Mia Chaudhuri-Julyan

Mia is building a specialist sports practice and is a rising star in Littleton’s sports law group.

She was raised on formula 1 and football. Those personal interests reflect her legal training. Mia is familiar with regulations in a broad range of sports, particularly football, and has worked on cases in forums including governing bodies’ disciplinary panels, mediation, FA Rule K and other arbitral panels.

She has experience of matters across lex sportiva, including contractual and regulatory disputes, safeguarding, discrimination, anti-doping, player contracts, agent agreements, disciplining proceedings and coaching. She has assisted clients across the sporting landscape, from athletes to national governing bodies.

• Representing Queens Park Rangers FC in a high profile 6-week trial of multi-million pound claims brought by a former academy player (led by Joel Wallace). See article: Ex-academy player’s £11.1m claims against Queens Park Rangers FC dismissed. The press summary can be found here and the judgment can be found here.
• Acting for a leading professional golfer in a multi-million pound contractual dispute arising from agreements entered into by his parents during his junior career (led by Steven Flynn).
• Advising on an Olympic pathway selection policy for a national sporting organisation.
• Advising and drafting correspondence (pro bono) for an athlete in disciplinary proceedings brought by a sports club.
• Drafting advice for the governing body of a sport in relation to the criminal conviction of an athlete.
• Drafting a note on the impact of For Women Scotland v Scottish Ministers[2025] UKSC 16 for transgender athletes and sports governing bodies.
• Assisting with an investigation for a football club.
• Drafting advice for an EFL football club on a player and intermediary wage dispute under Rule K.
• Drafting a Notice of Arbitration and advice on enforcement of an arbitral award for a player and intermediary wage dispute under Rule K.
• Preparing notes for cross-examination in an arbitration involving child safeguarding and hazing within a sport before Sport Resolution’s National Safeguarding Panel.
• Preparing submissions for a strike-out and costs application in a referee dispute.
• Drafting an arbitration agreement in a coaching discipline and safeguarding case.
• Attending an arbitration in which a coach appealed against a sanction imposed by the Rugby League Off-Field Operational Rules Tribunal.
• Assisting in the preparation of advice regarding a sponsorship dispute in a sports marketing context.

Mia also has specialist expertise in abuse cases, which she brings into the sporting context.

See also some recent comment by Mia here:

• Greater Player Power? How The Employment Rights Act 2025 may impact Football’s Labour Market (June 2026).
• Commercial Infrastructure and Growth in Women’s Football: The Real Fight For Equality? (Mar 2026).
• IWD 2026: Tackling Issues in Women’s Sport (Mar 2026) (Video).
• Transgender Athletes: What now for the sporting community? The Effect of For Women Scotland [2025] UKSC 16 (Jan 2026).

Mia has a keen interest in all areas of commercial law. She welcomes led and unled instructions.

She has experience of a broad range of commercial matters, including contractual disputes, interim injunctions and business protection in an employment context. She also acts in cases with an international dimension.

Highlights include:

• Representing the successful defendant in a Chancery Division trial involving claims of unjust enrichment and common mistake in respect of the taxation of payments made under a Growth Securities Ownership Plan (led by David Reade KC). See article here.
• Representing a minority shareholder in unfair prejudice proceedings, including drafting a petition and reply.
• Advising a company on strike out/summary judgment in respect of contractual and tortious claims in the County Court.
• Representing a business defending against a breach of contract claim in the County Court.
• Drafting a List of Issues and assisting with the preparation of a WPP/strike out application for a CCMC in a shareholder dispute.
• Advising on the merits of a breach of contract claim in respect of a fuel supply agreement.
• Advising on the contractual principles applicable to ‘without prejudice’ offers of settlement.
• Assisting with drafting Particulars of Claim in a business protection dispute, in a led matter, involving claims for breach of contract, breach of restrictive covenants, unlawful means conspiracy, breach of confidence and breach of directors’ duties.
• Representing the petitioner in the final hearing of a bankruptcy petition.

Mia was formerly a Judicial Assistant to Lord Justice Phillips in the Court of Appeal, assisting with the preparation of cases for full appeals. She was particularly exposed to commercial disputes, often with an international dimension. Examples include:

• Border Timbers Ltd and another v Republic of Zimbabwe; Infrastructure Services Luxembourg Sarl and another v The Kingdom of Spain [2024] EWCA Civ 1257(international arbitration)
• Yieldpoint Stable Value Fund, LP, Kimura Commodity Trade Finance Fund Ltd [2024] EWCA Civ 639(sub-participation finance)
• UK P&I Club N.V & Anr v Republica Bolivariana de Venezuela [2023] EWCA Civ 1497(state immunity)
• CRF I Limited v Banco Nacional De Cuba and another [2024] EWCA Civ 1409(sovereign debt)
• Privinvest Shipbuilding SAL (Holding) & Ors v Nyusi [2024] EWCA Civ 184(state immunity)
• Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance PLC & Ors v Textainer Group Holdings Ltd & Ors [2024] EWCA Civ 547(shipping insurance)
• GFH Capital Ltd v Haigh [2024] EWCA Civ 65(DIFC; freezing injunction)
• Discovery Land Company & Ors v Axis Speciality Europe SE [2024] EWCA Civ 7(professional indemnity insurance)
• Cheshire Estate and Legal Limited v Blanchfield and others [2024] EWCA Civ 1317(directors’ powers and duties)

Mia is developing an international practice. She has broad experience of international legal issues, including in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).

