Dr. Paul Chu Chiy -Principal

Dr Paul Chiy was admitted to the Roll of Solicitors in 2007 and as a Solicitor Advocate in 2011. He was appointed by the Lord Chancellor as a Lay Magistrate (Cambridge Bench, UK) on   27 July 2004 and remains in the Supplemental List for England and Wales. Dr Chiy founded the Opportunity Foundation which promotes social mobility and Social Justice Partnerships, a   compact of social justice partners. He is a member of the London Court of International Arbitrators, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, and an arbitrator of the Cameroon  Centre d’ Arbitrage Du GICAM.

Dr Chiy has legal experience in both developed and developing countries, and speaks English and Pidgin English. As a member of the UK Civilian Stabilisation Group he has advised the   Ministry of Defence, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and the Department of International Development. He has worked as a lawyer in the public and private sector, in judiciary,   executive, and legislative branches of government. Dr Chiy has spent over 25 years in the UK, specifically Wales, Cambridge and London, since winning a British Council Scholarship in   1989. In 2017, he established the Cameroon branch of De Jure Chambers from the UK.

 Dr Chiy spent seven years working in the Operations, Networks, and Corporate Affairs Divisions of the UK Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (OFGEM) where he advised Operations and   Policy directorates on a range of issues. These included sustainability (social action plans and environmental programmes), EU regulatory frameworks, consumer affairs, information   technology, human resources, finance and procurement, licensing, competition policy and enforcement, connections, gas distribution, electricity transmission and distribution. Prior to joining OFGEM, Dr Chiy was based at the University of Cambridge where he was a Durrant Nutrition Fellow at Selwyn College, a Senior Member of Wolfson College, and an Associate at the Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine all at the University of Cambridge. Dr Chiy has authored one book and contributed to numerous journals.

Dr Chiy has private practice experience working at Burges Salmon LLP, Sherman Phillips Solicitors, and Jaffe Porter Crossick Solicitors LLP. At Burges Salmon LLP, Dr Chiy was based at the Regulatory Law Department where he worked on projects including the Potters Bar Train Crash Inquest, the Hertfordshire Buncefield Oil Depot explosion and fire, the Wembley Stadium Crane Collapse, and appeals to the Office of the Rail Regulator. Dr Chiy joined Sherman Phillips Solicitors and Jaffe Porter Crossick LLP as part of their effort to internationalise the practice.

Dr Chiy established De Jure Chambers to respond to the specific needs of small- and medium-size businesses, not-for-profit organisations, charities, people in the diaspora, unincorporated organisations, community interest companies and other similar social enterprises. De Jure Chambers minimises its overheads by only using its premises on demand and working digitally wherever possible, in an effort to provide competitive legal services at an affordable price.

James Corbett KC -Senior Consulting Partner

James Corbett KC is a highly respected barrister with over four decades of experience in the legal profession, specialising in complex commercial litigation, arbitration, and alternative dispute resolution. Since being called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1975, Corbett has built a distinguished career, both as an advocate and a judge, handling high-stakes cases with significant international dimensions. His practice spans multiple jurisdictions, with a focus on commercial law, contract disputes, company law, intellectual property, and trusts.

In 1999, Corbett was appointed Queen’s Counsel (QC), marking him as a leading expert in his field. His reputation for handling intricate financial and commercial disputes has made him a go-to barrister for clients involved in cross-border litigation. Over the years, he has also developed a deep expertise in alternative dispute resolution, becoming an accredited mediator in 2001. Corbett’s mediation and arbitration work has been instrumental in resolving multi-jurisdictional disputes outside of court, helping clients reach settlements in cases involving complex financial and legal issues.

Corbett's judicial appointments further demonstrate his legal acumen. In 2000, he was appointed a Recorder, presiding over cases in the Crown and County Courts. His judicial responsibilities expanded in 2008 when he was appointed as a Deputy High Court Judge in England and Wales. He has also served as an Acting Justice in the Commercial Court of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, based in the British Virgin Islands, and since 2022, he has been a member of the Panel of Deemsters in the Isle of Man, where he adjudicates as a part-time judge in the High Court and Court of Appeal.

In addition to his legal practice, Corbett has had a successful career as a managing partner. He joined the international law firm Kobre & Kim in 2010, where he was responsible for setting up and managing the firm’s London and Cayman offices. His leadership during this period demonstrated his ability to navigate the complexities of international law, particularly in offshore financial centres, where he managed cases involving significant cross-border elements and large financial stakes.

Corbett’s career has seen him admitted to the Bar in numerous jurisdictions, including Ireland, Northern Ireland, New South Wales, the British Virgin Islands, St Kitts & Nevis, Turks & Caicos, Gibraltar, the Cayman Islands, and The Bahamas. These international qualifications reflect his deep understanding of various legal systems and his ability to act in high-profile cases in key global financial centres.

