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Jillian Hurworth

Year of call: 1993

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Areas of Practice

  • Family
    • Public Law such as Care proceedings and Adoption
    • Private Law, including residence, contact, special guardianship
    • Abduction (international and within UK)
    • Financial proceedings, including upon divorce or separation, cohabitants, pre-nuptial agreements, trusts and TLATA 1996
    • Emergency Protection, including injunctions, freezing orders
    • All levels Court of Appeal, County Court, FPC
  • Crime

    • Sexual offences including serious offences against children, gang rape, date rape, indecent images/computer offences

    • Serious violence and offences against the person, including attempted murder, s.18, injuries to children, false imprisonment, kidnap, racially aggravated crime, air rage
    • Financial offences and dishonesty, including insurance fraud, complex fencing, organised distraction burglaries, evasion of tax liabilities, perverting course of justice
    • Drugs offences, including importation, commercial supply.
    • All ancillary applications, such as Hearsay, Character, s.41 previous sexual history, recent complaint, third party disclosure, disclosure from family proceedings into criminal proceedings, PII, fitness to plead, sentencing (, confiscation, etc.
    • Defence and Prosecution (CPS and other agencies)
    • Practising in Court of Appeal and Crown Court.

Education & Qualification

Emmanuel College, Cambridge    BA (Law)               1992(MA 1994)
Inns of Court School of Law        Bar Vocational Course   1993
Called to the Bar             Inner Temple               1993
Advocacy Trainer            Inner Temple               2005

Professional Courses

Sexual Offences Act 2003         CBA                2004
Family Law updates            Jordans            2004
Advocacy Trainer Training         Inner Temple            2005
Criminal Justice Act 2003        CBA                2005
Paternalism in Medical Law        London University        2005
Bar Remuneration Conference    Bar Council            2006
Use of Intermediaries in criminal law    4 Kings Bench Walk    2006
Advocacy Trainer Refresher course    Inner Temple         2006
Serious Sexual Offences            CBA            2007

Professional Memberships

 

  • Family Law Bar Association
  • Criminal Bar Association

Interests

Skiing; sailing fast catamarans; playing golf very badly; the worst aspects of popular culture (Big Brother, Heat magazine, Harry Potter); going to the ballet, especially Russian; literature, especially modern British and American fiction.

 

