Jeremy Bloom

I am a Solicitor in the Public Law and Immigration departments at Duncan Lewis Solicitors. I joined the firm in September 2017.

I am currently leading a number of wide-reaching and high-profile judicial review claims on behalf of clients. These include: a challenge to the lawfulness of the Home Office's Windrush Scheme on the basis of its exclusion of family members born outside the UK; a challenge to the lawfulness of UK Government policy on aid to Libya; a challenge to the lack of access to legal aid for immigration detainees held in prisons; and a challenge to the Home Office's policy on data protection.

I have particular expertise in representing Windrush clients on immigration and compensation matters. I also have considerable experience representing individuals at all stages of the asylum process, including appeals at the First-tier and Upper Tribunals. I also represent victims of trafficking and individuals facing deportation.

Prior to joining Duncan Lewis, I worked for three years as a Treaty Manager at the Equality and Human Rights Commission, an independent public body with statutory powers to advise and challenge the UK Government on human rights and equalities. In this role, I monitored the implementation of the UK’s international human rights obligations on children and economic and social rights, reported to relevant UN bodies, and worked closely with civil society partners, parliamentarians and government officials with a view to improving human rights respect in the UK.

From 2007-2014, I worked at Amnesty International in a range of roles, including managing international campaigns on human rights defenders at risk in Central America and Mexico, and overseeing the organisation’s global submissions to the UN Human Rights Committee.

Having worked extensively towards influencing government policy in the UK and abroad, I really value the opportunity to bring successful legal challenges which solve problems for my clients while driving progress on human rights respect in the UK. I believe strongly in the right of everyone to have access to justice when they have faced unlawful treatment and I have a particular interest in legal aid representation.

• Admitted as a solicitor, December 2019
• LLM International Human Rights Law, (Distinction), 2013, University of Essex
• Legal Practice Course, (Distinction), 2017, University of Law
• Graduate Diploma in Law, (Pass), 2015, BPP
• Bachelor of Arts, Spanish, (2:1), 2005, University of Bristol

• Duncan Lewis Solicitors, September 2017-present
• Equality and Human Rights Commission, Treaty Manager, August 2014-August 2017
• Amnesty International, Assistant Advocate, January 2014-July 2014
• Amnesty International Campaigner, Central America and Mexico, February 2011-August 2012
• Amnesty International, Online Communities Officer, November 2008-January 2011

• Recommended Lawyer - Legal 500 UK, (2024)
• Recipient of the Junior Lawyer of the Year award at the Law Society Excellence Awards 2021
• Shortlisted for the Lawyer of the Year award at the Modern Law Awards 2022

High Court

• R (Eunice Tumi and Vernon Vanriel) v SSHD [2021] EWHC 3415 (Admin): concerning a successful challenge to the SSHD’s decisions that she could not exercise discretion to grant citizenship to Windrush victims who are unable to meet the residence requirements as the result of historic injustice. The SSHD proposed amendments to the BNA 1981 as the result of the litigation, and the Court held that the SSHD breached the Claimants rights under Articles 8 and 14 ECHR and that she was required to read a discretion into the British Nationality Act 1981 under Section 3 of the Human Rights Act 1998.


• R (SM) v The Lord Chancellor, BID intervening, [2021] EWHC 418 (Admin): concerning a successful challenge to the less favourable treatment of immigration detainees held in prisons compared with those held in IRCs. The court held that the legal aid arrangements for immigration detainees in prisons were in breach of Article 14 ECHR in relation to the Claimant and the Lord Chancellor has since put forward a proposal for improving access to legal aid for individuals in that class of persons.


• Mahabir and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department, [2021] EWHC 1177 (Admin): concerning a successful challenge to the failure of the SSHD to provide an affordable application process for family members of a Windrush victim to obtain entry clearance or leave in the UK. The Court held that this failure was a colossal interference in the Article 8 rights of the lead Claimant and a breach of Article 14 ECHR in respect of her children and husband.


• D and Others v The Lord Chancellor and Another [2020] EWHC 736: concerning a successful challenge to a policy of the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber), that individuals represented by Duncan Lewis Solicitors should not have their appeals heard at the Birmingham hearing centre of the FTT, leading to the withdrawal of the policy and the claimants being awarded their costs.


• Duncan Lewis v the Lord Chancellor: a successful challenge to the Lord Chancellor’s position that he did not have the power to backdate legal aid grants to the date an application was made, leading to the settlement of the claim on the basis that the Lord Chancellor committed to amending Regulation 35 of the Civil Legal Aid (Procedure) Regulations 2012, which now sets out this power. Evidence in the claim included statements from PLP, LAPG, Bindmans, DPG, Broudie, Jackson Canter, Leigh Day and Osbournes.


• CRA and Others v the Lord Chancellor: concerning a successful challenge to the making of the Civil Legal Aid (Remuneration) (Amendment) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020, which established a new fee regime for the remuneration of legal aid providers in online immigration and asylum appeals. The Lord Chancellor conceded that he had failed to consult adequately and satisfy his duty of inquiry and revoked the Regulations. The claim was supported by witness evidence from ILPA, Jo Wilding, The Law Society and LAPG.


• MAK and TM v SSID and SSFCA (Libya): concerning the failure of the SSID and SSFCA to properly assess the risk that UK international assistance to Libyan detention centres and to the Libyan Coastguard would contribute to violations of International Human Rights Law and International Humanitarian Law. The claim was settled on the basis that the Defendants had subsequently ceased the aid programmes under challenge.


• Rosie Newbigging v SSHD (Yarl’s Wood): concerning a successful challenge to the SSHD’s plans to house up to 200 asylum seekers in prefabricated temporary accommodation on the site of Yarl’s Wood IRC. The claimant asserted that the SSHD’s plans were in breach of planning conditions for the site, the PSED, and had failed to consult adequately. The SSHD withdrew its plans in response to pre-action correspondence.

