Hodge Jones & Allen

Agata Usewicz

Agata Usewicz is the Head of the Medical Negligence team at Hodge Jones & Allen. Her practice includes a mix of claims of maximum severity, with a focus on obstetric injuries, cases of surgical error, claims against GPs and ophthalmic injuries. Agata has a proven track record of successfully litigating fiercely contested cases. Cases of note include Gallardo v Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust [2017] EWHC 3147 (QB), which represented an extension of the Montgomery principles in the context of the giving of information, including diagnosis and treatment options, post-operatively. In Totham v Kings College NHS Trust [2015] EWHC 97 (QB), Agata acted for a girl who suffered a brain injury at birth and as a result has cerebral palsy. The trust admitted liability but damages were contested to trial. Agata’s client was awarded damages which at the time was the highest court award for a claim for personal injuries for a UK national. Agata’s cases regularly attract national attention, and she is often called upon to provide comments in the legal press and national media. Whilst Agata is renowned for her work on complex, high-value cases, she is passionately committed to providing access to justice and is equally dedicated to her clients with more modest claims as well as those with catastrophic injuries. Agata joined Hodge Jones & Allen in 2011, soon being promoted to Partner in 2014. She is also the firm’s training principle. Agata is a member of the AvMA Specialist Clinical Negligence Panel and The Law Society Clinical Negligence Panel. Before training to become a solicitor Agata pursued a successful career in NHS project management.

Andrew Harrison

Andrew is a Partner in the Medical Negligence team. He has a wide range of experience including birth-related injuries to mother and child, brain damage following surgery (for example after late removal of untreated tumours) and other maximum severity cases involving disablement or life-limiting injuries. He also handles orthopaedic claims (negligent hip/knee replacement for example), cosmetic and dental surgery claims, fatal claims involving substantial dependency awards and all other types of clinical negligence claims. Andrew has handled a claim for the family of a 32 year old Portuguese mother of three who died when five months pregnant following negligent removal of an ovary instead of an infected appendix. Two junior surgeons operated on her unsupervised and there were proceedings relating to practice at the GMC as a result.

Anne Sanders

Anne has over 25 years’ experience and has been a member of the Law Society’s Personal Injury Panel since 2007. A highly experienced personal injury practitioner, she concentrates on complex injury cases, dealing with a wide range of matters including accidents at work, road traffic accidents, and public liability cases. Anne has extensive knowledge of the Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB) Agreements and was formerly the Secretary of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) Transport Special Interest Group a position she held for four years. Anne has developed her practice to specialise in neuropathic pain cases and her practice areas also include amputees, fatal accidents and acquired brain injury cases. Anne is passionate about her work and puts the client at the heart of everything she does. Her primary focus is early rehabilitation for those who have suffered catastrophic injuries. She recognises that working with those who have been severely injured and their families is a privilege and she always does her very best to secure the maximum amount of rehabilitation and compensation available. This in turn enables the injured person and their family to refocus their lives after trauma with the financial and rehabilitative support they need.

Bahareh Amani

Bahareh joined the Property Dispute and Dispute Resolution team on 1st June 2023 from the Housing and Property Dispute team which she was a part of since November 2018. She has specialised in litigation and property disputes since qualifying in 2010 and joined Hodge Jones & Allen in December 2018 as a Senior Associate, and was promoted to Partner in May 2022. Bahareh has experience in the area of civil litigation since 2005. Bahareh is a tenacious litigator and is recognised for her strengths in negotiating settlements to benefit her clients. Bahareh has also led and supervised leading cases in the Court of Appeal as well as challenging by way of a High Court Appeal . She has conducted a variety of cases, including property related litigation, contested possession claims, disputes arising for misrepresentation on sales and purchases and Party Wall Act claims. She has also acted for Freeholders and Leaseholders on disputes arising out of service charges, ground rent and mismanagement of leasehold interests. She has acted for clients on a group action, securing positive outcomes for her clients without the need for contested trial. Bahareh has acted on both residential and commercial property disputes, including possession proceedings arising for breaches of lease and covenants, forfeiture claims as well as Lease renewals and claims arising from business leases contracted in or out of the 1954 Landlord and Tenant Act. Since joining the Dispute Resolution team she has acted for both Claimants in relation to claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependant) Act 1975, as well as executors, seeking challenged to wills based upon capacity and undue influence and claims for beneficial interests in property. Bahareh’s approach to property disputes and litigation has been to consider alternative means and to avoid court process and litigation, and where possible to address matters with the opponent in a conciliatory approach, without the need for litigation however, where this is not possible, Bahareh is a confident and strong litigator in areas of property disputes and enjoys presenting her client’s cases raising points of law, and finding arguments to further her client’s case.

Caroline Liggins

Caroline understands the importance of building a relationship of trust and the need for continuity when representing young and vulnerable clients. She works with a wide range of other professionals in order to ensure that her clients are empowered to effectively participate in their defence and navigate their way through the criminal justice system. Caroline is regularly instructed in Crown Court cases involving allegations of the most serious crimes. She has acted in cases concerning sexual offences, murder, assault, fraud, conspiracies, the possession or use of firearms and drug supply. Caroline’s expertise has seen her regularly called upon to discreetly represent high profile individuals as well as their children. Caroline is seen as a leader in the field of youth justice. She was asked to speak to the House of Commons as a part of the Justice Select Committee opposing the introduction of Knife Crime Prevention Orders and she currently sits on the committee for Youth Justice Specialist Panel and Quality of Advocacy Working Group with the Ministry of Justice. She is often asked to talk at conferences on aspects of Youth Justice. Caroline is also part of an All-Party Parliamentary Group which hopes to reduce the amount of time children can be lawfully kept in police custody. She also provided the impetus for the formation of the Youth Practitioner’s Association (YPA) which aspires to promote and ensure proper representation for young people within the criminal justice system. Clients rely on Caroline’s practical, no nonsense but empathetic approach and sound judgement when making difficult decisions. Her willingness to support clients to achieve the right results justifies her enviable track record.

Chloe Hartnell

Chloe is a partner in the Criminal Department at Hodge Jones & Allen. She joined the firm after running her own firm for many years. She is a strong advocate conducting trials. She conducted a leading case in Modern Day Slavery and specialises in serious crime such as drug and violent offences. Her technical skills make her adept at dealing with large and complex cases.

Christine Dyson

Christine is a partner and Head of the Court of Protection team at Hodge Jones & Allen. She is an experienced Court of Protection practitioner. Christine specialises in managing professional Deputyships held by Hodge Jones & Allen, and applying to the Court of Protection for private appointments and complex orders. Christine has extensive experience of working with those that are elderly and assisting local authorities with the management of these matters. Christine has also managed a wide range of complex family dynamics and financial matters. Christine prides herself on providing a personal service to her clients and their families, as many of her clients are mentally incapacitated or vulnerable.

Chun Wong

Chun Wong is the Head of the Dispute Resolution team at Hodge Jones & Allen. She has over 15 years litigation experience and specialises in a wide range of civil litigation disciplines especially contested probate and TOLATA claims. She strives to provide an excellent service to her clients whether they are Claimants or Defendants, bringing or defending claims in county courts, the High Court or the Court of Appeal. Notable cases include Kousouros v O'Halloran and another [2014] EWHC 2294 (Ch) and TPKN v Ministry of Justice (2019) EWHC 1488 (QB). Chun has appeared on radio, TV and press and is a keen blogger and user of LinkedIn.

