Jacqueline McKenzie holds degrees in law, human rights and international relations and is a solicitor in England and Wales (2008) and a barrister in Grenada (2011) with several high profile and reported cases behind her.
Jacqueline first practiced as an immigration, criminal and civil liberties solicitor at human rights specialists Birnberg Peirce and Partners during which time she managed a large portfolio of first instance applications, appeals to the first and upper tribunals, judicial reviews and court of appeal and ECHR cases (2006 to 2010).
Between 2010 and 2021
Jacqueline was run her own immigration and asylum specialist firm, McKenzie Beute and Pope and is now a partner at city law firm, Leigh Day where she leads on Windrush, immigration and social justice. Her main areas of legal expertise are asylum, refugee and immigration law and actions against the state. She is a leading advocate on Windrush cases and works on policy issues pertaining to undocumented minors and deportation through the Centre for Migration Advice and Research which she founded in 2015.
She sat on the Windrush Lessons Learned Review Independent Advisory Group, the Home Office’s former Windrush Stakeholder’s Advisory Group, a committee of the Administrative Justice Council set up to look at the failings in the Windrush Compensation Scheme, and was commissioned by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation to review and report on the capacity of the grassroots Windrush groups to respond to the scandal. She has given oral and written evidence to the Home Affairs Committee on the Windrush Compensation Scheme.
Jacqueline undertook a two-year sabbatical as the CEO of Female Prisoners Welfare Organisation which represents foreign national women in UK prisons and immigration detention centres.
From 2012 to 2014
In addition to her day-to-day practice Jacqueline provides training in immigration law and policy to organisations including the CARICOM Diplomatic Corp of High Commissioners in the UK.
In addition
Jacqueline spent 20 years in local and central government in several roles including equalities, community development and regeneration. She taught law and international relations at US university, Schiller International, and law and ethics at Queen Mary’s College, London University, sits on several boards pertaining to human rights has won several awards for her legal and campaigning work, including the Legacy Awards Lifetime Achievement Award (2018), the European Diversity Awards Campaigner of the year (2019), The Black solicitors Network Small Law Firm of the year (2019) and the Black Excellence Humanitarian Award (2020).
Prior to becoming a lawyer
Jacqueline is also number 7 and number 10 on the Black Excellence Power List in 2021 and 2022 respectively.
Several articles, including an academic published article and presented countless papers on immigration and the Windrush injustices.
Jacqueline has written
She helps to run the Learning Cube Supplementary School which she co-founded in 2008 and the Voices of Windrush Festival which she founded in 2020 and curates.