Her recent experience includes:

• Acting as junior counsel in a speedy trial before the Court of First Instance (CFI) of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) concerning a multi-million dollar broker/financial services dispute (led by James Bickford Smith).
• Settling Particulars of Claim in a DIFC employment dispute in the insurance sector concerning breaches of restrictive covenants (following the grant of injunctive relief) (led by James Bickford Smith).
• Drafting a note on the interpretation of DIFC whistleblowing law and the comparative position in common law jurisdictions.
• Drafting a note on anti-suit injunctions and alternative service on a party out of the jurisdiction in a Hague Service Convention country.
• Drafting a note on the territorial scope of the Equality Act 2010 in respect of foreign job applicants for UK positions.

Mia has a keen interest in all areas of business protection, civil fraud and injunctive work. She has experience of disputes involving unlawful means conspiracy, misuse of confidential information, restrictive covenants, breach of confidence and fiduciary duties. Mia is currently acting in a multi-counsel team on a complex business protection case, led by Jonathan Cohen KC and Ming-Yee Shiu.

Mia welcomes arbitration instructions, having gained unique experience of arbitration agreements and the mechanics of the Arbitration Act 1996 through her sports law training. She is able to deploy this experience in other fields, including commercial and employment law. As a Judicial Assistant in the Court of Appeal, she also observed the mechanics of international arbitration at close quarters in Border Timbers Ltd and another v Republic of Zimbabwe; Infrastructure Services Luxembourg Sarl and another v The Kingdom of Spain [2024] EWCA Civ 1257.

Mia is well placed to assist with investigations of all types, having worked on six during her pupillage. These have included complex allegations of bullying, harassment, discrimination, disciplinary matters, grievances/grievance appeals and culture reviews, across a broad range of industries.

Mia practises across the full range of statutory and High Court employment law, including civil contract, discrimination, equal pay, unfair and wrongful dismissal, victimisation, whistleblowing, TUPE and investigations.

She acts both for businesses and employees across a wide range of sectors. Mia has experience of every stage of the litigation process, from preliminary hearings to multi-week trials.

Mia is uniquely well placed to assist with group litigation, including strategy. She previously worked in Leigh Day’s Employment and Discrimination department, on a public sector pensions case on behalf of c.15,000 claimant police officers and parallel litigation against the police federations in England and Wales and Scotland.

She also has significant experience in cases involving vulnerable people.

Her experience includes:

• Acting as junior counsel in a 6-week trial involving claims of discrimination, harassment and victimisation.
• Acting as sole counsel in a multi-day trial in the ET, which included a complex territorial jurisdiction issue.
• Preparing submissions on territorial jurisdiction for a final hearing.
• Drafting a skeleton argument for an EAT appeal in equal pay group litigation.
• Advising on the risks of paying a market supplement in the context of equal pay litigation, including whether a material factor defence would succeed.
• Advising on the duties to inform and consult in a TUPE case.
• Advising on whether and how after-discovered gross misconduct can reduce damages for discrimination at a remedy hearing.
• Drafting witness statements for an ET final hearing in a redundancy and sex/race discrimination case.
• Drafting correspondence for a company to a client complaining of discrimination and/or victimisation and threatening to bring claims.
• Drafting a skeleton argument for a PH in a disability discrimination and unfair dismissal case, resisting an application to add additional claims and applying for strike out.
• Drafting submissions on an issue of jurisdiction over a US entity for a substantive PH in the ET, in a led matter.
• Attending a mediation in a discrimination case, including advising on tax issues relating to settlement.
• Drafting Grounds of Resistance in respect of claims for discrimination, unfair and wrongful dismissal, harassment, victimisation and whistleblowing.
• Drafting Grounds of Appeal and a skeleton argument concerning victimisation and indirect sex discrimination in the Employment Appeal Tribunal.
• Drafting a Respondent’s Answer in the Employment Appeal Tribunal.
• Drafting advice for a company on issues concerning the treatment of employees who are expectant and new mothers.
• Drafting Written Submissions for a substantive Preliminary Hearing, inc. applying for strike out or a deposit order and resisting an application to add additional Respondents.
• Preparing the cross-examination of a witness at a substantive Preliminary Hearing in the Employment Tribunal, in respect of an employee/worker status issue.
• Drafting an application for a hybrid hearing and for overseas witnesses to give remote evidence in the Employment Tribunal.
• Drafting Lists of Issues and Agendas for Preliminary Hearings in the Employment Tribunal.
• Drafting advice for an employer on the prospective termination of an employee, any potential claims that could be brought and financial exposure.
• Assisting with three separate investigations: (i) a grievance investigation, (ii) a grievance appeal investigation and (iii) a disciplinary investigation.
• Preparing initial advice on a prospective claim raising issues concerning disability, whistleblowing, unfair and wrongful dismissal and unlawful deduction from wages.
• Assisting with the preparation of witness statements for a final hearing.

Mia has a strong background in human rights and public law and is well equipped to assist with cases involving such issues.

She previously worked in Leigh Day’s human rights department on complex group litigation involving historic abuse claims. She holds a specialist Masters in Human Rights Law from UCL, with distinction. Mia has significant experience working with vulnerable people.

She has undertaken extensive pro bono work, including spending two and a half years volunteering in the Grenfell Team at Kensington and Chelsea Citizens Advice Bureau, advising survivors and the bereaved on legal issues, and representing children in school exclusion cases as part of the Communities Empowerment Network.

Mia is open to being approached in respect of pro bono instructions.