Cormac McDonough

Cormac is a partner in the Civil Liberties & Human Rights team. He represents victims of maltreatment by the police and other state bodies, including clients who have suffered life-changing physical and psychiatric injuries as a consequence. He has particular expertise in acting for the families of those who have died in police and prison custody; at inquests and in associated civil claims. He acted for bereaved families in the Fishmongers Hall terrorist attack inquest and the inquest into the death of Edson Da Costa, who died during police restraint. He acts in complex and multi-party claims against state bodies for personal injury and human rights violations, including, most recently, claims brought by multiple prisoners who suffered psychiatric and respiratory injuries during a fire at HMP Isle of Wight and a teenage girl who suffered life-threatening injuries when attacked by her father following failings in his psychiatric care. He also undertakes Public Inquiry work and is currently instructed in the Undercover Policing Inquiry, on behalf of political activists whose organisation was infiltrated and a woman who was deceived into a relationship by an undercover officer.

Daniel Denton

Daniel Denton is a Partner in the Personal Injury team and has exclusively represented Claimants for over 20 years in the field of Personal Injury. He has a wealth of experience in handling cases where the client has suffered life changing injuries and has a special interest in amputation cases, brain / head injuries and serious orthopaedic and psychiatric conditions as a result of being involved in an accident. He also has a vast amount of experience in representing bereaved families and friends who have lost a loved one through negligence. Daniel has built an enviable reputation in the industry as being tactically astute, an outstanding negotiator as well as providing an unrivalled tailor-made client service to meet each individual’s needs. He is both extremely personable and approachable. He is totally committed to fighting his client’s case. Daniel is a firm believer in arranging effective rehabilitation treatment and accommodation measures at the earliest opportunity and securing large interim payments in order to assist clients in replacing their lost income. He is renowned for working collaboratively with case managers, medical experts and professionals in order to achieve  the best possible outcome for his clients recovery. Daniel is also passionate about access to justice and has recently set up several partnerships with Universities where he has offered a free legal advice clinic to clients of their respective Legal Advice Centres thereby allowing access to justice in their local communities and throughout England and Wales. Furthermore, Daniel has supervised students in conducting interviews with these prospective clients and preparing letters of advice which has contributed to the students qualifying experience and enabled them to have a competitive edge in terms of employability. Daniel has also represented a significant number of Trade Union members who have either been involved in an accident at work or whilst travelling to or from work. He has prepared and delivered many presentations to Shop Stewards. Work Highlights Notable successes over the las 12 months include: Daniel acted for a client who suffered a below knee amputation of his leg as well as other serious orthopaedic and psychiatric injuries as a result of a motorcycle accident. He secured a large interim payment from the Defendant’s insurance company at an early stage despite liability for the accident being strongly contested. Daniel also urgently instructed a team of rehabilitation experts and therapists in order to optimise his client’s recovery. Settlement: £3.6 million. Daniel represented a client who suffered catastrophic injuries as a result of being struck by a skip lorry whilst he was riding his bicycle. These injuries included a below knee amputation of his leg and other very serious orthopaedic injuries. Daniel secured a substantial interim payment at an early stage in the case and arranged for an Immediate Needs Assessment to be carried out to ensure that the client’s rehabilitation requirements could be put in place expeditiously. Liability for the accident was strenuously disputed as the client had attempted to undertake the lorry as it approached a junction to turn left. Settlement: £3 million. Daniel acted for a Doctor who suffered significant orthopaedic and psychiatric injuries as a result of a road traffic accident when another vehicle user drove into the back of her stationary vehicle. He instructed a forensic accountant to prepare a report on the client’s complex loss of earnings and pension claim. The case eventually settled after intense negotiations. Settlement: £1.1 million. Daniel represented the bereaved family of SH who suffered a fatal road traffic accident when she skidded on a large amount of water in the road caused by a blocked drain resulting in a head on collision with another vehicle. He conducted the case in a compassionate and sensitive way and provided valuable support to the family throughout the life span of the case. Daniel successfully recovered a dependency award. Settlement: £850,000.

Dawn Treloar

Dawn is a partner with a wide-ranging clinical negligence practice. She has extensive experience representing clients in claims across all fields of care, including birth injury, brain and spinal injury, medical, surgical and orthopaedic care, and claims involving GP care. She also represents clients in fatal claims, including those where representation at inquest is required. Dawn is committed to achieving excellent results for her clients in even the most robustly contested cases. Past successes include achieving settlement with a complex provisional damages award for her client with a urological injury following orthopaedic surgery; acting in a number of cases where children and young people have tragically lost their lives from sepsis, recovering damages and ensuring changes are made to help prevent such incidents happening again; achieving damages of over £1m for a client who suffered disabling chronic fatigue syndrome following a negligently performed minor surgical procedure; and achieving excellent outcomes for a number of birth injury claims where the child has sustained catastrophic injury. Dawn adopts a proactive approach to ensure where possible that these seriously injured children can benefit from early interim payments and have the opportunity to achieve their full potential.

Edward Sharp

Edward became a Partner in May 2024, and has been working in Housing law since 2010. His legal knowledge is wide-ranging and he has eclectic experience across the housing law spectrum, and in the related areas of Discrimination law and Property Disputes. He acts in complex defended possession / injunction proceedings, often in the context of mental health disability; disrepair, fitness for human habitation and statutory nuisance cases; homelessness appeals / judicial review challenges against local authorities; as well as discrimination claims and property disputes.  He has experience conducting cases in the County Court, the High Court, the Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court, as well as in the Magistrates Court, the Upper Tribunal, and in various forms of Alternative Dispute Resolution. Edward’s work has included numerous significant and complex cases in these areas.  Highlights include the recent case of Campbell, R (On the Application Of) v London Borough of Ealing [2024] EWCA Civ 540, currently awaiting permission to proceed in the Supreme Court, a case of wide public importance about the meaning of Section 23 Care Act 2014 which will determine the scope of whether and when social services can provide housing assistance to UK citizens; the case of Rosebery Housing Association v Williams & Anor [2021] EW Misc 22 (CC), which was the first successful disability discrimination claim to be reported on in the context of a Housing case; and Kannan v London Borough of Newham [2019] EWCA Civ 57 in which Edward acted for the successful appellant to the Court of Appeal, a case about how local authority homelessness decisions should be approached where an applicant has a disability. Outside the context of the court room, Edward’s meticulous, tireless and nuanced approach results very regularly in justice for his clients through successfully negotiated outcomes, variously in the form of possession proceedings fended off, unfair decisions quashed, substantial compensation awards obtained, and works carried out.  He has worked regularly on the instruction of the Official Solicitor for clients who lack capacity, and he is passionately committed to access to justice.  In addition to his case-work, Edward has worked closely with housing charities, providing homelessness training seminars and regular ad hoc advice on cases.

