Shivani Jegarajah

Shivani Jegarajah is our exclusively recommended Immigration Law expert in England on the Advisory Excellence website. If you need assistance in this area, please contact Shivani directly using the contact details listed above.

Called to the UK Bar in 1993, Shivani has been providing cutting edge advice and legal representation in her specialist field of immigration and related human rights ever since. Renowned for taking a pro-active and sometimes aggressive approach to the law, she also has the personal touch which gives her clients confidence in her ability to achieve their desired outcome. She is able to think “outside the box” and make legal arguments that may not have been considered previously, thereby setting a precedent for other cases.

Shivani has represented clients before the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal as well as at First Tier and Upper Tribunal level. Her ability to convince a judge or tribunal of the merits of complex cases is unrivalled. She is a firm believer in the rights of every asylum seeker or migrant to be heard and she will fight to convince the Court to take into account all the applicant’s circumstances before reaching its decision. She has a track record of preventing deportations via Judicial Review and has been succeessful in getting deportees taken off flights at the last minute.

More recently, Shivani has represented clients involved in disciplinary proceedings where their livelihoods are threatened by allegations of professional misconduct. This includes BSB, SRA, GMC and NMC cases.

Shivani has often appeared in the media in relation to Human Rights issues such as being asked to analyse the leaked draft of the Counter Terrorism Act in Sri Lanka and its consequences for Tamils. She has spoken before the Panel Meeting at several Sessions of the UNHRC on War Crimes Investigations by the Sri Lankan Government.

Shivani has also been asked to comment on the removal of Shamima Begum’s citizenship and the refusal by the UK government to allow her back into the UK.

Chambers Overview:

Justitia Chambers was formed in November 2016 by Shivani Jegarajah and our Chambers Director, Elaine Cheeseman. Shivani has now been practising in asylum and immigration law for some 30 years and has been ranked in Chambers & Partners, the Legal 500 and Lawyer Monthly. Elaine is a former Senior Clerk and Chambers Manager with more than 35 years’ experience in administration and marketing.

Justitia aims to give its barristers a flexible structure and the freedom to practise and develop as individuals. Its key strengths are efficient and professional administration that serves both instructing solicitors and lay clients effectively.

Justitia has always sought to encourage and support the careers of working parents and carers given that this is the background of the founders. It is for this reason that we operate an entirely virtual office with access to conference facilities near to the Courts and Tribunals, where our barristers can meet clients when necessary.

Justitia believes in developing close working relationships with instructing solicitors but also welcomes enquiries from lay clients via the Public Access Scheme.

Justitia continues to recruit members who wish to take advantage of this kind of flexible working environment, giving them the opportunity to achieve a better work-life balance yet with the infrastructure and commitment behind them to fully support their practices.