Jamie Hurworth is a Senior Associate in the Litigation, arbitration & dispute resolution team.
Jamie specialises in defamation, privacy, and reputation management. He advises high-profile and high-net-worth individuals, listed and private companies, and public sector clients on a wide range of sensitive disputes where the protection of reputation is key. He also handles urgent pre-publication issues, crisis response, and significant reputational risks.
He has acted in some of the most high-profile media and sports disputes in recent years. Jamie represented Coleen Rooney in her successful defence of the widely publicised ‘Wagatha Christie’ libel claim brought by Rebekah Vardy, and he also acted for former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan in his successful defence of disciplinary proceedings arising from the investigation into racism in Yorkshire cricket.
In addition to his media litigation and reputation management work, Jamie has substantial experience in commercial litigation. He advises on shareholder and joint venture disputes, professional negligence, judicial review, and complex contractual claims. Jamie previously represented clients in a multi-jurisdictional international arbitration involving claims in excess of US$50 million, resulting in a significant arbitral award and successful defence of substantial counterclaims.
He has been praised for his “understated brilliance and humility”, delivering “spot on analysis”, building a “natural rapport” with clients, and giving “endless commitment” to the cases he works on.
Jamie provides legal commentary to the media and featured in the Disney+ documentary ‘Coleen Rooney: The Real Wagatha Story’. He also co-created and co-hosted ‘Rooney v Vardy: The Breakdown’, an award-winning legal podcast series.
Jamie qualified in 2017 and joined Payne Hicks Beach in 2025. He was a key member of the team that won Reputation Management Team of the Year at the British Legal Awards 2023, and also has international experience having previously worked at a leading law firm in New Zealand.
He read Law at Newcastle University and completed the Legal Practice Course at The University of Law in Chester.