Emma Wray

Emma, a partner in the Medical Negligence team, combines a sharp intellect with rigorous clinical knowledge. She is relentless in her pursuit of justice for her clients, who praise her ability to achieve exceptional results while supporting them through the legal process. Her practice covers all areas of clinical negligence from high value cerebral palsy, spinal injury and amputation claims to more modest value, but usually equally complex, claims across the spectrum. Emma has an outstanding talent for uncovering case-winning evidence in clinical negligence claims, recently securing a £16m settlement in complex litigation for a child whose limbs were amputated following a delay in diagnosis of streptococcal septicaemia. Another highlight was settling a challenging and fiercely fought child brain injury case with recovery of life changing damages in the face of a pre-existing genetic condition which meant the child would have had significant disabilities in any event. Clients have found that Emma is ruthless at tracking down the necessary documents and ensuring proper disclosure. With 10 years’ frontline clinical experience in the NHS, she brings an insider’s understanding, allowing her to interrogate records to her clients’ advantage. Clients praise Emma’s rare combination of empathy and legal excellence. One recently said she “was not just a solicitor for my son” but had “gone beyond her call of duty to support us when we needed help”. Emma’s results, they said, had “changed our lives forever”. Client comments "I cannot thank Emma Wray enough for all her support, guidance and professionalism throughout my medical negligence case. Not only was Emma incredibly supportive she was not afraid to be brutally honest with me which I needed. From day 1 it was great communication promptly responding to my questions in clear concise answers and always demonstrated a genuine interest in my best interest I will always be forever grateful I highly recommend Emma Wray." "Thanks so much Emma for all your support and understanding throughout my case, I couldn’t have got through it without you...wishing you all the very, very best that you deserve." "You are kind, thoughtful...and a very good lawyer. You are different!"

Farzana Chowdhury

Farzana Chowdhury is a Partner in the Housing department at Hodge Jones & Allen. She has worked at Hodge Jones & Allen since 2001, specialising in housing law during that time. Farzana has experience dealing with a broad range of social housing law cases including disrepair, possession proceedings, unlawful eviction, harassment, discrimination and homelessness. Her particular interests lie in complex anti-social behaviour, succession, tenancy fraud and sub-letting cases. She also frequently acts for tenants who are vulnerable or have mental health issues and have required a much higher level of care and attention as a result. Farzana passionately believes in access to justice for all and works closely with several external organisations, providing advice and assistance to ensure their clients are able to access appropriate legal advice wherever possible. Farzana has dealt with a number of group litigation cases for tenants of social landlords affected by disrepair to their homes. She has managed to achieve agreements for block works as well as significant settlements for damages for her clients in these cases.

Geoffrey Simpson-Scott

Geoffrey is a Partner and clinical negligence litigator having specialized in this area for over 20 years. He has joined Hodge Jones & Allen from Simpson Millar LLP where he was National Head of Clinical Negligence (Jan 2020 to Aug 2022). Since 2016, he has authored ‘A Practical Approach to Clinical Negligence (Law Brief Publishing Ltd); the 3rd edition of which was published in September 2023. This book focuses on effective practical solutions to current clinical negligence litigation. “It is richly informed by Geoff’s professional insights and his enthusiasm for good practice. We are all in his debt.” Mr Joel Donovan, KC. Geoffrey has had articles published in The Solicitors’ Journal, PI Focus, JPIL, PIBULJ and The Times as well as providing regular practical commentary on reported cases on LinkedIn. Geoffrey is an experienced complex issue and catastrophic injury litigator with a particular focus on using alternate forms of ADR such as bulk settlement meetings and ENR with NHSR with whom he has built an excellent collaborative relationship. He is well-versed in all available funding options, including Legal Aid, CFA, ATE, BTE and funding using emerging technologies.

Gimhani Eriyagolla

Gimhani is an associate in the Civil Liberties & Human Rights team. She specialises in civil claims and inquests; acting for bereaved families who have lost someone in state custody, or as a result of state actions. She recently represented the family of David Morgan, who died following an overdose of his medication at HMP Chelmsford in 2018, and was left for several hours without medical attention whilst becoming increasingly ill. She also brings public law challenges in relation to the Home Office for unlawful detention and failures over providing asylum support.  

Graeme Hydari

Partner specialising in serious crimes In particular, Graeme specialises in representing those with disability including Autism and Learning Disability; all sexual offences including Rape and internet Cybor sexual offences; and serious and complex fraud. He is one of the leading criminal defence solicitors in the country specialising in representing those with mental health and learning disabilities. Graeme was awarded the Criminal Defence Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year Award 2017 for his specialist work on behalf of vulnerable Autistic defendants and suspects. Recent cases include:- Client tried for a £3million Conspiracy to Defraud involving the sophisticated defrauding of numerous internationally based Film Equipment Companies (Operation Willsbridge). Representing Compliance Officer in a firm of Solicitors, charged with Conspiracy to defraud the Legal Aid Agency out of £4 million pounds by making false claims. She was acquitted. Murder cases. Mentally ill man who murdered his mother in violent attack with a weapon and a gang member who with others was involved in the murder of a rival gang member. Graeme successfully appealed the case of Chez Copeland an autistic man charged with terrorism offences all the way to the Supreme Court, where the Court overruled the trial Judge and stated that his obsessional collecting and experimenting could be a defence to making and possessing explosives and being in possession of material that may be of use to those involved in terrorism. Graeme has represented high profile criminal offenders including the paedophile and child killer Sidney Cooke and professional clients such as an Accountant in the music business charged with fraud; theft and false accounting involving high profile bands including Suede and Primal Scream.

Isobel Lovett

Isobel, a Partner and Head of the Asbestos Disease Team has, for over 20 years, specialised in asbestos disease cases for Claimants. Consequently, she has vast experience in this specialist litigation. Isobel’s work includes securing high value settlements for mesothelioma sufferers, enabling her clients to access novel, non-NHS funded treatments paid for by Defendants’ insurers. Her clients’ lives have thereby been extended and they have the security of having approved treatment paid for by the Defendants’ insurers for the rest of their lives. Isobel’s recent successes include persuading the Government Legal Department representing the Ministry of Defence, to agree to mediation in a long-running, disputed, fatal mesothelioma claim for the family of a man who had been exposed to asbestos dust while employed in the late 1960s to work on board UK naval vessels in the MoD dockyard in Singapore. The case involved complex issues of conflict of laws and of Crown Immunity. At mediation, a six-figure settlement for the family was agreed. This was a case which had previously been vigorously defended and was destined for a lengthy and costly trial. In another case against the Ministry of Defence, this year, Isobel was able to secure a six-figure sum and the costs of private medical treatment, for a woman developed mesothelioma in unusual circumstances: she had worked as a Buildings Manager and was exposed to asbestos dust while managing the fall-out from contamination of an MoD building as a result of work done by external contractors. She had to manage the eventual evacuation of the building of all staff and property, including high level security items. The claim was initially denied on the basis the exposure was “too low” to have caused mesothelioma. However, an admission of liability followed quickly issue of proceedings and the case was settled soon afterwards. Isobel has also successfully handled asbestos product liability claims and advises and assists clients in bringing claims in the US for mesothelioma caused by asbestos contaminated talc in powder and make-up. Isobel does not shy away from difficult cases. She achieved success early in her career in asbestos litigation in the case of Cox v Industrial Power (India) Ltd CA 2007, the first in a series of defining so-called “low exposure” cases in which Defendants have sought to test causation in mesothelioma cases by reference to exposure levels. The Claimant had worked seasonally in power stations and for the Defendant for a matter of weeks. Despite the Defendant arguing that any exposure he had would have been de minimis and therefore, not actionable, the Court held that the exposure was not minimal and found for the Claimant’s widow, the Claimant, having sadly succumbed to his illness.by the time of the trial. The judgment was upheld by the Court of Appeal on appeal by the Defendant. The case is still referred to in other similar cases today. Isobel takes a holistic approach to client care: not only does he help her clients to obtain compensation and treatment, but she also ensures they obtain their full state benefit entitlement and has helped put care regimes in place, where needed. She works closely with medical professionals, local support groups and related charities to ensure the support needs of victims of mesothelioma and other asbestos diseases are met. She is known for being tremendously calm, reassuring, helpful and supportive of her clients and their families, as well as a tenacious and skilled litigator and negotiator. Isobel’s commitment to supporting asbestos victims means she has been involved with many support groups over the years, her involvement culminating in her working to establish the London Asbestos Support Awareness Group, a charity covering London and the South East. She has also fundraised for research into treatment for mesothelioma over the years. Isobel’s expertise is recognised by those she works with and through independent accreditation by The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers of which she is a Fellow and Asbestos and Occupational Disease specialist. She also assesses others seeking this accreditation. Whilst specialising in asbestos disease work, Isobel has past experience of other industrial diseases, particularly other occupational respiratory conditions and work – related cancers.

