Aqsa Hussain has a broad multidisciplinary practice spanning criminal, public, civil and international law.

Crime 

Aqsa is a determined and passionate advocate regularly instructed to appear in the Magistrates' and Crown Court. She prosecutes and defends in a wide range of criminal matters, including sexual offences, offences of violence, drugs offences, public order offences and offences involving dishonesty and financial crime. Aqsa is instructed at all stages of criminal proceedings, including trials and appeals.

Aqsa is frequently instructed to represent extremely vulnerable clients, particularly youth clients and clients with complex mental health issues, often dealing with issues such as modern slavery and forensic expert evidence.

Public Law 

Aqsa’s public law practice encompasses civil liberties work, inquests and inquiries. She has been instructed for inquests on behalf of various regulatory bodies, most recently the Royal College of Nursing and is familiar with all aspects of the inquest procedure.  Prior to joining the Bar, Aqsa worked on the Grenfell Tower Inquiry as a casework assistant at a solicitor’s firm responsible for over 100 core participants in the inquiry.

More broadly, Aqsa has advised clients on issues ranging from the merits of a claim for unlawful detention, to drafting submissions appealing matters to Upper Tribunals and advising clients on the merits of judicial review.

Immigration 

Aqsa regularly works with local and national charities on immigration cases. She dedicates much of her pro-bono practice to this work, for example undertaking cases for Bail for Immigration Detainees where she is instructed on a pro-bono basis to represent asylum seekers at first-tier tribunal hearings.

Employment

Aqsa has experience representing claimants in the Employment Tribunal, primarily focusing on claims related to discrimination and unfair dismissal. Recently, she was instructed by the claimant for a multi-day trial in a pregnancy discrimination case.

Civil law

Aqsa is regularly instructed by local authorities and regulatory agencies to prosecute in a variety of regulatory offences including those relating to housing, licensing, fraud and road traffic offences. She also defends in these matters. Currently, Aqsa is on a part-time secondment with the Security Industry Authority, regulator of the UK's private security industry, and is responsible for dealing with criminal, regulatory, civil and inquest cases on the regulator's behalf.

Recently, Aqsa has also been instructed in commercial matters, including contractual disputes and insolvency, representing various parties in proceedings.

During pupillage, Aqsa gained experience in professional discipline work assisting senior counsel, namely representing police officers in police misconduct matters up to the Police Appeals Tribunals stage.

As an accredited Civil and Commercial Mediator, she is available to accept instructions in this area.

International law

Aqsa's practice also includes work in the field of Public International Law, focusing primarily on international human rights and criminal law.

Aqsa has assisted senior counsel on several international human rights cases. Notably, she was involved in the written application stages in cases lodged at the European Court of Human Rights; Aqsa was instructed junior, led by Dr Chelvan, Head of Immigration and Public Law, in H.A. v the United Kingdom (Application no. 30919/20) and further assisted Dr Chelvan with H v the United Kingdom (Application no. 32185/20) - both cases await determination. These cases covered complex family law, immigration and human rights issues.

Currently, Aqsa is assisting senior counsel in Chambers with research, drafting and advocacy relating to cases in these areas. She is also working to achieve professional proficiency in French, Spanish and Urdu.

Prior to joining the Bar, Aqsa interned for human rights NGOs based in New York and Geneva where she was able to gain significant experience in international human rights litigation gaining a crucial understanding in how various human rights institutions and mechanisms could be used to deliver justice.

Beyond the legal space, Aqsa is also the Co-founder and Executive Director of Human Rights Pulse - a global online platform dedicated to international human rights news, discussion and advocacy, encouraging discussion and accessibility in the field. Through this organisation, Aqsa often collaborates with grassroots initiatives working on various human rights issues at both the local and international level.

Previous employment / experience

Prior to commencing a career at the Bar, Aqsa's work gave her experience in the fields of law, international development, human rights, cyber security and strategy consulting. She has experience in both start-up environments and multinational organisations. Aqsa has also had the privilege of working in several countries around the world such as the USA, Netherlands, France, Tunisia and Switzerland in project management, research and advocacy roles. These diverse experiences strengthen Aqsa’s multidisciplinary legal practice.

During Bar school, Aqsa trained as a mentor with Vocalise to teach debating in prisons; further, as a youth mentor with the Y-stop project to teach young people about their rights during stop-and-search; she was a legal volunteer with the Free Representation Unit representing clients in the social security tribunals and also volunteered with the National Centre for Domestic Violence assisting victims of domestic abuse with obtaining emergency injunctions. Further, Aqsa interned at the International Bar Association where she was responsible for conducting research into whistleblowing and harassment laws which ultimately contributed to the organisation's landmark 2019 report. Aqsa was also a reporter for The Justice Gap - an award-winning online magazine about law and justice.

Related work

Aqsa’s is involved with a number of human rights and social mobility related initiatives alongside her legal practice. Selected examples include:

Aqsa is a Trustee and/or Board Member of several human rights related charities, including ‘The Rights Practice’, ‘Educate, Not Mutilate’ and ‘Grappling Beyond Borders’ and is relied on to provide legal and strategic advice to the charities.

Aqsa is a pro-bono Legal Supervisor at the Islamophobia Response Unit advising caseworkers on criminal law and procedure pertaining to hate crime.

Aqsa regularly mentors young people, particularly those from underrepresented and marginalised backgrounds, about their careers. She is frequently invited to speak at events about career development as well as events dedicated to specific legal issues. Recently, she spoke at the APPG on Legal Aid, Human Rights Lawyer's Association's Careers Day, Lincoln's Inn Insight Day and the Government Legal Department's careers day.

Please contact Aqsa’s clerks should you wish to instruct her or discuss any other opportunities.