Chambers & Partners Guide to the Legal Profession:

"...occupies premier league status"

"Frighteningly bright"

“...perpetually busy and perpetually good...”

"…a calm, polished advocate with a dry sense of humour that plays well with judges…"

“A superb all-rounder”

"A tough advocate and a great lawyer," who is one of the top juniors for police disciplinary proceedings

Clients praise Jason Beer for his “sophisticated legal knowledge and ability to think on his feet.”

Jason Beer is highly thought of by peers in the field of police law as he is “superb; very calm and measured, he always has the complete respect of the tribunal.”

Jason Beer is “intellectually incisive and a man of increasing stature within his field.”

"Stands out for his 'impeccable knowledge' and facility for sorting out complicated cases"

"...a punchy advocate who is good in tough arguments"

"He has discretion and good instincts when it comes to sizing up what the court cares about"

"... has a real flair for judicial review and public law claims where his superb paperwork and stylish advocacy - without the table-thumping - stand him in a good stead"

"Never one to run bad points and always fully in command…"

"…oozes confidence and gives good, measured advice…"

"…he fights his corner well, takes sensible points and is a fantastic cross-examiner..."

"…a good choice to put backbone into a case when you are feeling nervous…"

"…first rate knowledge and commitment to service - he clearly has a burning desire to win the case…"

A "renowned hard worker" with particular expertise in public inquiries

Legal 500:

"...very impressive...a stand-out counsel"

"...one of the most experienced juniors in public inquiries ...”

"…very accomplished, a class operator…"

Jason is Junior Counsel to the Crown (Common Law – A panel).

Jason is a Recorder on the South Eastern Circuit.

Jason is Developed Vetted.

Background:

Jason practices in public law and police law. He is ranked as a leading junior in four practice areas in Chambers & Partners Guide to the Legal Profession, namely in 'police law for defendants', 'professional discipline', 'public inquiries' and ''administrative and public law' and as the joint leading junior in 'police law for defendants' and 'public inquiries' in the Legal 500.

In relation to public law, Jason specialises in public inquiries and inquests and in claims arising from the operation of the criminal justice system. He is Junior Counsel to the Crown (Common Law – A Panel), a Recorder on the South Eastern Circuit, and is Developed Vetted.

In relation to police law, he acts in the full range of disciplines: in civil jury trials for false imprisonment and malicious prosecution; in misconduct proceedings and in inquests.

Police Law:

Jason appears in the full range of disciplines on behalf of the police service. He has been instructed by nearly all of the 43 forces in England and Wales.

He has appeared in a significant number of civil jury trials for false imprisonment and malicious prosecution and non-jury actions for assault. These are often 'high profile' claims where serious allegations of racism and / or corruption have been made. Jason has also appeared in non-malfeasance claims which involve the police service – by way of example he appeared on behalf of the Attorney-General in the application for disclosure of police documents in the Madeline McCann case; and represented the Counter-Terrorism Command in the Omagh Bombing Trial in the High Court in Northern Ireland.

Jason has acted and advised in over 250 discipline and misconduct cases. These have often involved complex misconduct investigations and substantial, document intense, misconduct hearings. Jason has additionally acted as Legal Advisor to Chief Constables and Misconduct Panels in a significant number of cases.

Jason has appeared in a high number of difficult and sensitive inquests involving the police service. These are typically inquests involving the deliberate use of lethal force by police officers (firearms incidents), suicides and other deaths in police custody (involving allegations of lack of care) and deaths in road traffic accidents following pursuits by police vehicles. He was counsel for the Metropolitan Police Service in the New Cross Fire Inquest (a 3 month inquest into the deaths of 13 children at a birthday party in 1981).

Jason’s public law practise frequently sees him acting on behalf of the police service in the Administrative Court. Cases have involved challenges to a policy on police cautioning, to disclosures made to the Criminal Records Bureau under the Police Act 1997, to the use of ASBOs to combat prostitution, to the legality of investigations, arrests and searches conducted as part of Operation Ore.

Finally, Jason conducts a significant amount of advisory work on non-contentious police business. This is in relation to both operational and policy matters, in particular in relation to sensitive, and terrorist related, issues. He has also provided advice on the operation of the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Recent Police Law cases:

Verrechia v. Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis [2002] 1 WLR 2409

Wilding v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis [2004] EWHC 3042 (QB)

Brooks v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis [2005] 1 WLR 1495

Karagozlu v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis [2007] 1 WLR 1881

M v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis (2008) The Times 4th January

Gichura v Home Office (2008) The Times 4th June

Flood v The Times Newspapers Ltd [2009] EWHC 411 (QB)

Public Law:

Jason undertakes all areas of public law work, but specialises in claims that arise from the operation of the criminal justice system. He appears on behalf of central government and other public authorities (including the police service, the Independent Police Complaints Commission and coroners).