As of August 2022, Corbett became the Head of Chambers at the Chambers of James Corbett KC in St Helier, Jersey, continuing his extensive legal practice. His work remains focused on advising and litigating in commercial disputes, with an emphasis on offshore law, trusts, and wealth management. In 2023, Corbett further expanded his professional engagements by joining De Jure Chambers as a Senior Consulting Partner, where his expertise continues to shape the firm’s strategic direction in handling complex international cases.

Throughout his illustrious career, James Corbett KC has been driven by a commitment to delivering legal excellence, both in advocacy and alternative dispute resolution. His ability to navigate complex legal landscapes, coupled with his extensive experience in multiple jurisdictions, has made him one of the leading figures in the field of commercial litigation and dispute resolution. Today, he remains a trusted advisor and an influential legal mind, continuing to leave a lasting impact on the profession. 

The Rt Hon Sir Robert Buckland KBE KC

Overview

The Rt Hon Sir Robert Buckland KBE KC is a highly distinguished barrister and former senior government minister with deep expertise in criminal, constitutional, and public law. His career spans over three decades, including roles as Lord Chancellor of Great Britain, HM Solicitor General, and Secretary of State for Wales. He combines extensive courtroom practice with unique experience in law-making, reputation management, and governance.

Legal Career

• Year of Call: 1991 (Inner Temple, Advocacy Prize Winner, Inns of Court School of Law)
• Appointed KC: 2014
• Recorder of the Crown Court: 2009–2019
• Master of the Bench, Inner Temple: 2014–present
• Called to the Bar in Northern Ireland: 2017
• Memberships: Member, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators

For twenty years, he practised on the Wales Circuit, specialising in serious criminal litigation, including drugs conspiracies, proceeds of crime, and child sexual abuse. He was a Grade 4 CPS Prosecutor and member of the Attorney General’s A List of Prosecuting Counsel, regularly instructed in major cases.

Government Service

• Solicitor General (2014–2019): Advised the Government on legislation, supervised the CPS, SFO and GLD, and personally conducted over 40 appeals in the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme. Represented the UK before the ICJ in the Chagos Islands dispute.
• Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (2019–2021): Oversaw landmark reforms in sentencing, domestic abuse law, and divorce law.
• Secretary of State for Wales (2022): Brief tenure in Cabinet, bringing his legal and political experience to Welsh affairs.
• Chair, Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee (2023): Elected to lead parliamentary oversight of NI constitutional and security issues.

Academic and Policy Roles

• Senior Fellowship, Harvard Kennedy School (2023–2025): Researched the impact of AI on justice and governance ethics.
• Visiting Professor in Practice, LSE Law School (from September 2025): To be announced 8th September 2025.
• Senior Counsel and Head of Policy, Payne Hicks Beach LLP: Advising on AI, misinformation, and legal policy.
• Policy Unit Member, DAC Beachcroft LLP: Advising on national and international legal and political issues.

Other Appointments

• Third Church Estates Commissioner (appointed 2025): Representing the Church Commissioners in General Synod, chairing committees, and exercising a quasi-judicial role in church reorganisation proposals.
• Honorary Doctorate of Law, Bangor University (2022).

Summary
Sir Robert Buckland KBE KC brings unparalleled experience as a barrister, law officer, and senior statesman. His work at the Bar, in government, and in academia reflects a career dedicated to justice, reform, and the rule of law. He is widely sought for his expertise in public law, policy, and the evolving intersection of law and technology.

Millicent Lewis-Ojumu -Solicitor

Millicent Lewis-Ojumu is a City trained corporate Solicitor of England and Wales with over 18 PQE experience and a qualified Mediator/Arbitrator of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. She pioneered the renowned Centre for ADR in Sierra Leone and is a co-founder of the online ADR platform: Global Online Dispute Resolution.

She is experienced in handling transaction and projects in the development sector across anglophone and francophone West Africa resulting in excellent multi-office programme management skills and Prince2 Practitioner skills in project design and supervision. Having worked in various high level negotiations across West Africa, she is admired by her peers for top class stakeholder management skills and providing strategic technical advice to donors, governments and public/private sector stakeholders.

Millicent is passionate in promoting the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). She is uniquely skilled in using ADR methods for resolving corporate disputes and in peace and conflict mediation work where her corporate experience across West Africa serves her well in developing niche expertise in natural resource management and conflict resolution practice.

She is fluent in four languages, a double honours Law and French graduate of Keele University, UK and a licence graduate of the University of Montpellier Faculty of Law, France. 

Wayne Murrell, LLM, FCIArb -Consulting Solicitor

Wayne began his career as an attorney-at-law in Barbados, and after pursuing postgraduate studies in International Business Law at the University of Wales (Aberystwyth), he further developed his practice skills at the firm of Haavind Vislie, Oslo, Norway, following on as a Research Fellow at the Centre for International Legal Studies, Salzburg, Austria.  Upon resettling in London, Wayne worked in the city firm of McFaddens Solicitors LLP as an Associate Solicitor for an initial three years, followed on by various stints in industry and local authorities. 