Jacqueline Major

Head of Family Law

Jayesh Kunwardia

Partner

Jessica Davis

Jessica joined the firm in December 2010 as a qualified solicitor and was promoted to Senior Associate in May 2016 and Partner in May 2020. Jessica offers clients a complete service from arrest to trial. Jessica regularly represents clients at the police station and prepares representations to the Prosecution that a client should not be charged at all. A large part of Jessica’s work is in the Financial Crime and Regulatory team, representing individuals and companies subject to regulatory proceedings, criminal investigation and prosecution. Jessica advises professionals in all fields with particular interest in proceedings brought by the General Medical Council and Teaching Regulation Agency. Jessica has defended cases taken by prosecuting authorities such as the Health & Safety Executive, Serious Fraud Office, National Crime Agency, HM Revenue and Customs and the Financial Conduct Authority Jessica also represents clients charged with the full array of criminal matters ranging from murder and sexual offences to public disorder and motoring offences. She is a duty solicitor and accomplished court advocate. Known for her meticulous approach and attention to detail, Jessica has the ability to get to the heart of any case and achieve remarkable results. She remains calm under pressure and displays excellent judgement to maximise the chance of a successful outcome in any matter.

Jocelyn Cockburn

Jocelyn Cockburn is a Partner in the Civil Liberties & Human Rights team at Hodge Jones & Allen. She has a wealth of experience representing bereaved families at inquests and in claims and other legal challenges against the state and private companies carrying out public functions. In 2019 Jocelyn successfully applied to the Attorney General, and subsequently the High Court, to order that a second inquest should be held into the death of Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah to explore the link between Ella’s death from asthma and high levels of air pollution in her area. At the inquest in 2020, and in a legal first, the Coroner ruled that her death was contributed to by excessive air pollution. Jocelyn has conducted an array of difficult and often high profile cases, for example acting for Neville Lawrence in relation to the Undercover Police Inquiry and other ongoing investigations. She is concerned about increasing deaths in police custody and in prison and have supported families through the very difficult inquest and claim processes. She has represented families of UK soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan in a challenge to the Ministry of Defence’s use of poorly armoured ‘Snatch Land Rovers’. She argued that the MoD failed to take reasonable steps under the European Convention on Human Rights to protect the lives of UK soldiers sent out in Snatch vehicles which could not withstand the roadside bombs in use by Insurgents. The case explored the extent to which soldiers deployed on active service abroad remained within the UK’s jurisdiction for the purposes of the ECHR and the scope of the MoD’s obligation to protect their lives. Jocelyn is widely recognised for her work, being awarded an honorary Doctorate of Laws by the University of Kent in 2017. In 2019 she was highly commended by The Law Society for Human Rights Lawyer of The Year, whilst she has also featured in The Lawyer’s Hot 100 list.

Karolina Kupczyk

Karolina is an experienced litigator in managing large groups and individual matters. She represents individuals and companies in actions relating to professional negligence, contractual and debt disputes, contentious probate and harassment. Karolina joined Hodge Jones & Allen’s Dispute Resolution team in January 2023 having qualified as a solicitor with Russell Jones and Walker (now Slater and Gordon) in 2012. After qualifying Karolina specialised in representing claimants in wide range of complex actions and collective actions. Her experience includes dealing with a number of multi-client financial product misseling cases brought against numerous banks. In her career, she represented clients in employment and personal injury cases and delivering solutions using a collective approach as well as discrete cases. Karolina acted in a major negligence action against a firm of solicitors and their insurers over failure to properly advise around 150 clients involved in a property equity release transactions. She acted in one of the largest collective actions brought against Volkswagen for installing defeat devices in vehicles manufactured by them and was one of the leading lawyers in a claim against Mercedes-Benz acting for thousands of clients.

Ken Brough

Ken Brough is a Partner in the Personal Injury department at Hodge Jones & Allen. He has vast experience of dealing with all manner of injury claims over the last 26 years although he has specialised in the last few years in catastrophic and serious injury claims involving brain injuries or multiple trauma as well as those involving fatalities. Ken combines a rigorous and analytical approach to cases with an empathetic and personable approach with clients, colleagues and opponents. He is calm and unflappable in the face of difficulties in litigation and is mentally very quick, having the ability to see the key issues in a case swiftly. He is very much a ‘safe pair of hands’ for even the most complex litigation. Ken has a confident and down-to-earth manner with clients and is known for being able to put clients at their ease. He combines a friendly exterior with a steeliness where necessary, particularly when dealing with difficult opponents. Over the past few years he has settled numerous high value (£1m+) claims involving severe brain injury or polytrauma, often in cases involving disputed liability as well as quantum disputes. He has been instructed in several difficult fatal cases involving complex issues relating to the costs of replacement care for minors. Current or Recent Notable Cases Case 1 56 year old male injured when a driver accidentally reversed and crushed him against a shop window. He suffered a left below knee amputation and severe fracture and vascular injury to the right leg. Liability admitted in full. A very good recovery has been made in the left leg thanks to a friendly and co-operative relationship with the insurer from day one, but the right leg continues to show non-union despite surgery in March 2022. Value likely to be around £3-4m Case 2 20 year old woman working on demolition site struck by digger, suffered severe TBI. Liability not formally conceded and proceedings issued recently. Extremely complicated expert evidence as C exhibits the frontal lobe paradox – to clinicians and experts she appears to have capacity and insight but in real life situations she cannot cope and needs daily assistance with finances and decision-making, activities etc. Has had £400,000 in direct interim payments so far to enable MDT and support, as the Defendant declined to instruct under the Rehab Code. First independent living trial did not succeed (largely due to lack of engagement) and we are now seeking a further substantial payment to try with different agency. An application to the Court may be required. The case is pleaded at £15m. Case 3 Acting for widower of a woman killed in a head-on collision with a stolen vehicle which was in a pursuit with police. The driver of the stolen vehicle cannot as yet be identified and the case has involved significant pressing of the Coroner to introduce evidence from the police on scene to enable the jury to reach a finding as to who was driving. The loss of services claim is large but complicated by the fact that the surviving Daughter has since been diagnosed with autism and the Claimant’s case is that the Deceased would have been more than capable of dealing with all of her additional care needs. Ken is currently retained on several fatal cases involving complex disputes on liability or regarding loss of services or loss of financial dependency Professional Comments “Ken…is a very experienced solicitor who has great judgment and knows a winning case. He has a confident manner and is great wirth clients. Ken’s experience is invaluable in difficult cases. He does not get flustered and offers a clear-headed analysis in the most pressing of situations” Lionel Stride, Barrister “Ken was calm under fire, courageous and had a keen eye for discerning the wood from the trees. He was able to manage an extremely demanding client with charm and deft control. He was a pleasure to work with and was on top of every procedural twist and turn in the case.” Marcus Grant, Barrister

