Mishcon de Reya LLP

James Libson

James is the Managing Partner of Mishcon de Reya. He is a litigator who acts mainly for individuals and families in global commercial disputes, and employment and reputation matters. He has been involved in a number of the highest profile cases of the last 20 years, including acting for Deborah Lipstadt in her defence of the claim brought against her by the holocaust denier, David Irving (which case was made into a film, Denial); for Gina Miller in both her recent Supreme Court challenges relating to Article 50 and, in 2019, prorogation; for the Jewish Labour Movement in its referral of the Labour Party to the EHRC; and for several other politicians of all hues over the last 15 years or so. He received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Law in 2018. James was appointed Managing Partner in 2020, with responsibility for the overall operational management of the law firm. James has sat as a trustee and chaired several charities, particularly in the refugee space and currently chairs Prism, the Gift Fund, a charity that seeks to increase the flow of funds to the philanthropic sector.  

Katy Colton

Katy is a Partner in Mishcon Private and Head of the Politics and Law Group. Katy specialises in political disputes, public law, and commercial litigation predominantly for individuals and their businesses and families. Katy's breadth of experience ensures that she is well-placed to devise creative solutions to meet the needs of private clients in their wider personal, political and business lives. Katy is regularly called upon to advise on public law issues and has broad experience advising politicians, activists, NGOs and charities in relation to complex, often high profile, contentious matters engaging issues of equality, administrative law, human rights and international justice. Katy also has great experience advising clients on complex, high-stakes international litigation, deploying creative legal strategies to achieve her clients' specific objectives. Katy has been at the forefront of high-profile legal cases. In particular, Katy acted for Gina Miller in her successful judicial review claim against the Government, arguing that Article 50 could not be triggered without the express authorisation of Parliament. Katy also made legal precedent by securing the first "fake news" injunction, acted for Margaret Hodge MP in her dispute with the Labour Party in the summer of 2018 and acted for the Jewish Labour Movement in relation to the investigation by the EHRC into Antisemitism within the Labour Party. Katy has built a reputation for excellent technical work and client service, leading to her being named in The Lawyer's Hot 100 2021, which recognises the most daring, creative and innovative lawyers. The publication noted that "Colton has already dealt crunching body blows to Britain’s political elite" and that as Head of Politics and Law, "the responsibility is now hers to build on the firm’s brand as the legal police officer when it comes to constitutional controversy, and if her past results are anything to go by, UK politicians should be wary of not playing by the rules". Legal 500 notes that "Katy Colton is a rising star" and that she is "exceptional in human rights cases which mix corporate and ethical issues". In 2018, Katy was named in Management Today's 35 women under 35, the country's longest-running and prestigious list of young, female business talent and Katy was awarded Lawyer of the Year – Associate in the Citywealth Future Leaders Awards 2017. She was previously seconded to civil liberties organisation, Liberty, and has worked for David Lammy MP, the US Congressman Robert Wexler and for the Obama For America campaign. Katy has also written widely and recorded podcasts on issues related to the rule of law.

Emily Nicholson

Emily is a Partner in Mishcon Private. Her practice centres on complex commercial cases and she acts for a wide range of clients including individuals, families, companies and not for profit organisations. She has experience across a range of commercial disputes and in a variety of forums, often acting for international clients in complex and multi-faceted disputes. In particular she has experience in breaches of contract, confidence and fiduciary duty, fraud claims and shareholder disputes. As a key part of her offering, Emily acts as a trusted advisor to her clients - assisting with any dispute that might arise including issues between partners (business and romantic), disputes over gifts/loans, problems involving privacy and data protection or issues with friends and family. Notably, Emily acted for Gina Miller in both of her successful landmark constitutional judicial review cases against the government – the first in 2016 in relation to parliamentary approval of the triggering of Article 50 and the second in 2019 in relation to the legality of the Prime Minister's prorogation of parliament. Emily is a trustee of the Book Bus Foundation, a charity that is working to improve child literacy rates in Africa, Asia and South America by providing children with books and the inspiration and skills to read them.