Juliet Wells

Juliet is a member of the Attorney General’s C panel and the Government of the British Virgin Islands panel of counsel.

She acts in high profile and heavy judicial review claims, and is regularly retained by government departments to advise on the design and implementation of flagship policies and legislation.

She has particular expertise in parliamentary privilege, judicial review procedure, competition and procurement-related disputes, and claims by companies alleging A1P1 interference.

Current and recent cases include:

• Re the Electricity Capacity Market – advising DESNZ on various matters relating to the design and functioning of the Electricity Capacity Market, the system by which security of electricity supply is achieved in the UK.
• Re the Building Safety Levy – advising MHCLG on the design and implementation of a new £3bn tax on developers, aimed at recouping public expenditure on emergency remediation of buildings found to have unsafe cladding following the Grenfell Tower Fire.
• Re the Responsible Actors Scheme – advising MHCLG on the design and implementation of its flagship £5bn scheme to force major developers to remediate unsafe high-rise buildings.
• Re Privileges Committee inquiry into the Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP – advising the Speaker of the House of Commons on various matters arising out of the Privileges Committee inquiry into allegations that the former prime minister misled the House.
• R (Hotta & Ors) v Secretary of State for Health and Social Care – acting for the claimants in a high profile judicial review claim concerning the compatibility with Article 5 ECHR of the Mandatory Hotel Quarantine scheme (by which c.200,000 travellers returning to the UK from Red List countries were detained during the Covid-19 pandemic).

Juliet advises and acts in all forms of commercial disputes.

She is especially well-placed to advise on complex procedural issues, including service outside the jurisdiction, disclosure, security for costs, and freezing orders. She was the general editor of Zuckerman on Civil Procedure: Principles of Practice (4th Ed. Sweet & Maxwell, 2021), which is frequently cited by the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court, and is currently co-authoring a book on the theory and practice of disclosure around the common law world.

Current and recent cases include:

•  Viegas, Sanches & Others v Cutrale & Others – acting for around 1,500 Brazilian orange juice farmers in Commercial Court proceedings arising out of an alleged cartel in the orange juice export market in Brazil, led by Alain Choo-Choy KC and Andrew Fulton KC.
• Advising a prominent commodity trading firm on an application to enforce a cross-undertaking given in support of a worldwide freezing order, worth c.£30m.
• Advising a state-owned bank on the enforcement of a c.£100m foreign judgment debt against assets alleged to have been fraudulently transferred by the debtor to a third-party company in the Isle of Man.
• Preparing an expert opinion on English civil procedure on behalf of a state-owned bank, for use in an appeal before the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland (with Professor Adrian Zuckerman).

Juliet has a thriving group litigation practice, including competition law claims, environmental damages claims, and public law claims by test claimants.

She has a particular interest in collective proceedings claims under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which she teaches on Oxford University’s BCL course. Her chapter on collective redress in Zuckerman on Civil Procedure: Principles of Practice (4th Ed. Sweet & Maxwell, 2021) was cited by the Supreme Court in Lloyd v Google LLC [2021] UKSC 50 in support of the Court’s interpretation of the ‘same interest’ requirement in representative actions.

She is currently advising on possible reforms to the UK’s class action regime as part of a working group of practitioners and academics convened by the Collective Redress Lawyers Association (CORLA).

Current and recent cases include:

• Munícipio de Mariana & Ors v BHP Group Plc & Anr – instructed on behalf of more than 700,000 Brazilian claimants (including individuals, municipalities, businesses, and the Catholic Church) in proceedings brought against BHP Group following the collapse of the Fundão Dam in November 2015.
• Viegas, Sanches & Others v Cutrale & Others – acting for around 1,500 Brazilian orange juice farmers in Commercial Court proceedings arising out of an alleged cartel in the orange juice export market in Brazil, led by Alain Choo-Choy KC and Andrew Fulton KC.
• Re Mandatory Hotel Quarantine – advising on a prospective group claim for Human Rights Act and unlawful detention damages, arising out of the government’s policy of mandatory hotel quarantine for travellers returning to the UK from Red List countries during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Juliet acts in both supranational litigation and domestic disputes involving questions of international law. Her expertise spans private international law, international human rights law, international criminal law, environmental protection, and trade and investor-state disputes.

She is a member of the Attorney General’s specialist Public International Law C panel, and is well-placed to advise on issues of jurisdiction, state immunity, and applicable law.

She is regularly invited to speak at conferences on public international law issues, and has previously addressed events at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on alleged breaches of international law by GCC states.

Current and recent cases include:

• Munícipio de Mariana & Ors v BHP Group Plc & Anr – instructed on behalf of more than 700,000 Brazilian claimants (including individuals, municipalities, businesses, and the Catholic Church) in proceedings brought against BHP Group following the collapse of the Fundão Dam in November 2015.
• Viegas, Sanches & Others v Cutrale & Others – acting for around 1,500 Brazilian orange juice farmers in Commercial Court proceedings arising out of an alleged cartel in the orange juice export market in Brazil, led by Alain Choo-Choy KC and Andrew Fulton KC.
• Hedges & Anor v Al-Raisi & Ors – representing two British nationals in high profile international, civil and criminal litigation arising out of their arbitrary detention and torture in the UAE, led by Rodney Dixon KC.
• O & S v International Criminal Court – representing two former members of the ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor in international disciplinary proceedings before the Administrative Tribunal of the UN International Labour Organisation.
• X & Y v Saudi Arabia – application on behalf of two women arbitrarily detained in Saudi Arabia to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.
• Re FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation – advising on compliance by FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, in a case arising out of the mistreatment of a British football fan during the AFC Asian Cup in 2019.

Juliet advises and acts in cases raising a wide range of costs law issues. She recently represented Rebekah Vardy (unled) in the high profile detailed assessment proceedings arising out of the Vardy v Rooney libel case.

She is particularly well-placed to advise on costs and funding in group litigation cases and collective proceedings claims under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 – including identification of common and individual costs, compatibility of funding arrangements with the Damages-Based Agreements Regulations 2013, risks to third party litigation funders, and security for costs applications.

During the legal year 2016–17, Juliet was Judicial Assistant to Lord Justice Jackson at the Court of Appeal, and worked closely with him on his 2017 Supplemental Report on Fixed Recoverable Costs (which led ultimately to the introduction of the new CPR 45 regime in 2023).