Imogen Proud

Imogen’s administrative and public law practice involves a mixture of led work, including complex and high-profile litigation, and work as sole counsel. She acts for clients including individuals and families, charities and NGOs, corporations, public bodies, and Secretaries of State.

In 2019, Imogen was appointed to the Attorney General’s C Panel of Counsel.

Imogen has acted for the claimant in judicial reviews ranging from challenges to various London boroughs’ social housing allocation policies, to the review of a clinical commissioning group’s refusal to fund a medication trial, to a decision of DEFRA to permit the emergency use of a banned pesticide.

Imogen has acted for the defendant in judicial reviews spanning challenges to state surveillance powers, Government policy on electricity and gas meters, and reviews of Parole Board decisions.

Public law cases of Imogen’s to reach the Court of Appeal include:

• being instructed as junior counsel in Evangelou v McNicol, acting for Labour Party members excluded from voting in a Labour leadership election; and
• the National Crime Agency’s successful appeal against the granting of interim relief in circumstances where it would in effect disapply the anti-money laundering regime under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

Imogen was instructed by the Department for Communities and Local Government in the Grenfell Inquiry.

Imogen is a contributor to the upcoming edition of Broach and Clements’ “Disabled Children: A Legal Handbook”, Legal Action Group (3rd edition) (chapter on Children’s Services).

She is a contributing author to the upcoming “Making Lawful Decisions” (working title), Broach and Butler-Cole eds, Legal Action Group (chapter on Legitimate Expectation).

Imogen is one of LexisNexis’ contributing authors for its LexisPSL service. She has co-authored practice notes on the ‘Prevent Duty’ on public bodies in relation to terrorism (see article here); the status of Strasbourg case law; human rights and statutory construction; judicial deference and the margin of appreciation; civil contingencies and emergency powers; dealing with human rights challenges; and terrorism law.

Imogen is a committee member of the Young Public Lawyers Group and is a member of the Administrative Law Bar Association (ALBA).

As a volunteer at Hackney Community Law Centre, Imogen has advised numerous clients on welfare benefits law.

Imogen accepts instructions across all aspects of civil liberties and human rights work, including advice and representation.

She has been instructed in cases defending the human rights of individuals and families, as well as acting for corporations seeking to protect their commercial interests through human rights proceedings.

Imogen’s recent cases include:

• actions against the police;
• a landmark ruling which denied the National Crime Agency access to encrypted data on computers belonging to a “hacktivist” (further details here)
• a company challenging a ban of sales of one of its products (electronic dog collars) on human rights grounds;

Imogen has been a member of the Executive Committee of the Human Rights Lawyers Association since 2017. She is a member of Justice, Greenpeace and the Association of Lawyers for Animal Welfare.

Imogen previously ran the year 12 programme of a project called ‘Your Law’, organising and delivering workshops on the Human Rights Act 1998 in state secondary schools in London.

She was chosen to be a contributor to the 2016 Human Rights Lawyers Association’s Young Human Rights Lawyer Journal with her case analysis of the ‘DRIPA’ Appeal (R v SSHD ex parte Davis, Watson, Brice and Lewis) (available here). Her article Ullah Overhaul: The Human Rights change we need is already here (available here) was selected to appear in the 2015 edition.

Education law is an area of particular interest for Imogen since, before becoming a barrister, she worked as a classroom teacher in state schools in London. Coming from a family of teachers, Imogen returned to Cambridge University after graduating for postgraduate teacher training (PGCE) and then taught for four years in Hackney and Islington. During that time, Imogen worked with children with Statements of Special Educational Needs (now replaced with Education Health and Care Plans or EHCPs). This gives Imogen rare first-hand experience of the issues at stake in statutory appeals and judicial review challenges in the education field.

Imogen advises children and their families in relation to education law, including challenges to EHCPs. She accepts instructions to appear on behalf of children in statutory appeals in the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal and judicial reviews in the High Court.

Imogen also provides advice and representation to local authorities.

Imogen advises on competition law issues, assists undertakings involved in CMA market investigations and acts for companies bringing and defending proceedings in both the High Court and in the Competition Appeal Tribunal.

Imogen is a contributing author to the upcoming edition of Mark Brealey’s “Competition Litigation: UK Practice and Procedure” (2nd Edition) (chapter on monetary compensation).

Imogen was instructed as junior counsel to Kassie Smith QC in Socrates Training Ltd v The Law Society of England and Wales. This landmark case was the first “fast-track” trial in the Competition Appeal Tribunal. Imogen acted for the Law Society.

Imogen represented the Showmen’s Guild of Great Britain during a CMA inquiry into the Guild’s rules. The investigation was closed, without the imposition of any penalty, when the CMA accepted that its competition concerns were met by the Guild’s commitments to amend certain of its rules.

She was involved in Google’s successful defence of Streetmap’s competition law challenge (Streetmap.EU v Google Inc.) and in the ‘Air Cargo’ litigation (Emerald Supplies v British Airways).

Imogen regularly acts for companies in the telecommunications sector, providing advice and representation in matters including statutory appeals and judicial review challenges to Ofcom decisions.

She advises in relation to competition law and State aid issues.

Imogen has assisted in a statutory appeal against a decision of Ofcom regarding BT’s charges for ethernet services, and EE’s judicial review of Ofcom’s setting of annual licence fees for 1800MHz spectrum.

Imogen receives instructions, both led and as sole counsel, in commercial matters in the High Court and in the County Court.

She regularly represents leading airlines in claims concerning an EU law-derived right to compensation arising out of delayed and cancelled flights.

In 2017-18, Imogen was seconded to the legal department of Origami Energy Ltd, a tech start- up in the energy sector. She advised on matters of contract and company law, including non- disclosure agreements and other commercial contracts, the issuing of shares, and the appointment and removal of company secretaries and directors.

Imogen accepts instructions, both as sole counsel and as junior counsel in larger teams, in challenges to local government decision-making. This includes advice and representation in relation social housing and community care issues. Imogen regularly acts for children and their families as well as in adult social care challenges.

She has been involved in a number of judicial review challenges to the housing allocation policies of London borough councils.

Imogen regularly acts for unaccompanied child asylum seekers in their judicial review challenges to local authorities’ “age assessments” which have found them to be over 18 years old.

Imogen is an ADR Group Accredited Civil and Commercial Mediator.

From 2016 to 2018 she was a trustee of ‘Pro Bono Community’, a charity which seeks to improve access to justice by providing specialist training to volunteers in Law Centers and advice agencies.

Imogen has been awarded a range of scholarships including:

• Phoenicia Scholarship (Bar European Group, 2016);
• BPTC Advocacy Scholarship (City Law School, 2014);
• Exhibition Award (Inner Temple, 2013 and 2014 );
• Boutwood Scholarship for gaining a First (Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, 2006 and 2007)
• College Exhibition (Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, 2005); and
• College Prize for examination results (Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, 2005, 2006 and 2007).

Imogen has received a number of awards including:

• City Law School Outstanding Achievement in Volunteering, for successful pro bono representation of Law Centre clients in the First Tier Tribunal (2014);
• shortlisted for City Law School Public Law Essay Prize (2014); and
• Winner of the City Law School Bar Society Mock Trial (2014).

Imogen represented Inner Temple in debate. She speaks conversational French and is a Wadoryu karate black belt.

• Freedom of Information Journal – Recent decisions of the Commissioner and Tribunal – January 2018 to March 2018
• Freedom of Information Journal – Recent decisions of the Commissioner and Tribunal – June 2018 to September 2018