J Spooner

About

I work at the intersection of law, research and storytelling.

What I Do

I support NGOs, legal teams and research institutions in consultancy roles across law, research and public engagement offering:

  • Deep legal research and analysis.
  • Strategy and creative problem-solving.
  • Process Design.
  • Cross-sector collaboration and public engagement.

From litigation strategy to public engagement and complex cross-sector projects, I bring strategic insight and creative thinking to help your work land with clarity and impact.

Current clients include the Foundation for International Law of the Environment, Client Earth and Climate Spring.

My Approach

“When the outcome drives the process we will only ever go to where we’ve already been. If process drives outcome we may not know where we’re going, but we will know we want to be there.”

Consultancy

(InBetweenDays) is the name I use for my independent consultancy projects, because I thrive in ‘the inbetween spaces’ – the stages of projects where there is the least amount of certainty – where ideas are still forming and where the most valuable work often happens.

Backstory

For the first 25 years of my career, I worked as both an Artist and Chief Executive with Unlimited Theatre, collaborating with world-leading researchers and institutions to communicate complex ideas to public audiences. I travelled across the world working in collaboration with NASA, creating immersive experiences with teachers in South Africa, running workshops with journalists in the Philippines and with soldiers in Papua New Guinea.

My specialism as an artist and producer was collaborations with scientists.

My main areas of research were:

  • Quantum physics (I was a Visiting Scholar at Oxford University)
  • Human spaceflight (my Mini Me has flown to, and back from, the International Space Station)
  • Biological and human enhancement technologies (I am a cyborg)
  • And most dedicatedly since 2015, climate change and climate justice.


I made a show called “How To Save the Planet”, immersed myself in the science of climate change and interviewed climate scientists, campaigners and activists for podcasts and live events at festivals.

One of the people I worked with was a climate litigation lawyer who I was so inspired by, I decided to (literally) run away from the circus and retrain as a lawyer.

Bringing It All Together

I am an expert Storyteller and a specialist in International and Human Rights Law.

In 2025, I graduated with Distinction from City Law School as a Master of Laws (LLM) in International Human Rights.

I was awarded the City Law School Prize for Excellence for achieving the highest overall result on the LLM, alongside individual prizes for the highest marks in Public International Law and Trial Advocacy – a module exploring how storytelling can maximise the impact of legal argument.

I continue to work in non-legal creative consultancy roles where the partnership is long-standing or just too ‘right’ to say no to.

I am also – against all my best efforts and intentions – continuing to write and produce my own projects for live performance and film.

Current clients include the Foundation for International Law of the Environment (FILE), ClientEarth and Climate Spring.

Please visit the Projects page for more detail on current work.

Values and Inspiration

My values are:

  • Empathy, generosity and collaboration in partnerships
  • Rigour, curiosity and optimism in processes
  • Innovation, adventure and brilliance in outcomes


Other humans whose values I’m inspired by include Naomi Klein, bell hooks, George Michael and Francesca Albanese.

My pronouns are they/he.

If you’re interested in my approach, share my values and would like to explore how we might work together, please get in touch.