James Mehigan

James is a London-based barrister serving as a Consultant to the Litigation Team. He is called to the Bar of England and Wales, the Bar of Ireland and the Bar of Northern Ireland. He practices from Garden Court Chambers in London and is a Lecturer in Criminology at the Open University. He has been admitted to the list of assistants to counsel at the International Criminal Court in the Hague.

James specialises in criminal defence and has broad experience of all aspects of criminal justice-related work. He has particular experience in cases involving human rights issues in the UK and globally. He has been instructed in high-profile appeals and inquests, and he represents prisoners in all aspects of prison law. He is currently representing families in the inquests arising out of the Hillsborough Stadium Disaster and recently won the ground-breaking criminal case of Ruddock in the Privy Council & Supreme Court.

James was nominated for the 2009 Bar Pro Bono Award for his contribution to the case of Balaj et al. before the UNMIK Human Rights Advisory Panel for Kosovo. He was also part of the Crime Team that won ‘Crime Chambers of the Year 2015’ at the UK Legal 500 Awards.

James is a Trustee of the UK branch of Front Line Defenders, an NGO committed to protecting human rights defenders at risk because of their work. He was previously a research analyst at the Ethical Investment Research Service in London and a member of the Independent Monitoring Board at Pentonville Prison.

James has extensive experience in financial crime, fraud and money laundering matters. He advises the litigation team on high profile trials and preparing foreign clients on investing in Africa.

• Criminal Bar Association (CBA)

• Haldane Society