Kerry Spence

Kerry is a Partner and a Deputy Head of the Criminal Litigation department. She was admitted as a solicitor in 1992, originally dealing with all aspects of high street practice but soon discovered a passion for criminal defence work which to date has not diminished. Her work often involves serious organised crime, which by its very nature is often complex and needs a through and forensic approach. She is held in high regard by her peers and clients. Whilst she dealt with all aspects of criminal defence work, from attending police stations, advocacy in the Magistrate’s Court and preparation of summary and Crown Court trials, she has specialised in the more serious and complex cases over the last 30 years. Often those have included multi-defendant cases, such as conspiracies to murder, to defraud, to money launder, to commit armed robberies and to rob. She also represents clients facing serious sexual assault allegations, including historic sexual offences, some of which have been multi-defendant cases, rape, incitement to sexual activity and possession of indecent images. Kerry has dealt with numerous single defendant cases, including murder, large scale frauds, kidnap, drugs cases and robbery. Many of these cases by their nature have been lengthy and complex at trial and, as a result of undertaking this work over the years, she became accredited as a VHCC Supervisor, authorised by the Legal Aid Agency to undertake and supervise complex cases. Kerry has established a faithful client base over many years who frequently refer new clients to her. This is due to her skill as a criminal lawyer, friendly, approachable and professional manner and she always strives to ensure the best outcomes for all her clients, whether privately or publicly funded. Kerry was shortlisted for the Legal Aid Criminal Defence Lawyer of the Year 2019.

Kiran Mehta

Joint head of team

Laura O'Brien

Laura is a Partner at Hodge Jones & Allen and prominent member of HJA’s Protest Team and Youth Team. Laura has a particular interest in representing young people and those who have mental disorders, neurological disorders and neurological impairments. Laura also has an interest in criminal cases which engage public law issues and challenges to police powers. Through her time at Hodge Jones & Allen has developed specialist experience in protest law and is a leader in this niche area. Laura regularly represents Extinction Rebellion, Animal Rebellion, Just Stop Oil and Insulate Britain protestors as advocate and litigator in the Magistrates Court, Crown Court, Court of Appeal and High Court in criminal charges, contempt of Court and appeals. Laura has been involved in a number of appeals that have shaped protest law. Laura represented two of the four defendants acquitted of criminal damage after the toppling of the statue of Edward Colston in Bristol during a Black Lives Matter protest. Laura acted in the Court of Appeal following the referral of this case by the Attorney General. Laura represented one of the two defendants charged with causing a public nuisance after being suspended from the QEII Bridge for two days as part of a Just Stop Oil protest. This included in the Crown Court trial, in parallel contempt of Court proceedings in the High Court and in the Court of Appeal. Laura acts for individuals facing the most serious allegations from sexual offences, drug supply, terrorism and murder. Laura has acted for a number of young people accused of murder and terrorist offences and young people who have been victims of criminal Laura is a keen trial advocate in the Magistrates Court and the Crown Court. Laura gives legal training and writes on the law on a regular basis. Notable cases: Criminal damage – R v G & S – representing two of the four people charged with criminal damage to the statue of Edward Colston in Bristol Encouraging terrorism – R v P – representing a man charged with encouraging terrorism Murder – R v R – representing a young person charged with the murder of a taxi driver Murder – R v S – representing a man charged with the murder and arson following the death of his estranged wife. Child abduction – R v P – represented woman acquitted of child abduction after taking someone else’s child to another country without permission of her lawful guardian. Murder – R v D – represented a young adult who was first on a multi-handed indictment for murder and possession of a bladed article. Attempted murder – R v I – represented man charged with attempted murder in relation to a stabbing that left the young complainant with a knife lodged in his eye-socket. Conspiracy to rob – R v A – representing a youth facing a charge of conspiracy to rob in a multi-handed case in the Crown Court. Exposure – R v D – acted as Crown Court advocate for a man suffering complex psychological problems including obsessive compulsive disorder. He was found not fit to plead and following a trial of issue was found not to have done the ‘act’ alleged. This required a careful application of the law surrounding what comprised the ‘actus reus’ and what the prosecution had to prove. Sexual assault – R v H – represented a captain facing Court martial in relation to an alleged sexual assault on a fellow officer. Conspiracy to supply – R v H – represented the only defendant to be acquitted following a lengthy trial lasting a number of months. GBH – R v D – acted as Crown Court advocate for a man charged with stabbing a long-time friend. Arson reckless as to whether life would be endangered – R v B – represented a young vulnerable woman accused of setting a fire at a halls of residence. Rape – R v R – man acquitted of raping his girlfriend following targeted disclosure requests that supported the client’s defence and undermined the account given by his girlfriend. Successfully defended the same client in the Magistrates Court accused of breaching a non-molestation order after careful cross-examination of the complainant in relation to her phone records. Client feedback: “Laura was absolutely amazing and instrumental to our defence and us getting acquitted!” “Laura has been absolutely amazing, we cannot thank her enough, she always made time to answer our questions and kept us updated throughout the whole experience. Very professional. Would highly recommend.” “I could not have found a better company and solicitor than Ms O’Brien at HJA! From the outset, communications and advice were clear and precise. The support, both moral and during trial was much appreciated over a very difficult period. Despite the shortcomings of the court, Ms O’Brien was extremely professional and a fantastic advocate. I would have no hesitation in recommending this company and solicitor.” “Laura O’Brien is amazing. Extremely passionate, knowledgeable and professional. Laura was incredibly supportive and treated me with kindness and care as well as expert legal representation. Laura O’Brien defended me against false allegations of assault on an emergency worker. I was found not guilty on both counts.”

Leticia Williams

She has more than 15 years of experience dealing with all areas of personal injury, specialising in repetitive strain injury claims, complex road traffic accident claims and employment matters. Leticia also takes a keen interest in accident abroad cases, often taking cases on with limitation and jurisdictional issues. Leticia has a track record of consistently achieving positive results for her clients who have serious and debilitating injuries. She is focussed on obtaining early rehabilitation for her Clients to ensure they start rebuilding their lives as quickly as possible. The medical evidence for these types of cases is often challenging when proving causation. Leticia’s measured and calm approach means she is able to analyse the evidence and is not afraid of taking cases to trial. She is an excellent litigator.