Case Profile

  • A**** v A****
    Court of Appeal; Ancillary Relief case where litigant in person appealed on the basis that the solicitor previously acting for my client had not distributed the proceeds of sale of the former matrimonial home correctly.
  • A local authority v G*****
    Led by silk in care proceedings; non-accidental injuries: acting for Mother accused of causing deliberate head injuries to her sick baby, including cranial fracture and subdural haemorrhage.  Complex medical evidence from radiologists, neuro-radiologist, ophthalmologist and bio-mechanical engineer as to possible causes of injuries.  Further medical evidence from liver and bone experts as to whether the baby’s existing illness and specialised diet could have caused bone weakness.  Mother found to have perpetrated injuries – but succeeded in having baby and her older child returned to her. 
  • A local authority v *****
    Representing Children’s Guardian in care proceedings where the Guardian was concerned the Local Authority had not sufficiently considered the extended family for placement for the child; Mother was very young and a care-leaver herself; consideration of Special Guardianship being granted to eg. an aunt, with whom Mother and child would live, so that the aunt would have supervisory role over Mother’s care of child, and “power of veto” over any parenting decisions the Mother might take.  Effect being that the Mother would care for the child within the equivalent of a “mother and baby unit” but created by her own family.
  • S***** v S***** and others
    Wardship proceedings in the High Court.  Representing Father accused of abducting his baby son to an Asian country.  Complexities of arranging contact when Father in prison on charges of abduction, and while Mother remains on Witness Protection Programme living in secret location and possibly with new identity.  Consideration of how the Court should deal with Police providing confidential or PII information to the Court that the Father had “hired a hitman” to kill the Mother.  The Police applied for the evidence to be kept confidential from the Father.  Question arose as to whether the Court should take into account evidence kept secret from the Father, as he therefore cannot challenge it or refute it.  Human Rights implications of competing interests of Father’s right to a fair trial and Mother’s right to life.  First recorded use of “Special Counsel” in a family case, to act as investigator or “amicus curiae” with regard to the privileged information.
  • F****** v F******
    Cohabitation: property rights: s.14 TLATA claim, plus proceedings under Schedule 1 of Children Act:  couple arguing over who should have the chance to buy out the other’s share in their former joint home, which was a farm and subject to an Agricultural Tie; expert evidence on whether usage as riding stables breaches conditions of Tie; consideration of whether there had been an express declaration of the beneficial interest upon acquisition of the farm or upon re-mortgage – consideration of Goodman v Gallant;  how to apply checklist in s.15(1) & (3) of TLATA – what the intentions were of those creating the trust;  the interests of any children who may occupy the property, etc; calculations of occupation rents; evidential value of a notice to quit. 
  • A local authority v H*****
    Care proceedings: representing Father of 3 young children; parents said to suffer from “Munchausen’s by Proxy” Syndrome, and to have taken children for unnecessary surgical procedures; consideration of when a solicitor and counsel are obliged to breach client confidentiality if an issue of child protection arises – ie. in this case, to tell the Court of a client’s instructions as to who harmed the children when he is not prepared to sign a statement confirming them.
  • C**** v C****
    Advising client in relation to procedure and tactics where Court of Protection involved in administration of his wife’s affairs, as she lacked capacity through senility; whether Receiver would contest on wife’s behalf if husband were to lodge divorce petition; and what would happen in relation to the ancillary relief.
  • A local authority v K*****
    Care proceedings: acting for schizophrenic Mother; acting though Official Solicitor; persuading Court to force Local Authority to change its care plan to allow for open adoption.
  • A local authority v J****
    Representing Father in care proceedings (as well as in related criminal proceedings).  Father accused of orchestrating sexual abuse involving the Mother and Father together with their 12-year old daughter.  Mother admitted these acts had taken place but said Father perpetrated domestic violence and she had been threatened and forced into it.  Issues arising relating to lapse of time since events (daughter was now 19).  The care proceedings related to two younger siblings still in the home whom Father and Mother were also accused of abusing.  Difficult cross-examination of older child whose memories were muddled with further sexual abuse carried out by her Grandfather, and of Mother who supported daughter.  Issues in relation to disclosure of material into the criminal proceedings arising.
  • R v J****
    Led by silk – defending a father accused of indecent assault and gross indecency with his daughter, and of inciting sexual acts between the child and her mother.  I represented the client in the care proceedings relating to the same events.
  • R v *****
    Led by leading junior – defending complex drugs conspiracy.
  • R v C*****
    Defending attempted murder; use of knife in a pub in circumstances where client alleged the witnesses were all lying because they were members of the travelling community or afraid of reprisals from them.
  • R v *****
    Defending man accused of sexual abuse of step-daughter; difficult cross-examination over video-link of the child aged 11 whose mother had died during the period of alleged abuse;  dealing with bad character applications relating to other sexual advances said to have been made by the Defendant towards other young girls.
  • R v *****
    Defending multiple counts of rape; boyfriend said to have kicked victim in crotch area repeatedly until she was black and blue yet asserted she liked “rough sex”; s.41 application to cross-examine the victim on her sexual experience.
  • R v ******
    Defending s.18 wounding where man pushed his ex-wife through a window; taken to Court of Appeal after obtaining certificate of leave to appeal from the trial judge.
  • R v B****
    Defending man accused of perpetrating 18 separate fractures on his baby daughter.
  • R v G*****
    Prosecuting two defendants, one the home-owner and one the builder, accused of carrying out insurance fraud by inflating numerous claims for building works done after storm damage.
  • R v ******
    Defending one of 2 men accused of kidnap, false imprisonment, serious violence and theft relating to 2 victims; the victims were kept with the defendants for several hours while being subjected to beatings, cigarette burns, and threats to kill before being marched, hooded, to a cashpoint, and then left lying nearly unconscious on waste ground.