London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Aug 30, 2025

Barrister ‘blacklisted by law firm’ after tweeting about killing fox

Barrister ‘blacklisted by law firm’ after tweeting about killing fox

A barrister has claimed he was blacklisted by a Magic Circle law firm after revealing on Twitter that he had clubbed to death a fox with a baseball bat.
Jolyon Maugham caused a social media furore on Boxing Day 2019 after tweeting that he had just carried out the killing while wearing his wife’s satin kimono gown. He had found a fox trapped as it tried to get into his henhouse.

This weekend, he claimed the incident sparked a stand-off with top law firm Allen & Overy, when he still among the roster of civil litigation barristers at Devereux Chambers.

“Am remembering when Allen & Overy’s head of litigation told my old chambers that, so long as I was in chambers, not only would they not send any work to me, but they would not send any work to any other member of chambers either,” he wrote on Twitter.

Asked about the cause of the dispute, Mr Maugham said: “It was in the aftermath of my stupid tweet about killing a fox.”

The barrister faced a barrage of abuse and an RSPCA investigation after he told his Twitter followers on December 26, 2019: “Already this morning I have killed a fox with a baseball bat”, adding: “How’s your Boxing Day going?”

In a series of follow-up messages, he revealed the fox had been attempting to get into the henhouse at his central London home and he “wasn’t sure what else to do”.

Mr Maugham revealed he had been wearing a “too small green kimono” at the time, and defended his actions saying he “didn’t especially enjoy killing it but I imagine that’s what the RSPCA would have done”.

The RSPCA investigated the incident and concluded a prosecution was not warranted, and Mr Maugham later apologised for the upset he had caused.

The barrister, who rose to prominence during legal challenges around Brexit, is the founder of the Good Law Project and currently locked in a series of challenges to the government’s spending and contract awards during the pandemic.

He criticised Allen & Overy on the eve of a hearing on Monday, where the Good Law Project is challenging the way £500,000 in public funds were paid to a company allegedly linked to Dominic Cummings.

Mr Maugham named the law firm’s global head of litigation, Karen Seward, as the person who alleged blacklisted him and colleagues, adding: “I offered to keep the matter confidential if they tendered a private apology (which I promised to keep quiet) but they refused.”

He said he offered to resign from chambers following the incident, and said he was raising it now as “I think their wrongdoing should have consequences, even if it costs me to call it out”.

Mr Maugham left Devereux Chambers at the end of last year, unconventionally marking the departure by blocking the head of chambers Timothy Brennan QC on Twitter.

Allen & Overy declined to comment on Mr Maugham’s claims.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
Federal Reserve Independence Questioned Amid Trump’s Push to Reshape Central Bank
British Politics Faces Tumultuous Autumn After Summer of Rebellions and Rising Farage Momentum
US Appeals Court Rules Against Most Trump-Era Tariffs
UK Sought Broad Access to Apple Users’ Data, Court Filing Reveals
UK Bank Shares Dive Over Potential Tax on Sector
Germany’s Auto Industry Sheds 51,500 Jobs in First Half of 2025 Amid Deepening Crisis
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
French and Korean Nuclear Majors Clash As EU Launches Foreign Subsidy Probe
EU Stands Firm on Digital Rules as Trump Warns of Retaliation
Getting Ready for the 3rd Time in Its History, Germany Approves Voluntary Military Service for Teenagers
Argentine President Javier Milei Evacuated After Stones Thrown During Campaign Event
Denmark Confronts U.S. Diplomat Over Covert Trump-Linked Influence in Greenland
Starmer Should Back Away from ECHR, Says Jack Straw
Trump Demands RICO Charges Against George Soros and Son for Funding Violent Protests
Taylor Swift Announces Engagement to NFL Star Travis Kelce
France May Need IMF Bailout, Warns Finance Minister
Chinese AI Chipmaker Cambricon Posts Record Profit as Beijing Pushes Pivot from Nvidia
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
Ukraine Finally Allows Young Men Aged Eighteen to Twenty-Two to Leave the Country
The Porn Remains, Privacy Disappears: How Britain Broke the Internet in Ten Days
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Welcome to The Definition of Insanity: Germany Edition
Just a reminder, this is Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris.
Spotify’s Strange Move: The Feature Nobody Asked For – Returns
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
A new faith called Robotheism claims artificial intelligence isn’t just smart but actually God itself
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner Purchases Third Property Amid Housing Tax Reforms Debate
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Italian Facebook Group Sharing Intimate Images Without Consent Shut Down Amid Police Investigation
Dutch Foreign Minister Resigns Amid Deadlock Over Israel Sanctions
Trump and Allies Send Messages of Support to Ukraine on Independence Day Amid Ongoing Conflict
China Reels as Telegram Chat Group Shares Hidden-Camera Footage of Women and Children
Sam Nicoresti becomes first transgender comedian to win Edinburgh Comedy Award
Builders uncover historic human remains in Lancashire house renovation
Australia Wants to Tax Your Empty Bedrooms
MotoGP Cameraman Narrowly Avoids Pedro Acosta Crash at Hungarian Grand Prix
FBI Investigates John Bolton Over Classified Documents in High-Profile Raids
Report reveals OpenAI pitched national ChatGPT Plus subscription to UK ministers
×