Lorna Webster

Lorna, a Partner within the Asbestos and Industrial Disease Team has, for 25 years, specialised in asbestos disease claims for claimants. As such, she is a recognised and proven expert in this specialist area. Lorna regularly obtains six-figure settlements for her clients. Her settlements include claims for clients who not only have received their main damages but who have also been able to access medical treatment not available on the NHS as part of the settlement agreement. Lorna is a specialist in all asbestos disease cases including mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, asbestosis and pleural thickening. Lorna enjoys a challenging case and was successful in securing a six-figure settlement in a mesothelioma case in which she pursued numerous defendants. When Lorna took initial instructions from the mesothelioma victim, it was apparent that he had been exposed to asbestos dust when working for approximately 45 former employers. Lorna’s methodical and meticulous way of working and her ability to analyse the evidence against each former employer meant that ultimately 17 defendants were pursued, all of which contributed to the settlement sum. In one of Lorna’s most recent cases, the client suffered from mesothelioma of the tunica vaginalis testis case (testicular mesothelioma). This is an extremely rare type of mesothelioma which has complex medical issues. The condition is so rare that this was the first mesothelioma of the tunica vaginalis testis case Lorna had dealt with in 25 years of handling mesothelioma claims on a daily basis. The case settled for a six-figure sum. Lorna recently also acted for a client who developed not only mesothelioma but a separate condition of asbestos-related lung cancer, at the same time. The legal and causation requirements for each condition are very different and so Lorna had to prove breach of duty and causation for two separate asbestos conditions which developed alongside each other and then secure a quantum settlement at the right level. In a living mesothelioma matter, Lorna concluded the case within just 4 months of receiving instructions, including the issuing of Court proceedings. The client was a single man with no dependants and Lorna was determined to get the case settled for him during his lifetime. Sadly the client died very shortly after his compensation had been paid but he was very pleased to know the case had been concluded. In a recent fatal mesothelioma case, Lorna secured a six-figure settlement for a dependant widow. Lorna was instructed post death and the widow knew very little about the Deceased’s day to day work and how he was exposed to asbestos dust. Lorna set about identifying witnesses who could assist and she was ultimately able to secure an admission of breach of duty from the employers’ liability insurers and a settlement for the widow. Lorna was also successful in a recent mesothelioma case which settled for a six figure sum just a few weeks before the final Court hearing. In a pleural thickening matter, Lorna agreed a settlement of £78,000 for her client. The case was defended throughout and yet Lorna was able to secure a good settlement for the client. Lorna’s wealth of experience covers cases for both living clients and in fatal matters, across all asbestos diseases. She also assists clients in bringing claims in America for mesothelioma caused by contaminated talcum powder and make-up products. Lorna works closely with local asbestos support charities, most notably the London Asbestos Support Awareness Group which she was involved in establishing and continues to support and provide legal assistance to. Lorna is a campaigner and will fight for those who are unfairly treated by the law, including the setting up of a petition which attracted television coverage. Lorna has appeared on national live television, has been quoted in The Times newspaper and other national newspapers and has been interviewed on live radio to talk about asbestos disease matters. Lorna is known to be a calm and proactive case handler and has an enviable skill of being able to find a practical solution in a difficult or unusual situation. Her clients comment that she is down to earth, friendly and explains legal matters in a clear and reassuring way. Lorna’s expertise is recognised by those she works with and through independent accreditation by The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL), of which she is an Asbestos and Occupational Disease specialist.

Louise Jukes

Louise is a Partner and integral member of the personal injury team. Louise is an expert in traumatic brain injuries and also specialises in cases involving catastrophic injuries such as brachial plexus, amputations, chronic pain, spinal injuries and fatalities. Louise has a high record of accomplishment, often taking over ‘tricky’ cases from other solicitors and bringing these to a successful conclusion. Louise’s thorough and dedicated approach, together with the time and tenacity she gives to her cases ensures that her clients receive strong representation. Louise is an outstanding Fee Earner and was awarded ‘Best Fee Earner’ for 2 years’ running. Her genial nature and ability to quickly establish good rapport with clients ensures that their needs in terms of health and wellbeing are at the heart of the claim and the client feels supported throughout. Louise is passionate about securing early rehabilitation. Louise represents vulnerable clients and works with charities such as the Child Brain Injury Trust to assist the families of and the children who have acquired brain injuries. Louise is a member of the Brain Injury Group and is accredited as a Senior Litigator member of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers.

Mike Schwarz

Mike Schwarz is a pre-eminent Criminal Defence, civil liberties, protest, fraud and public inquiries lawyer. Mike has over three decades of experience in defending those facing the most serious and complex criminal offences, including murder, white-collar crime and multi-party proceedings. Mike is well-known for representing high-profile political activists and campaigners fighting for progressive issues such as animal rights, pacifism and racial equality. He is particularly well known for representing, for 3 decades, environmental campaigners on diverse threats to the planet such as climate change, biodiversity, GM crops, incinerators, fishing. He is the co-author of a leading textbook on protest and public order, and is an expert in the protection of citizens’ freedoms of expression and assembly under Articles 10/11 of the ECHR . Mike has been involved in the investigation and exposure of misconduct by the state – by, for example, giving evidence to parliamentary committees on alleged police misconduct and corruption. He currently represents over 100 ‘core participants’ in the ongoing Undercover Policing Inquiry (the Mitting inquiry) and some of the 100s of sub-post masters / mistresses victims of the Horizon IT scandal, who are core participants in the Post Office Inquiry (the Williams inquiry). Mike also regularly acts for professionals in trouble with the criminal law and regulators. For example, he acts for journalists facing serious and diverse allegations, including terrorism and harassment. He acts is key prosecutions under fraud and corruption legislation of accountants and other professionals.

Nancy Collins

Nancy is a partner in the Civil Liberties & Human Rights team and is recognised as a leader in the fields of civil liberties and human rights, actions against the police and prison law. Nancy acts for families bereaved by deaths in custody or state care, prisoners, those who have suffered injustice by public authorities. She has particular expertise in acting for people with learning disabilities who have suffered an abuse of their rights whilst detained or in the care of the State. Nancy is experienced in public law and claims for judicial review. She has expertise on inquests and public inquiries, having been instructed in the Grenfell Tower Public Inquiry. She has acted for Humanists UK in their intervention in right to die case. She has also acted for bereaved families and survivors of Hillsborough in the misfeasance litigation.

Nicola Waldman

Partner in team

Nina Ali

Nina, formerly a qualified cardiology nurse, is now a senior partner with extensive experience of a variety of medical negligence cases ranging from maximum severity/high value claims including brain and spinal injury to claims of more moderate value but with equally and sometimes more complex medical and legal issues. She has a particular interest in psychiatric cases and is committed to working towards ensuring the same level of accountability that prevail in general medicine to this currently very poorly represented area. She has considerable experience of fatal cases, including advocacy at inquests.

Patrick Allen

Patrick qualified as a solicitor in 1977 when he founded Hodge Jones & Allen in Camden Town with Henry Hodge and Peter Jones. He has been managing the firm for 46 years, becoming senior partner following Henry’s retirement in 1998. Patrick has specialised in complex personal injury and multi-party cases. He led the Gulf War illness claims for UK veterans and the New Cross Fire inquest. He also managed the MMR and Sheep Dip multi-party actions and played a lead role in the King’s Cross Fire and Marchioness Litigation on behalf of claimants. He assisted a number of women sent to Magdalene Laundries to claim compensation. He acted for Leigh Day in the initial stages of the claims brought against them by the SRA. He is a member of the HJA team working on Hillsborough and Grenfell claims, and worked on the enquiry into the death of a construction worker in Qatar and the leading case of Al Najar v Cumberland Hotel. Patrick acts as a deputy and trustee for brain injured clients. Patrick received the 2017 Solicitors Journal Lifetime Achievement Award for his services to the legal profession and access to justice over forty years.

Raj Chada

Raj is the Head of the Criminal Defence, Financial Crime and Regulatory Department. He is one of the country’s leading criminal lawyers with expertise in serious and complex crime, public order and financial crime. He is the winner of the Criminal Lawyer of Year Award in 2012, (LALY), awarded by the Legal Aid Practitioners Group. As a Higher Rights Advocate, he has been shortlisted on 3 occasions as “Advocate of the Year” by the Law Society Excellence Awards, being commended in 2017. He has been shortlisted as “Criminal Lawyer of the Year” by the Society of Asian Lawyers in 2017 and 2018. He has a significant niche expertise in bribery/corruption, having represented several executives and is the author of the Bribery Handbook. He acted in the “Stansted 15” trial which was labelled by the New Statesman magazine as “the most important political trial of our times”. He is one of a handful of specialist human rights specialists who can take on cases with political dimensions, he is s a regular commentator for BBC, Channel 4, Sky News, the Guardian and the Time Newspapers.

