Ife Thompson Delivers Workshop on Movement Lawyering at Weaving Liberation Strategic Litigation Retreat in Portugal

Ife Thompson, of the Crime and Family team at Nexus Chambers, recently delivered a powerful and insightful workshop on Movement Lawyering to a group of EU-based lawyers and organisers at the Weaving Liberation  Strategic Litigation Retreat in Portugal. The session was titled Challenging the Criminalisation of Our Words: A Hands-On Workshop on Movement Lawyering for Language and Racial Justice in the Digital Age.

Drawing on her recent unreported case, R v JA (City of London Magistrates’ Court, 2025) — also known as “The N-word on Trial” Ife explored how the courtroom can serve as a vital political arena in the broader struggle for collective liberation.

During the workshop, she introduced participants to the core principles of movement lawyering and shared a Movement Lawyering Manifesto she has developed through her extensive work in UK courtrooms and community spaces.

Ife also walked participants through the strategic steps used in the case, issues seen in the case and what the community campaign around the Jamila A. case looked like. This included:

• The key 19 disclosure requests made in the defence statement and the type of requests to be made in similar cases
• Highlighted the issues with digital policing and the capitalisation of content moderation companies
• The anti-Black linguistic racism seen in the case
• The human rights arguments advanced throughout the case
• The importance of relationship-building with clients and community partners
• The vital role of defence expert witnesses can play in cases of this nature
• The impact of court watching to increase accountability and transparency
• How social media was used as a tool to raise public awareness, shift narratives, and galvanise community support

This impactful session served to equip legal professionals with tools to align litigation with broader social justice movements.

To read more about the Jamila A. case, click here: https://nexuschambers.com/insights/victory-in-the-n-word-on-trial-as-the-crown-drops-charges-against-black-woman-ife-thompson-instructed-for-the-defendant-2/

To instruct Ife please contact her practice managers – info@nexuschambers.com