• Sri Lankan asylum seekers stranded in Diego Garcia win right to legal aid (5 May 2023)
• Duncan Lewis clients bring judicial review claim challenging their Group 2 status (27 April 2023)
• Crucial Duncan Lewis challenge on behalf of Windrush victim covered in the Independent (21 February 2023)
• Government should use Windrush Day to rethink broken compensation scheme (22 June 2022)
• Channel “pushbacks” policy abandoned (Free Movement) (28 April 2022)
• Home Office backs down on refugee pushbacks policy in the face of legal challenge by Duncan Lewis and others (26 April 2022)
• Court orders disclosure of key elements of the Home Office’s Pushbacks Policy (22 April 2022)
• Duncan Lewis wins challenge to Legal Aid Agency’s refusal to backdate funding for Queen’s Counsel (8 April 2022)
• Duncan Lewis Solicitors and Jeremy Bloom shortlisted for Modern Law Awards (16 March 2022)
• Permission granted to bring a judicial review claim against the lawfulness of the UK Government’s evacuation of British nationals and their dependants from Afghanistan (20 January 2022)
• PCS and Care4Calais challenge the Home Office Pushbacks Policy (6 January 2022)
• Windrush: high court rules claimants’ human rights breached by Home Office (The Guardian) (17 December 2021)
• High Court rules that refusal of British citizenship to Windrush Claimants is in breach of human rights (16 December 2021)
• James Packer Highly Commended for Human Rights Lawyer of the Year and Jeremy Bloom Wins Junior Lawyer of the Year at the Law Society Excellence Awards 2021 (8 October 2021)
• Home Office hotels for asylum seekers ‘akin to detention centres’ – report (The Guardian) (16 September 2021)
• Duncan Lewis Solicitors shortlisted for three awards at The Law Society Excellence Awards 2021 (4 August 2021)
• Five Duncan Lewis clients challenge the consultation on the Home Office’s new plan for immigration (9 June 2021)
• High Court finds colossal interference in Windrush rights by Home Office (LexisNexis) (13 May 2021)
• Home Office unlawfully stopped family joining Windrush woman (Multiple Sources) (7 May 2021)
• High Court finds colossal interference in Windrush rights by Home Office (6 May 2021)
• Court declares legal aid arrangements for immigration detainees in prisons to be unlawful (25 February 2021)
• Home Office abandons unlawful plans to house asylum seekers at Yarl’s Wood (9 February 2021)
• Yarl's wood to get extension to house asylum seekers (RT UK) (19 January 2021)
• Duncan Lewis secures significant changes to UK aid provided to Libya (19 January 2021)
• R (SM) v the Lord Chancellor: Government announces review into provision of legal aid for immigration detainees held in prisons (9 December 2020)
• R (SM) v the Lord Chancellor: unequal access to legal aid for immigration detainees held in prisons (25 November 2020)
• Windrush scheme falls short of righting wrongs (Law Gazette) (2 October 2020)
• Duncan Lewis Solicitors challenge discriminatory refusal of citizenship under the Windrush Scheme (27 August 2020)
• Lord Chancellor concedes Legal Aid Regulations are unlawful (11 August 2020) (ILPA) (26 August 2020)
• Lord Chancellor accepts unlawfulness of new Legal Aid scheme for immigration and asylum appeals (11 August 2020)
• High Court grants permission to challenge concerning access to legal aid for immigration detainees held in prison (7 July 2020)
• D & Ors v The Lord Chancellor & Anor [2020] EWHC 736 (Admin) - clients awarded their costs in claim against the Tribunal (1 July 2020)
• Lord Chancellor could face JR over immigration fee change (The Law Society Gazette) (29 May 2020)
• Duncan Lewis Solicitors challenge amendments to the Remuneration Regulations (29 May 2020)
• Legal prospects available for Windrush clients with children born outside the UK (23 October 2019)
• Asylum seeker denied cancer treatment by Home Office dies (The Guardian) (26 September 2019)
• Ethiopian asylum seeker dies after being denied cancer treatment by the Home Office (26 September 2019)
• Regulations to create backdating power made in response to litigation by Duncan Lewis (1 February 2019)
• Public Law’s Jeremy Bloom speaks at the Young Legal Aid Lawyers meeting discussing Duncan Lewis’ LAA Challenges (15 January 2019)
• Duncan Lewis Solicitors Challenge the Lack of Immigration Advice in the Prison Estate (5 November 2018)
• Government to amend regulations in response to Duncan Lewis access to justice challenge against Legal Aid Agency and Lord Chancellor (5 October 2018)
• Duncan Lewis Solicitors challenges the Legal Aid Agency’s rules on backdating of funding (5 July 2018)
• UK authorities deny chemotherapy to asylum seeker (Medical Brief) (18 June 2018)
• Home Office prevented asylum seeker's urgent cancer treatment (Guardian) (8 June 2018)
• Duncan Lewis Solicitors client promised life-saving cancer treatment in high-profile case (25 April 2018)
• Jeremy Bloom features on ITV discussing Albert Thompson’s plea for cancer treatment (20 April 2018)
• Albert Thompson and the Windrush Generation: NHS Treatment Still Uncertain (BBC and Guardian) (20 April 2018)
• Client of Duncan Lewis denied cancer treatment causes widespread outrage (Guardian, Independent, Metro) (16 March 2018)
• Londoner denied NHS cancer care: 'It's like I'm being left to die' (The Guardian) (13 March 2018)
• R (on the application of SB and Duncan Lewis) Vs Director of the Legal Aid Agency and the Lord Chancellor (12 January 2018)