Tamsin Allen

Tamsin is head of Media and Information law at Bindmans LLP and is also a partner in the Public Law department. Tamsin manages a wide-ranging media practice as well as representing claimants in a number of high-profile public law challenges. Her particular emphases include defamation and privacy, information and data protection, and human rights, and she has experience representing clients from the High Court through to the European Court of Human Rights.

She represents claimants and defendants, organisations and individuals alike, with her client base including the New Statesman, the National Union of Journalists, Index on Censorship, and leading figures from politics, the arts and entertainment.

Tamsin currently represents claimants in two landmark public law challenges:

• Mitchell and others v UK: European Court of Human Rights – Tamsin represents three individuals falsely accused and tortured in Saudi Arabia. Her clients are challenging the UK’s reliance on state immunity laws, which have prevented her clients receiving any kind of recompense for the gross abuses inflicted upon them by the Saudi Government and which to this day prevents them working living normally back in the United Kingdom. The Supreme Court decision prior to this challenge can be viewed here.
• Bryant and others v the Commissioner of the Police of the Metropolitan—Tamsin represent Chris Bryant MP, Brian Paddick, John Prescott and Brendan Montague in a judicial review of the Metropolitan Police’s failure to warn victims, and potential victims, of the News of World phone hacking scandal, and their failure to conduct an effective investigation. It is argued that these failures are an ongoing breach of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights and that the Police had a positive duty to warn those victims so that they could take appropriate action to protect themselves.
  Press coverage of this claim can be found here.

In 2010, Tamsin has also:

• Recovered £22,000 in damages in a libel action for an ex-security service claimant;
• Achieved £40,000 in damages for three young actors falsely portrayed as being football hooligans;
• Won a settlement and apology on behalf of a patient whose medical details were unlawfully disclosed;
• Secured a new hearing at the European Court of Human Rights for a Maltese businessman by challenging substantial procedural flaws in the original decision;
• Represented the Claimant in the Supreme Court in a challenge to a decision that the Investigatory Powers Tribunal should have sole jurisdiction to hear a claim under the Human Rights Act brought by an ex-member of the security service in the Supreme Court ( A v B); and
• Advised an Iranian businessman who was detained and tortured by the Saudia Arabian authorities before having his business stolen.

What the professional directories say:

Tamsin Allen is praised for having “incredible skill and expertise in a range of areas”. According to one client,  she "has a sympathy for what we do, which makes her a valuable addition to the team as well as a first-rate lawyer,". (Chambers 2011)

Legal 500 (2010) says: 'Tamsin Allen goes the extra mile, and is prepared to tell it as it is'

Chambers 2011:

Administrative & Public Law: Traditional Claimant (Band 4)
Defamation/Reputation Management (Band 3)
Tamsin's full profile and ranking status on Chambers 2011

Chambers 2010
Administrative & Public Law: Traditional Claimant (Ranked in Band 4)
Defamation/Reputation Management - Best of the UK (Ranked in Band 3)

Legal 500 (2010)

Media and entertainment - Ranked in tier 5

Legal 500 (2009) 
Administrative and public law - ranked in 1st tier
Civil liberties and human rights - ranked in 1st tier

Defamation and Privacy - recommended
Media and Entertainment - recommended

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More about Tamsin:

Tamsin qualified in 1999, having trained with civil liberties' firm BM Birnberg  & Co.  She has a BA in history from Balliol College, Oxford.