Recent Public/Administrative Law cases:

Regina (GC) v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis [2010] WLR (D) 193

R v The Chairman of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry ex parte Acourt (1998) The Times 25th July

R v The Governor of HMP Brixton ex parte Kamer Peci (2000) The Times 12th January

Chief Constable of Nottinghamshire v Parkin (2000) LTL 24th February 2000

R v Birmingham Magistrates ex parte Chief Constable of West Midlands Police and others [2002] EWHC 1087 (Admin)

R (on the application of Redgrave) v Commissioner of the Police of the Metropolis [2003] EWCA Civ 04

Chief Constable of Lancashire v Potter [2003] EWHC 2272 (Admin)

R (on the application of "C") v (1) Chief Constable of "A" Police (2) "A" Magistrates' Court [2006] EWHC 2352 (Admin)

R (on the application of Mondelly) v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis [2006] EWHC 2370 (Admin)

R (on the application of Pinnington) v Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police [2008] EWHC (Admin) 1870

R (on the application of Kay) v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis [2008] 1 WLR 2723

R (on the application of the Independent Police Complaints Commission) v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis [2009] EWHC 1566 (Admin)

Kennedy v (1) Information Commissioner and (2) Charity Commission [2010] 1 WLR 1489

Inquests:

As well as appearing in inquests themselves, Jason is frequently instructed in related proceedings in the Administrative Court (often acting on behalf of coroners whose decisions and actions are challenged). He appeared on behalf of the Ministry of Defence in the Porton Down Inquest (an inquest into the death in 1953 of a serviceman who acted as a “human guinea pig” testing the Sarin nerve agent). He has recently advised the Independent Police Complaints Commission in relation to a series of issues arising from the death of Ian Tomlinson in course of the protests against the G20 Summit in the City of London.

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Recent Inquest cases:

HM Coroner for Wiltshire & Swindon v Ministry of Defence [2002] EWHC 2567 (Admin)

Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis v HM Coroner for Southwark [2003] 1 WLR 371

Regina (Hurst) HM Coroner for Northern District London [2003] EWHC 1721(Admin)

R (on the application of Sutovic) v HM Coroner for the Northern District of Greater London [2006] EWHC 1095 (Admin)

R (on the application of the Independent Police Complaints Commission) v HM Coroner for Inner North London [2009] EWHC 2681 (Admin)

Public Inquiries:

Jason has appeared in many of the most significant public inquiries of the last decade, mainly on behalf of central government or other public authorities.

He acted for the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis in the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry (and in the civil litigation that followed it, right up to the House of Lords: see Brooks v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis [2005] 1 WLR 1495). He appeared for a Government Department in the Harold Shipman Inquiry. He again appeared for the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis - in the Zahid Mubarek Inquiry (an inquiry into the murder of a young man in Feltham Young Offenders Institution). He was Counsel to the Hearings, instructed by the Health and Safety Executive, in the Public Hearings Touching on the Outbreak of Legionella in Barrow in Furness (an inquiry into the worst outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in the United Kingdom, in which 7 people died and 172 others contracted the disease). He was junior counsel for the family of Dr David Kelly in the Hutton Inquiry.

Over the last two years, Jason has spent a significant period of time in Northern Ireland, appearing in the Billy Wright Inquiry and the Rosemary Nelson Inquiry. In the former, he lead a team of barristers representing 92 former and serving prison officers and governors that had worked in HMP Maze at the time of the murder of Billy Wright. In the latter, he led a team representing the Northern Ireland Office.

He is presently appearing in the Baha Mousa Inquiry, leading on behalf of a group of soldiers in connection with the death of an Iraqi civilian in Basra in 2003.

He has recently been appointed Junior Counsel to the Al-Sweady Inquiry, an inquiry into allegations that British soldiers unlawfully killed and mistreated Iraqis in 2004.

He is presently writing a book, called Public Inquiries, for the Oxford University Press, to be published in 2010 as part of the OUP’s “Practitioner Series”.

Recent public inquiries:

The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry (Junior Counsel for the Commissioner of Police)

The Shipman Inquiry (Counsel for a Government Department)

The Hutton Inquiry (Junior Counsel for the family of Dr David Kelly)

The Mubarek Inquiry (Counsel for the Commissioner of Police)

The Public hearings Touching on the Outbreak of Legionella in Barrow in Furness (Counsel to the hearings)

The Billy Wright Inquiry (Leading Counsel for serving and retired prison officers and governors)

The Rosemary Nelson Inquiry (Leading Counsel for the Northern Ireland Office)

The Baha Mousa Inquiry (Leading Counsel for 15 Soldiers)

The Al-Sweady Inquiry (First Junior Counsel to the Inquiry)

The Azelle Rodney Inquiry (Leading Counsel for the Commissioner of Police)

Immigration:

Jason has recently appeared in a large number of cases at appellate level concerning immigration, nationality and asylum issues. These often involve issues of statutory construction, whose outcome affects a significant volume of applicants.

Recent immigration cases:

JK (Democratic Republic of Congo) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2007] EWCA Civ 831

NH (Vietnam) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2008] EWCA Civ 338

AH (Iran) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2008] EWCA Civ 985

US (Nepal) V Secretary of State for the Home Department [2009] EWCA Civ 208

JH (Zimbabwe) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2009] EWCA Civ 78

R (on the application of R (Palestine) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2009] EWHC 1044 (Admin)

A (Afghanistan) v Entry Clearance Officer (Islamabad) [2009] EWCA Civ 825

AS (Afghanistan) + NV (Sri Lanka) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2010] 2 All ER 21

R (MS, AR and FW) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2009] EWCA Civ 1310

Lectures:

Jason provides CPD-accredited lectures to solicitors and others on all aspects of his practice. Recently he has lectured on tactics in defending claims for judicial review, corporate manslaughter, and negligence claims against the police service.

Education:

ICSL, 1991-1992

University of Warwick, 1988 – 1991

The Grammar School for Boys, Gillingham, 1981 - 1988

Interests:

Sailing and travel.