Matthew Jury is the Managing Partner of McCue Jury & Partners and is licensed to practice as both a solicitor of England and Wales and attorney-at-law (New York).
An expert in public international law, domestic and international human rights law, litigation (counterterrorism and multi-jurisdictional), and campaign management, Matthew has a wide-ranging academic background in international humanitarian law and its frameworks, constitutional law and practice, and criminal justice. He has extensive experience in the management and gathering of complex evidence as well as practical hands-on knowledge of innocence and mitigation investigation. He is also a Ministry of Defence panel solicitor and a former Foreign and Commonwealth Office Consultant.
Matthew was shortlisted for The Law Society of England and Wales’ ‘Solicitor of the Year’ as well as ‘Human Rights Solicitor of the Year’ in 2021. This sits alongside his previous Law Society nominations: ‘Solicitor of the Year’ (2014) and ‘ Junior Solicitor of the Year’ (2014). He has received consistent praise from The Legal 500, including for his ‘amazing international knowledge’ as well as ‘energy and attention to detail’.
Matthew’ clients have included: victims of terrorism, representing them in a number of ground-breaking civil prosecutions in both the UK and US against the perpetrators, supporters and financiers of global terrorism, including ISIS, the IRA, HAMAS and Muammar Gaddafi; families of British soldiers killed in the Second Iraq War (Matthew litigated on their behalf against the Iraq Inquiry to secure a timely publication of the Chilcot Report); British Army veterans (in inquests and other matters); state governments (advising on counter-terrorism and human rights issues); and victims of international abuse of the INTERPOL Red Notice system (Matthew has represented a number of clients in quashing international warrants circulated to target political opponents and for improper purposes).
Matthew formerly worked representing death row inmates in Virginia and South Carolina, US, and has advised and represented several political prisoners and UK citizens detained overseas in circumstances absent of due process and/or in breach of international standards of detention and human rights in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.
His legal highlights include:
- Clark v. Adams (2022 – ongoing) — civil proceedings brought on behalf of victims of IRA terrorism against the alleged former head of the IRA, Gerry Adams.
- Prigozhin v. Higgins (2021-2022) — successfully defended a SLAPP action brought by Yevgeny Prigozhin, alleged head of Russian President Putin’s private army, Wagner Group, against the founder of Bellingcat, the ‘People’s Intelligence Agency’.
- Murray v. Mabrouk (2018–2021) — successful civil proceedings brought against Saleh Ibrahim Mabrouk, one of the chief suspects in the shooting of WPC Yvonne Fletcher from the Libyan Embassy in 1984.
- Hamza v. Haftar (2020 – ongoing) – civil proceedings against head of the Libyan National Army, Khalifa Haftar, for alleged war crimes commited during the Second Libyan Civil War.
- BB & Ors v. Moutaz Al-Khayyat& Ors (2020–ongoing) — civil proceedings brought on behalf of Syrian victims of Al-Nusra Front against this terrorist organisation’s funders.
- R (Hutchings) v. Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (2020–ongoing) — Judicial Review of discriminatory treatment of British Army veterans by the Northern Ireland criminal justice system.
- Young v. Downey (2017–2019) — successful civil proceedings brought against the chief suspect in the 1982 Provisional IRA bombing of Hyde Park that resulted in the murder of four British soldiers.
- Northern Ireland Affairs Committee Report on HMG failure to support UK victims of Libyan IRA terrorism (2015–2017)—requested, successfully secured, and submitted evidence to a parliamentary inquiry which led to publication of a report recommending HMG enter direct government-to-government negotiations with Libya.
- Bacon v. The Iraq Inquiry (2015–2016) — bereaved families of British soldiers killed in Iraq raised a successful legal challenge against the Iraq Inquiry for interminable delays in publishing report, which led to the Inquiry expediting its work to ensure publication in 2016.
- Justice for the Juba Four (2014) — a civil society campaign that secured freedom for four political prisoners in South Sudan.
- Phone Hacking Victims v. News Group Newspapers (2013–2014) — achieved significant settlements for victims of phone hacking by News International.
- Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis v. Kevin Maxwell (2013) — represented former Counter-Terrorism officer Kevin Maxwell in his successful claim for damages arising from harassment and discrimination by the Metropolitan Police.
- Breslin & Ors v. Murphy & Daly —successful civil retrial of two members of the Real IRA for the 1998 bombing of Omagh (2013).
- Sannikov v. Lukashenko (2012) — prepared the prosecution of Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko which assisted in the release of political prisoners.
- McDonald v. The Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahirya (2006–2008) — represented hundreds of victims of IRA terrorism sponsored by Muammar al-Gaddafi through which US victims received compensation under the US-Libya Claims Settlement Agreement.
