, a book that examines three cases and what they can tell us about using the law for social good.[14] It made the Sunday Times bestseller list. The reviewer in the Royal College of General Practitioners' medical journal, the British Journal of General Practice, wrote: "Maugham’s blow-by-blow account of the PPE fiasco will make your blood run cold." They refer to Maugham's description of "a despairing senior civil servant who asked for the 'VIP lane' to be abolished as the PPE sourcing team was 'drowning in VIP requests and "High Priority" contacts that...either do not hold the correct certification or do not pass due diligence'...[the VIP lane] was crowding out companies who had an actual track record in manufacturing and distributing medical-grade PPE." Summarising the book's importance, the reviewer writes "Here's why you need to read this book. In these days of complex capitalism, every contract has numerous subcontractors and a murky chain of accountability. In such circumstances, investigative journalists and honest, questioning citizens can get only so far, because powerful people lie".[15] Yuan Yi Zhu gave a critical review in The Times and described it as "the pompous bloviating of a Twitter KC".[16]

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Maugham brought an unsuccessful case by British expatriates in Europe who objected to their loss of European Union citizenship,[17][18] a case to clarify whether the Brexit process can be reversed by Parliament,[19] and a failed legal challenge to referendum spending by Vote Leave.[20][21]

Affiliations with political parties

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Maugham had advised the Labour Party on tax policy under Ed Miliband.[22] He was formerly on the advisory council of liberal conservative think tank Bright Blue, which advises the Conservative Party.[23] The Times reported that Maugham "flirted with Labour in the run-up to the 2015 election, harbouring a fleeting fantasy of becoming attorney-general, but decided he wasn’t a party political animal".[24]

The Good Law Project

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Maugham is the founder and Executive Director of the Good Law Project (GLP), a not-for-profit campaign organisation that aims to use the law to protect the interests of the public.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, the Good Law Project joined with the Runnymede Trust in challenging the appointments of key figures in the British government's pandemic response, such as Kate Bingham and Dido Harding. GLP alleged their appointments were the result of a "culture of cronyism and the highly secretive use of billions of pounds of public funds".[9] In June 2021, the challenge against the appointment of Bingham was dropped.[25] The court ruled that the GLP did not have standing to bring the claims, but for the Runnymede claim ruled that the health secretary, Matt Hancock, failed to comply with his equality duty in making the appointments.[26]

In November 2021, the company Platform 14, which supplied face shields during the COVID-19 pandemic said it would sue GLP for defamation after GLP alleged the firm had obtained its £120m contract through political connections and had supplied substandard equipment.[27][needs update] In a separate case, regarding the award of PPE contracts to healthcare company Abingdon Health, Maugham apologised on behalf of GLP to the Health Secretary and the High Court for publishing a witness statement which had not been entered into evidence in the case, a breach of civil procedure rules.[28]

A 2022 profile in The Times described him as "the Marmite of the Bar", who "rose from relative obscurity to found the Good Law Project".[29]

Transgender matters

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Maugham has been an outspoken supporter of transgender rights and as of November 2020 is representing a transgender boy in a lawsuit against the NHS over treatment delays.[30]

As of June 2021, Maugham was involved in an appeal by Mermaids against a decision to award charitable status to LGB Alliance. The appeal was made on the basis of the notion that LGB Alliance did not meet the threshold tests to be registered as a charity.[31] Maugham has spoken publicly about the charity, which he described as "a transphobic hate group."[32] Mermaids lost the appeal.[33]

In 2023, Maugham was criticised by the judge in the trial of the murder of Brianna Ghey for a tweet he had made alleging transphobia by the defendants. He deleted the tweet and subsequently apologised.[34]

Other matters

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In 2019, Maugham said that two High Court judges, Mr Justice Swift and Mr Justice Supperstone, were biased in favour of the government following Mr Justice Swift's refusal of permission to Good Law Project to bring a legal challenge against Brexit. Maugham was criticised by other lawyers on the social network site Twitter for the statement.[35]

In late 2019 Maugham referred to the Talkradio presenter Julia Hartley-Brewer having revealed his home address at a time when he was receiving death threats.[36] Maugham criticised the television programme Question Time for allowing Hartley-Brewer to appear as a panellist. There was considerable criticism of the decision on social networks and a campaign to boycott Question Time in view of its decision to feature Hartley-Brewer following her actions.[36] Hartley-Brewer said Maugham's address was already easily available online and that he had previously revealed it himself in published interviews.[36]

