Jamie Hurworth

Senior Associate

Wellington

Litigation

+64 4 819 7515 DDI [email protected] https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-hurworth-a74231112/

Profile

Jamie is a commercial litigator (qualified in England and Wales) who handles a broad range of contentious matters such as shareholder and joint venture disputes, contractual claims, and professional negligence actions.

He also has specialist expertise in media-related issues, including defamation claims and reputation management.

Jamie provides strategic advice to clients and acts for them in litigation in the courts, or in alternative forums such as international arbitration.

He has been praised for his "understated brilliance and humility", delivering "spot on analysis", building a "natural rapport" with clients, and giving "endless commitment" to the cases he works on.

Jamie joined Russell McVeagh in 2023 from a top tier commercial law firm in England where he was a key member of the team which won 'Crisis Management Team of the Year' at the British Legal Awards 2022.

Related Expertise

Litigation

Media and Entertainment

Experience

Jamie has a proven track record of delivering successful results in high-value, complex, and high-profile disputes, and his recent experience includes:

Acting for Coleen Rooney in her successful defence of the libel claim brought against her by Rebekah Vardy, known as the 'Wagatha Christie' case, which is generally regarded as one of the most high-profile defamation trials in UK history.
Obtaining an arbitral award for +US$30 million, and successfully defending counterclaims of +US$20 million, for clients involved in an international arbitration dispute relating to the misappropriation of corporate assets arising out of a joint venture agreement which involved proceedings in Switzerland, England, Cyprus, the US, and the British Virgin Islands.
Acting for former England cricket captain, Michael Vaughan, in his successful defence of disciplinary proceedings arising out of the Yorkshire cricket racism scandal which received worldwide media attention.
Advising listed and private companies, and public sector clients, on significant contractual disputes across a range of industries.

Insights

Jamie has appeared in the media on numerous occasions, including:

Featuring prominently in the final episode of the Disney+ documentary series, 'Coleen Rooney: The Real Wagatha Story'.
Creating and co-hosting the podcast series, 'Rooney v Vardy: The Breakdown', which won the Outstanding Marketing Innovation Award at the Legal Innovation Awards in 2023 in London and was described by the judges as "ingenuous and brave".
Appearing as a guest on Stuff's podcast, 'The Trial', and providing media commentary to The Independent.

He has also co-authored a journal publication, “If this was a fight it was not a fair one, and could not lead to a just result” — [2024] NZLJ 61.

Recognition

Jamie's testimonials include:

"I had great faith in my legal team, and I built up a close relationship with them over time. There was a natural rapport between us all and trust on both sides", Coleen Rooney's autobiography, 'My Account'. Jamie was also praised following the successful outcome of this case for his “impressive work”, “spot on analysis” and for his “understated brilliance and humility.”

“I just want to personally thank you for your endless commitment to us. Not everyone would have thrown themselves into this as you have...we have been knocked out by the quality and commitment of our representation. It has been second to none. Your endless support and input has kept the wind in our sail and got us to this destination.”

“Legal excellence is personified in Jamie Hurworth, he is the weapon of choice when you find yourself in a battle and wish to take the fight to the enemy…Jamie’s talent and commitment really was above and beyond and our survival owed everything to his masterful tactics in engaging the enemy. You have some very impressive talent within your ranks.”

"I would just like to express my thanks to Jamie who has assisted us in retrieving corporation tax from our previous accountants. I provided all the documents going back to 2013 and Jamie took it from there. Usually in disputes, I have to assign hours of my time to the case, not so with this. Jamie conducted himself professionally, was very knowledgeable and approached the case very tactically. He has been a pleasure to work with, always providing clear advice, and with prompt responses and a better than expected result. I would highly recommend Jamie to anyone needing specialist advice."

"I wanted to say thanks to Jamie for how you handled matters for my brothers and I from the outset of this case. At all times Jamie has given very clear advice, assessment of the case brought against us, the costs, risks and opportunities. You have been very prompt and concise in correspondence and sought our input and direction appropriately as and when required. And, of course, we are delighted with the outcome."

“I am so incredibly thankful for the hard work and professionalism of Jamie who made this possible and did a fantastic job in getting us justice. He worked some long and very hard days on this complex case. I would like to say a big thank you for representing us and really putting a lot of time and effort into this case with a successful outcome. We are so grateful for his excellent counsel and legal strategy throughout this long process.”