Tim Owen KC is an English

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

Matrix Chambers Matrix Chambers is a barristers' chambers in Gray's Inn London, Brussels, and Geneva. Founded in April 2000 by 22 barristers from 7 different chambers, it now has over 90 independent and specialist lawyers who work throughout the UK and internat ...

. His practice spans the fields of fraud/regulatory, criminal, public, human rights, media and information, extradition/MLA, sports, asset recovery, police and civil law. In addition to his practice at the Bar, he sits as a Deputy High Court Judge in the Administrative Court, is an Acting Judge to the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands and a Member of the Sports Resolutions Panel of Arbitrators and Mediators. He is a founder member of Matrix Chambers and a Master of the Bench of

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

Education and career

Educated at United World College of the Atlantic and

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

, Tim Owen was called to the Bar in 1983. He was appointed

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

in 2000. He is currently a member of

Cases

Rurik Jutting

In 2016, Tim Owen defended Rurik Jutting, a British banker who confessed to torturing and killing two Indonesian women in HK, arguing

diminished responsibility In criminal law, diminished responsibility (or diminished capacity) is a potential defense by excuse by which defendants argue that although they broke the law, they should not be held fully criminally liable for doing so, as their mental funct ...

. The trial evidence included videos of torture Jutting recorded on his phone. They were deemed so traumatising that journalists and the public were prevented from seeing them. Jutting was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison.

Jimmy Lai

In late 2022, Jimmy Lai's request to instruct Owen as part of his defense team was appealed by Hong Kong Secretary for Justice

Paul Lam Paul Lam Ting Kwok (; born 1968) is a Hong Kong Senior Counsel, currently serving as the 5th Secretary for Justice since July 2022. Education Lam was educated at Wah Yan College, Hong Kong. He obtained a Bachelor of Laws (with Second Class ...

and the

Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

multiple times. On 30 December 2022, the

Standing Committee of the National People's Congress The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) is the permanent body of the National People's Congress (NPC), the national legislature of the People's Republic of China. It exercises the powers of the NPC when it is not in s ...

gave the

Chief Executive of Hong Kong The chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is the representative of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and head of the Government of Hong Kong. The position was created to replace the office of Governor of ...

the power to bar foreign lawyers from cases related to national security.

Personal life

Tim Owen was married to actress

Jemma Redgrave Jemima Rebecca "Jemma" Redgrave (born 14 January 1965) is an English actress, and a member of the Redgrave family. She is known for her roles as the title character in '' Bramwell'' (1995–1998) and as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart in ''Doctor Who'' ...

, a member of the

Redgrave family The Redgrave family is a British acting dynasty, spanning five generations. Members of the family worked in theatre beginning in the nineteenth century, and later in film and television. Some family members have also written plays and books. Vanes ...

, between 1992 and 2020. They have two sons, Gabriel, born in 1994, and Alfie, born in 2000. He married Hong Kong-based journalist Wei Du in 2020.

Publications

*Prison Law, 5th edition (OUP, 2015) *Asset Recovery: Criminal Confiscation and Civil Recovery (OUP, 2021) co-editor * Blackstone's Criminal Practice 2021 (Advisory editor) * Halsbury's Laws, vol 36(2), Prisons and Prisoners (Butterworths, 1999) *Criminal Proceedings, Police Powers and the Human Rights Act 1998 (OUP, 2000) contributing author

References

External links

Tim Owen QC Matrix Chambers Profile
(Matrix Chambers) {{DEFAULTSORT:Owen, Tim English King's Counsel People educated at Atlantic College People educated at a United World College Alumni of the London School of Economics Living people Year of birth missing (living people)