Whilst in his current role as Contracts Manager at Imperial College London, Wayne  qualified as a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, and as an ADR group Accredited Mediator (Civil and Commercial/Workplace).  He currently assists as a lecturer and tutor in the Domestic Arbitration, Law of Obligations and the Mediation modules run by CIArb,  He is a panel member of the Civil Mediation Council and is keen to develop an ADR practice with worldwide reach.

Andy Duerden -Consulting Solicitor

Andy Duerden is a Consultant Solicitor at De Jure Chambers.

A fully-qualified solicitor and mediator, Andy actually began his career as a musician and has twenty years’ experience in the music industry. His 5* musical BLISS starred Emily Blunt, and he has written for film, TV, and theatre, as well as having a book published on song-writing: How to Write a Song – Learn how to bare your musical soul with confidence! Andy completed his LPC at Guildford College of Law in 2013 and qualified as a Civil and Commercial Mediator in 2018. His background in music gives him a rare and insightful perspective which he brings to his work as a lawyer.

Andy has experience in all areas of litigation, but specialises in civil litigation. His work on a number of difficult and high-profile cases has given him a reputation for concerted negotiation skills which are guided by a sensible and pragmatic approach to problem solving and dispute resolution. Andy’s belief in the importance of communication and negotiation led him to develop his own mediation company, Concordia Mediation, where he is uniquely positioned to assist musicians and other creatives to solve their disputes, having a profound understanding of the creative industries himself.

Andy has developed a way of working which puts clients at ease, instils confidence and gets the right results. He has always been a people person and is just as comfortable working with judges and lawyers as he is with musicians and media outlets – what matters to Andy is achieving the best possible results for clients.

Nicole Papantoniou, LLB, BPTC, MCIArb

Nicole Papantoniou was called to the Bar of England and Wales on 13 October 2022 by the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple. She is non-practising Barrister of England and Wales. Nicole is an Associate Partner at ABS&P International Law Firm and Vice President of the ICDRO - International Court of Dispute Resolution ONLINE.

Nicole is also the Director of the Care Workers Union since 2023.

Nicole is passionate about social justice and promoting the human rights of underrepresented communities. In pursuit of this passion, she is actively involved in the representation and advocacy of the rights of those in the diasporas. Nicole has worked with a variety of NGO’s promoting the rights and protection of immigrants and refugees, individuals who have suffered from torture and abuse, and the rights of immigrants.

She is reputed for exposing the challenges, exploitation, unfair treatment and abuse that migrant workers are exposed to in the care sector industry. Her goal is to protect the rights of such workers and to champion for fair working conditions and equitable treatment of workers.

Nicole has the following Certifications:
•⁠ ⁠Challenging Forensic Science: How Science Should Speak to Court, University of Lausanne.
•⁠ ⁠Youth Justice in the UK: Children, Young People, and Crime, The Open University.
•⁠ ⁠Legal Aid Supervision, DataLaw.
•⁠ ⁠LexisNexis Advanced Certificate.
•⁠ ⁠JustCite Proficiency Test.
•⁠ ⁠WestLaw UK Certificate of Proficiency.
•⁠ ⁠Lexis Library Advanced Certification.
•⁠ ⁠Family Law UK: From Divorce to Child Custody.
•⁠ ⁠Information Gathering and Assessment of the Case Against the Client, DataLaw.
•⁠ ⁠Sentencing Council Guidelines, DataLaw.

Nicole is fluent in English, French, Greek, and Turkish with conversational proficiency in Spanish and Arabic

Paul  Ngum, paralegal 

Paul Ngum is a paralegal at De Jure Chambers with a strong technical and commercial understanding of legal issues.

 With over a decade of information technology experience from both the public and private sectors, Paul specialises in all aspects of technology, data protection and privacy law, as well as the legal issues involved in emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and blockchains.

 Paul’s interests include global data privacy and security issues, cloud computing, and information law covering the entire privacy and security spectrum.

 Paul is a professional member of the Society for Computers and Law, a fellow of the National Association of Licenced Paralegals, and a chartered IT professional

DE JURE CHAMBERS

LONDON

Address: Holborn Gate, 330 High Holborn, London, England, WC1V 7QT
Tel:       +44 208 798 0917
Fax:       +44 207 406 7403

CAMBRIDGE 

Address: F21 Stirling House, Cambridge Innovation Park,Denny End Road, Waterbeach, Cambridge CB25 9QE

Tel:         +44 01223 643580
email:     This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

De Jure Chambers is a modern progressive legal practice designed specifically to offer competitive legal services by minimising overheads and leveraging opportunities created by technology. This ability to offer affordable and qualitative legal services in multiple locations by combining effective and efficient elements of the traditional solicitors' model, modern chambers' structure and digital innovations sets De Jure Chambers apart from other providers of legal services. 