Reema Chugh

Reema Chugh is a highly accomplished Civil and Commercial Disputes Lawyer with over a decade of experience in litigation. Her expertise spans both national and international legal disputes, where she has consistently delivered successful outcomes for her clients. In November 2023, Reema was honored with a nomination for the prestigious Civil Lawyer of the Year Award at the Society of Asian Lawyers, reflecting her outstanding contributions to the field. An accredited Mediator by SIMI and CMC, Reema excels in resolving disputes amicably, emphasizing the importance of avoiding court proceedings when possible. Her pragmatic approach ensures that when litigation is necessary, she pursues it with unwavering determination and skill. In addition to her legal practice, Reema imparts her knowledge as a visiting Lecturer at Nottingham Trent University, nurturing the next generation of legal professionals. Skills Civil Litigation Commercial Disputes Mediation and Conflict Resolution Legal Advisory Court Proceedings Legal Education

Riffat Yaqub

Riffat Yaqub is a Partner in the Personal Injury team, specialising in high-value claims involving spinal cord injury, brain damage and serious orthopaedic injuries resulting in amputations and fatalities. She is a hugely talented claimant personal injury solicitor with a calm, empathetic and measured approach who gets results. Riffat is known for adopting a client-focussed, holistic approach whilst being committed and a fierce litigator. She is not afraid to take cases to trial when necessary. She acts for vulnerable clients and is a strong advocate for securing early rehabilitation, ensuring her clients can get their lives back on track as quickly as possible. Throughout her career of 26 years, Riffat has developed a formidable reputation for consistently achieving strong results for her clients who have suffered serious life changing injuries arising from road traffic accidents, workplace accidents, accidents in public places and medical accidents. She is dedicated to her clients’ wellbeing to meet their every care, treatment need and secure their future financially. Riffat works effectively with case managers, medics and professionals to achieve the right outcome. Riffat has pursued a number of high-profile cases involving foreign nationals who have been injured in the UK, including a Ukrainian national injured in a workplace accident, three UAE nationals who were viciously attacked whilst staying at a London hotel and a French national who suffered devastating life-changing injuries after being thrown from a viewing gallery. Riffat has set up what is perhaps the first community based neuro rehabilitation package for her brain injured client in Ukraine where there is a complete dearth of brain injury services. When war broke out, Riffat was determined to help her client, to return to the UK and worked tirelessly to get UK authorities to grant visas to her client, his family, and his Ukrainian based community rehabilitation team. Whilst running her complex catastrophic caseload, Riffat also leads and co-ordinates support work with CBIT. Attending meetings with caseworkers, events and fundraising. Riffat is a confident public speaker and regularly presents on HJA’s London Legal Podcast and Facebook Live sessions with CBIT and other groups. Riffat works closely with junior HJA colleagues to provide mentoring and coaching. Riffat works closely with charities including CBIT, Brake, Headway and others. Work Highlights Impressive successes, over last twelve months, include: • French national (Tate Modern). Widely reported event – Claimant thrown over viewing terrace resulting in catastrophic injuries. Involved three potential defendants who all deny liability. Riffat works with French lawyers. Supports her client with ongoing complex rehabilitation for this multi-million pound case. • Swedish National knocked down by a car when visiting London suffered catastrophic injuries. Riffat’s client was incompletely tetraplegic, doubly incontinent, dependent on constant care. Liability disputed throughout. Riffat engaged Swedish solicitor and replaced Guardian when it became apparent they were not acting in her client’s best interests. Settlement: £2.85 million. • Cambridge undergraduate suffered serious injury when knocked off her bicycle. Working collaboratively with the defendant, Riffat employed a Case manager and put together an intensive rehabilitation programme to support Claimant both mentally and physically, to help re-build her confidence, strength and resilience. Settlement: £2.25 million. PROFESSIONAL TESTIMONIALS Dr Jackson, Clinical Neuropsychologist “Without reservation You -Riffat have been outstanding in such unusual and challenging circumstances, with unselfishness, resilience and humanitarianism. It has been a pleasure to work with you, being creative in providing an effective rehabilitation programme partly remotely in the Ukraine. After the onset of war, you were unnerving in finding the best way to arrange the evacuation of your severely brain injured client and his family to the UK. In my 30 years of medico-legal work I have rarely seen a solicitor with such concern for their clients and the capacity to work so insightfully with the Neuro-rehabilitation services.” Dr Mark Holloway, Senior Brain Injury Case Manager “Throughout the whole process Riffat has sought to understand the complexities faced, she has been a committed advocate for her client and his family, and, whilst rightly holding us all to account, has recognised just how difficult this has been. She has liaised collegiately and robustly with her defendant counterpart and has ensured we have a shared vision of what we aim to achieve”. William Latimer-Sayer QC, Cloisters “Riffat cleverly negotiated with the Defendant’s representatives to make further payments under the Rehab Code, which therefore are not subject to the contributory negligence discount. Her dedication and commitment to the client has been truly inspirational, and we are now working to secure the necessary expert evidence to quantify and resolve the claim.” Beth Bartlett, Clinical Manager, Harrison Associates “I worked with Riffat on the case of a young woman who sustained life changing injury to her upper limb. Whilst her tenacity and resilience helped maximise her rehabilitation and recovery potential, having an equally tenacious and resilient solicitor fighting her corner was just as important: Riffat really supported both her client and me as the case manager enabling the young lady to access rehabilitation tailored to her needs, as expediently as possible. Riffat has a terrific manner, is very innovative, calm, emphatic, caring and an extremely bright capable lawyer who is very client focussed. Working so collaboratively with Riffat made the whole rehabilitation process so much easier, not to mention such a pleasure!” Graham Lynch, Defendant Solicitor Riffat adopted a pragmatic and collaborative approach throughout the process including early notification of the claim, dialogue in relation to liability resolution, rehabilitation, quantum evidence and overall settlement. Throughout I found Riffat to be a, pragmatic, skilled negotiator. She was a formidable opponent, very determined, who clearly cared for her client. Riffat was very approachable, highly experienced litigator”.

Ruhul Ameen

Ruhul is a partner in the dispute resolution team, specialising in commercial and chancery litigation and has over 20 years’ experience representing clients. He primarily deals with disputes relating to property, possession claims, Party Wall Act claims, landlord and tenant (both commercial and residential), commercial and business law, construction, insolvency, professional negligence and contested wills and probate (including Inheritance Act claims). He also has extensive experience dealing with injunctions, judicial reviews, as well as alternative means of dispute resolution, such as negotiation or mediation. Reported cases Zas Ventures Ltd v. Lillian Forkener [2016] EWCA Civ 1062 Hussain v. Salam [2012] EWHC 1760 (Ch) Chaudhary v. Yavuz [2011] EWCA Civ 1314 Redbridge LBC v Mustafa [2010] EWHC 1105 Shaw v. Finnimore & Watts [2009] EWHC 367 (Ch) Crane v Upakweship Ltd FJ 142/08 (High Court, QBD) West v. London Borough of Newham [2007] EWCA Civ 304 Redworth Construction Ltd v. Brookdale Healthcare Ltd [2006] EWHC 1994 (TCC) R (Salman) v. LB of Barking & Dagenham [2005] EWHC 731 (admin) R (M-P) v. LB Barking & Dagenham and Barking Abbey Comprehensive School [2002] EWHC 2483 (admin)

Ruth Harris

Joint head of team

Sasha Barton

Sasha specialises in public and private law challenges against state bodies, with a particular interest in serious privacy breaches by state and other bodies, challenging the police for failures to investigate crimes and to protect vulnerable victims of sexual violence, challenging the police and CPS over serious disclosure failures and cases involving other human rights violations.

