Stone King LLP

Melanie joined Stone King in 2024, bringing with her a wealth of experience and a strong client following.

Her work focuses on the powers and duties of public bodies, as well as representing those engaging with or challenging public bodies. She is a former government and in-house lawyer at a regulator, and understands the policy and resource constraints inherent in the public sector's operation. She has worked with numerous third-sector organisations, including institutes and national charities, on strategic litigation or when they have been under the scrutiny of regulation. She specialises in judicial review and public inquiries.

Melanie is a trusted adviser, often operating at board level and as external general counsel. She has personally devised legal frameworks and drafted statutory legislation or constitutional documents (e.g., primary and secondary legislation, Royal Charters, Codes of Conduct, disciplinary and complaints policies and procedures) for their implementation.

Practice Areas

Melanie is a Partner and Head of Public & Regulatory at the firm. She also leads on information law. She is a longstanding specialist in these fields and is ranked as a leading individual in legal directories.

She has over 30 years of experience acting for clients across the public and regulatory sectors, charities, social enterprises, institutes, Royal Charter bodies, businesses, and individuals. Her work spans both contentious cases—she is a specialist in public inquiries and judicial review—and advisory work, including the drafting of legislation and codes of conduct. She often advises at board level on corporate governance, reputation, and strategy. Additionally, she works internationally as an adjudicator, sits as a legal assessor in professional regulatory cases, and serves as a Tribunal Judge.

Work Highlights

Inquiries and Investigations: Melanie has worked on the Covid Inquiry, the Independent Child Sexual Abuse Inquiry, the Grenfell Inquiry, the Brook House Inquiry, and the Infected Blood Inquiry. She has also been appointed individually as an independent investigator in local government and the NHS and acts as an independent adjudicator. Central Government: She has experience working on the Crown Commercial framework for central government and has held in-house roles at the Home Office and Treasury Solicitors, including expertise in parliamentary procedure and legislative drafting. Local Government and NHS Audit: National leader in providing legal advice in the private sector in these areas. Judicial Review: Representing numerous regulators. Professional Regulation: For many years, Melanie has acted as a legal assessor and adviser in public law to various professional regulatory bodies. Charities Regulation: Includes work with the Charity Commission (compliance and statutory inquiries) and the Fundraising Regulator, along with broader governance issues. Freedom of Information: She has handled numerous requests, First-tier Tribunal, and Upper Tribunal cases.

Cambridge University Bar exams Solicitors’ exams

Melanie enjoys mountaineering and is a keen piano player.