On 26 December 2019 (Boxing Day), Maugham stated in a Twitter post that he had "killed a fox with a baseball bat".[37][38] Maugham said that the fox was entrapped by the netting surrounding a hen house in his garden. The killing drew widespread condemnation and received extensive coverage, domestically and internationally.[40] The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals investigated the matter,[37][39] but decided not to prosecute because a post-mortem showed the fox had been killed swiftly, meaning that "the evidential threshold needed to take a prosecution under the CPS code was not met".[41] In 2021, Maugham said that he and his chambers were blacklisted by law firm Allen & Overy as a result of the incident.[42]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Maugham, Jolyon Toby Dennis". Who's Who. Oxford: A & C Black. 2015. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U283232. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4.
  2. ^ a b c "Jolyon Maugham QC - Profile". devereuxchambers.co.uk. Devereaux Chambers. Archived from the original on 22 April 2018.
  3. ^ Maugham, Jolyon (19 November 2016). "How Nicola Sturgeon could shake up 'cosy consensus' and use Article 50 to wrest back control of Scotland's future". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  4. ^ "Jolyon Maugham". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  5. ^ "Jolyon Maugham". New Statesman. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  6. ^ Eleftheriou-Smith, Loulla-Mae (29 August 2017). "Katie Hopkins' attempt to shame barrister on Twitter for having an Etonian father backfires". The Independent. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  7. ^ Maugham, Jolyon (31 August 2017). "We're too fixated on class. What matters is our ability to understand others". The Guardian. Article with brief autobiography.
  8. ^ Maugham, Jolyon (9 April 2022). "Jo Maugham". Twitter. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  9. ^ a b Adams, Tim (22 November 2020). "'I don't like acts of dishonesty by the state': Jolyon Maugham QC on Covid cronyism". The Observer.
  10. ^ Moyes, W.A. (1996). Hatfield 1846-1996: A history of Hatfield College in the University of Durham. Hatfield College Trust. p. 315. ISBN 978-0-903324-01-4.
  11. ^ O'Brien, James (2 September 2021). "Full Disclosure : Jolyon Maugham" (podcast - 00:33:00). LBC.
  12. ^ a b Stuart, Liz; Ram, Natasha (6 January 2001). "Jobs and Money: Barristers". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  13. ^ Maugham, Jolyon (15 December 2020). "Moving offices in advance of my end of year departure from Devereux Chambers". Twitter. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  14. ^ "Bringing Down Goliath".
  15. ^ Greenhalgh, Trish (August 2023). "Books: Bringing Down Goliath: How Good Law Can Topple The Powerful: Exposing the PPE Profiteering Scandal". British Journal of General Practice. 73 (733). London: Royal College of General Practitioners: 366–367. doi:10.3399/bjgp23X734601. PMC 10405961.
  16. ^ Zhu, Yuan Yi (11 June 2023). "Bringing Down Goliath by Jolyon Maugham review — the pompous bloviating of a Twitter KC". The Times. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  17. ^ O'Carrol, Lisa (17 January 2017). "Britons tell Dutch court their EU rights cannot be removed". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  18. ^ Maugham, Jolyon (1 March 2018). "Our rights to EU citizenship are worth fighting for – despite Brexit". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  19. ^ O'Leary, Elisabeth (20 March 2018). "Court rules in favour of case on Britain's ability to reverse Brexit". Reuters. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  20. ^ George, Hannah (23 March 2018). "Anti-Brexit group wins challenge against 'Vote Leave' spending". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  21. ^ Dickie, Mure; Croft, Jane (17 April 2018). "UK asks Supreme Court to rule on Scottish and Welsh Brexit laws". Financial Times. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  22. ^ Swinford, Stephen (8 April 2015). "Labour's non-dom adviser represented celebrity tax dodge film schemes". The Telegraph. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  23. ^ "Advisory council". brightblue.org.uk. Bright Blue. 8 July 2018. Archived from the original on 8 July 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  24. ^ Lang, Kirsty. "The activist lawyers taking on the government". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  25. ^ "Legal action over Kate Bingham's role in UK Covid vaccine taskforce dropped". The Guardian. 23 June 2021. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  26. ^ "Matt Hancock failed in equality duty over Covid appointments". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 15 February 2022. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  27. ^ "Stroud company to sue the Good Law Project over PPE claims". BBC News. 10 November 2021. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  28. ^ Hyde2021-11-15T16:56:00+00:00, John. "Maugham apologises for Good Law Project's procedure rules mistake". Law Gazette. Retrieved 22 November 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  29. ^ Baksi, Catherine (24 February 2022). "Judges slap down busybody litigants". The Times.
  30. ^ Hunte, Ben (23 November 2020). "Trans teen in legal action over gender clinic wait". BBC News. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  31. ^ Parsons, Vic (2 June 2021). "LGBT+ groups appeal decision to register anti-trans LGB Alliance as charity". PinkNews. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  32. ^ Parsons, Vic (27 April 2021). "What we can learn from LGB Alliance, Keira Bell and the hostile anti-trans media". PinkNews. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  33. ^ Gentleman, Amelia (6 July 2023). "Trans children's charity Mermaids fails to have charitable status stripped from LGB Alliance". theguardian.com. Guardian. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  34. ^ Pidd, Helen (20 December 2023). "Why Brianna Ghey police quickly ruled out transphobia as motive". theguardian.com. Guardian. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  35. ^ McKinney, CJ (26 March 2019). "Jolyon Maugham QC suffers backlash on Twitter after calling High Court judge 'pro-Government'". Legal Cheek.
  36. ^ a b c Bond, Kimberley (10 October 2019). "Julia Hartley-Brewer to feature on Question Time despite boycott". Radio Times. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  37. ^ a b c Gayle, Damien (26 December 2019). "Prominent lawyer Jolyon Maugham clubs fox to death while wearing kimono". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  38. ^ a b Booth, William (30 December 2019). "A British barrister was famous for battling Brexit. Then he beat a fox to death, while wearing a kimono". The Washington Post.
  39. ^ a b Dearden, Lizzie (26 December 2019). "Prominent lawyer sparks backlash with tweet about 'killing fox with baseball bat'". The Independent. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  40. ^ [37][38][39]
  41. ^ "Fox-killing lawyer Jolyon Maugham will not be charged, says RSPCA". BBC. 5 March 2020. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  42. ^ Connelly, Thomas (15 February 2021). "Jo Maugham QC claims Allen & Overy blacklisted him and his chambers".
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