Sean Caulfield

Sean is a partner in the crime department at Hodge Jones & Allen. He has 23 years’ experience in defending clients facing criminal prosecutions and is well respected among his colleagues and peers. The spectrum of cases he regularly deals with include homicide, importation & supply of drugs and large scale organised prostitution. At the other end of the scale he has developed a name for himself dealing with all manner of road traffic offences.  These range from fatal accidents to clients facing the prospect of losing their driving license due to more minor matters such as speeding.

Sioned Wyn Roberts

Sioned has specialised in social housing law for over 13 years and became a Senior Associate in May 2022, having joined the firm in September 2018. Sioned has particular expertise in public law, human rights and discrimination. She is regularly sought out for her in-depth knowledge upon the application and workings of homelessness legislation and to provide expert commentary within industry publications. Sioned is recognised amongst her peers for her litigation success in the High Court on behalf of her vulnerable client base and for her tenacious approach in representing the homeless in bringing homelessness appeals to the court upon a point of law. Sioned is regularly instructed by national charities and has developed a niche practice in representing women fleeing domestic violence and trafficking. Sioned is well regarded for advancing the development of the law as it affects these clients, recently consulting Crisis upon their response to a Law Commission Review on the inclusion of the homeless being protected by hate crime laws and being a founding member of the National Housing Domestic Abuse Advice Forum. Sioned was recently instructed by the Sex Workers Union to successfully defend a claim for trespass against a sex worker, brought in this manner to circumvent the covid rules, it set a precedent as to a fundamental issue of housing law that a claim for possession may only be brought against one dwelling. In 2022 Sioned successfully led an appeal to the Court of Appeal on behalf of an EEA national fleeing domestic abuse to challenge the homelessness eligibility rules for those with pre-settled status post Brexit. She engaged national bodies and charities to act as interveners in support of the appeal. The case settled favorably. Notable Cases Golding Homes v Dixie-Lei White [2018] EW Misc B12 (CC) (11 November 2018) The Queen (oao Harris) v LB Islington High Court (Admin) CO/1282/2019 A v Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea & Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government High Court (Admin) CO/3229/2020 (Legal Action Feb 2021) Scanlon v London Borough of Lambeth, Central London County Court 14 September 2020 (Legal Action Nov 2020) The Queen (oao C) v LB Waltham Forest High Court (Admin) CO/2683/2020 (Legal Action Feb 2021) The Queen (oao Miller) v Peabody High Court (Admin) CO/2905/2020 Client Comments "Your solicitor Sioned Roberts who dealt with my case was absolutely outstanding. Very friendly and lovely person. After a tough time with my local authority, it was an enormous relief to feel in safe hands. She kept me fully updated throughout and put me at ease from start. Sioned is extremely knowledgeable Solicitor. She helped me to get justice on my case in a very short time frame. I can't thank her enough." "I can only say thank you, but you deserve SO much more than that! Without your help, I would probably be homeless now. Hodge Jones & Allen, especially Sioned Roberts and her team, a massive thank you for all your hard work in the fight for me to keep my home. Fantastic job done." "Sionead is the best lawyer out there for disrepair! She helped me get the outcome I deserved when my ceiling fell down due to an ongoing leak! She helped me fight one of the most difficult councils and helped me get the situation sorted quickly and efficiently! She is so sweet and very understanding and patient! I would recommend Hodge Allen and solicitors Thank you so so much for your help especially Sionead" Lizzy

Sophie Bell

Sophie Bell is a Partner in the Housing team at Hodge Jones & Allen. She has specialised in housing law for 18 years. Her work spans a wide range of practice areas covering all aspects of landlord and tenant and social housing law, including possession and eviction, homelessness reviews and appeals, judicial review cases and claims for disrepair. Sophie is a strong advocate of tenant’s rights and seeks to ensure those rights are fully protected. She takes an efficient, robust and compassionate approach to all her cases, representing individuals against various opponents including councils, housing associations and private landlords. She works with many highly vulnerable clients, particularly in relation to threatened possession matters, often successfully ensuring that not only is a possession order or eviction avoided but that the landlords take further steps to assist their tenants. Sophie has a wide knowledge of disrepair law and has recently achieved settlement in a number of cases whereby tenants have achieved substantial awards of damages, in addition to the completion of works to the property. Sophie also regularly takes on more complex housing cases. She secured a positive outcome for an elderly and vulnerable client who had been unlawfully evicted from his home by a property developer. Her client’s name was not on the title deeds for the property and the lawful owner appeared to be deceased, yet Sophie was able to obtain an order to declare that the client was the sole legal owner of the house. Claims were successfully brought against the property company and persons unknown, with Sophie obtaining a possession order and a five-figure compensation payout for her client. Sophie believes that tenants should be empowered wherever possible to stand up for their rights. She regularly seeks to find ways to ensure that the necessary information is made available to those who need it most to try and minimise the number of tenants and homeless individuals who do not know which way to turn.

Susie Labinjoh

Susie Labinjoh is a Head of the Civil Liberties & Human Rights practice at Hodge Jones & Allen. She specialises in civil actions against the police and public authorities and related Human Rights Act claims, as well as in bringing compensation claims for victims of miscarriage of justice and public law challenges related to these areas. Susie is renowned for her dedication to using the power of the law to fight for what’s right and secure justice. She has devoted her career to fighting for those who have suffered injustice, training at Hodge Jones & Allen from 1997 and being promoted to Partner in 2005 based on her dedication to her work and her clients. As an expert in her field, Susie has a strong track-record in complex cases, including representing bereaved families at inquests and civil claims arising out of deaths in custody. She represents families in relation to prison deaths, police restraint deaths and police pursuit deaths. Susie is also well-known for her commitment to securing compensation for victims of miscarriage of justice. She has dealt with multiple high profile cases involving serious accusations such as murder, including the M25 Three and the Bridgewater Four. Susie also has extensive experience in representing protestors, often those involved in major political and social demonstrations. She has represented a number of protestors in claims arising from many recent protests, including anti-DSEI, anti-EDL, BLM, XR Autumn Uprising and XR Lambeth Bridge. Since 2005, Susie has held a position on the advisory board of the Miscarriage of Justice Support Service, a division of the Royal Courts of Justice Citizens’ Advice Bureau – a service that provides free legal advice and assistance for victims of miscarriage of justice. She is also a member of The Police Action Lawyers Group and The Miscarriage of Justice Lawyers Group.

Vanessa Friend

Vanessa is a partner and Head of Family Mediation and Alternative Dispute Resolution at Hodge Jones & Allen. Vanessa qualified in 2009 and has practised exclusively family law. In 2017 she won a City Wealth Award for her work on high value and complex matters. Her practise encompasses all areas or private family law, with a particular focus on the financial issues arising out of separation, relationship agreements (including cohabitation, prenuptial agreements and separation agreements), and arrangements for children. Many of her cases have an international element with clients who live abroad or assets located outside of the jurisdiction. She works with family lawyers in foreign jurisdictions to ensure her clients receive comprehensive advice. Vanessa is also a Resolution trained mediator who assists couples in reaching a negotiated outcome. As Head of Mediation and ADR Vanessa helps clients to carefully consider the options for out of court dispute resolution.