Our legal services offer is packaged to respond to specific business, charity, social enterprise or private client needs at various stages of their growth cycles.  For each transaction or dispute, De Jure sector specialist engages the relevant expertise of appropriate seniority to support, advice and represent the client, organising and working across teams in ways that are transparent to the client.  This way, De Jure Chambers can afford to offer its clients streamlined packages of fixed-cost legal services pulled together from its experience of working on typical problems in the packaged practice areas. 

Your privacy is important to us. By providing personal information such as your name and e-mail address via the forms on this website, you agree to us contacting you with regard to the information you request. Your personal information will be used solely by us. Under no circumstances will your personal information be sold or used by any other organisation.

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DE JURE CHAMBERS

London

Address: Holborn Gate, 330 High Holborn, London, England, WC1V 7QT
Tel:       +44 208 798 0917
Fax:       +44 207 406 7403

Cambridge 

Address: F21 Stirling House
Cambridge Innovation Park
Denny End Road, Waterbeach
Cambridge CB25 9QE

Tel:         +44 01223 643580
email:     This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Who we are

De Jure Chambers is a modern progressive legal practice designed specifically to offer competitive legal services by minimising overheads and leveraging opportunities created by technology. This ability to offer affordable and qualitative legal services in multiple locations by combining effective and efficient elements of the traditional solicitor’s model, modern chamber’s structure and digital innovations sets De Jure Chambers apart from other providers of legal services.

Our Mission

De Jure Chambers was established to respond to the specific needs of small- and medium-size businesses; not-for-profit organisations; charities; people in the diaspora; unincorporated organisations; community interest companies and other similar social enterprises. De Jure Chambers is not a traditional law firm.

De Jure international is the local hub of De Jure Global, a rapidly growing professional network of solicitors, barristers, accountants, architects, dentists, doctors, investment managers, patent and trademark lawyers and engineers committed to the De Jure values and upholding the reputation of the profession.

De Jure values

Our first responsibility is to our clients and their customers. To this end, we continuously strive to provide the highest quality service at affordable costs.   Just outcomes and fair profits for our clients and their customers therefore lie at the heart of the service we provide.  

Our second responsibility is to support charitable courses and development of communities in which we live and work. This supports our strong believe in active citizenship and local delivery of services that citizens need.

Finally, we are responsible for our people who work throughout the world. 

Affordability

All organisations and people are entitled, de jure, to good quality and affordable legal advice and services. Not-for-profit organisations; charities; people in the diaspora; unincorporated organisations; small- and medium-size businesses; community interest companies and other similar social enterprises struggle to afford the high quality legal services readily accessible to large corporations. De Jure Chambers is established to fill in this gap and affords this for its clients and their customers by stripping its practice of unnecessary overheads, deriving economies by investing in technology, being out-come focused and using affordable premises only on demand.

De Jure lawyers

De Jure lawyers are members of the Law Society and Bar Council of England and Wales, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Fellows of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives and other similar regulatory organisations. However, they are not just lawyers. Their legal expertise is built on several years of experience in their specialist sectors. By design, therefore, the starting point of all De Jure lawyers is the client business and outcome sought and not the law.   This understanding of client ’s business and industry at the outset is central to De Jure Chambers’ relationship with the client and sets it apart of from similar organisations.

De Jure Global

Cross-border advice requires knowledgeable experts with an understanding of the complex local regulatory environment; reliable networks and understanding of the often-peculiar political issues at play in that jurisdiction. In the international business environment, De Jure Global works with clients doing business in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the Americas. We have   developed particular commercial and regulatory expertise in the Middle East and Africa regions.

We run a niche practice led by the De Jure Principal providing local advice to multinational clients with interests in the UK and Africa including UK companies with international subsidiaries.

Our people are mostly bilingual from diverse backgrounds. De Jure lawyers have facilitated the experience of clients from India, the United States, Japan, China, Australia and South Africa doing business in Africa. We have acted for United States investors and advised French, Danish and Italian businesses.

We offer advice across a wide range of legal issues covering the whole spectrum from mergers and acquisitions, financing and project development to disputes arising there from and incidental to; such as intellectual property, trademark and patent infringements; international commercial agreements and contract law; joint ventures and corporate transactions and immigration, labour and employment advice.

De Jure enjoys exclusive networks of full service, medium to -large sized law firms with an international focus.  We engage these networks where we need to source legal advice from outside England, Wales or Africa, enabling the De Jure multi-jurisdictional service in a way that is transparent to the client. The network standards to which all members subscribe ensures that members provide consistently high quality legal advice and services advice efficiently and cost effectively.