HJA lawyer makes LALY 2010 shortlist
HJA lawyer is short-listed for Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year
Awards 2010
Jocelyn
Cockburn, a partner in the civil liberties team at Hodge Jones
& Allen LLP has made the list of finalists in the Legal Aid
Lawyer of the Year Awards 2010 following a highly visible last 12
months.
Jocelyn’s clients include families of armed
forces personnel relating to deaths and injuries in Iraq and
Afghanistan. She is instructed in a case which raises the question
of the extent to which our armed forces are protected under the
European Convention on Human Rights when deployed abroad on active
service, in particular in relation to their “right to life” under
Article 2.
She also represents a number of families of
soldiers killed in poorly armoured “Snatch” Land Rovers both in
Iraq and Afghanistan. Recently she successfully persuaded the Iraq
Inquiry to put questions to the Prime Minister regarding funding
for armoured vehicles and is seeking the recalling of MoD and
senior army witnesses to give further evidence. As a result of
submissions made by Jocelyn on behalf of her clients the Iraq
Inquiry panel has agreed to investigate the “Snatch” issue.
Jocelyn has developed
the firm’s inquest work representing families of those who die in
State custody. In autumn last year, the case of Aleksey Baranovsky
who died in shocking circumstances at HMP Rye Hill highlighted
various issues including the level of care provided to prisoners in
privately run establishments as well as the treatment of vulnerable
inmates.
Jocelyn has a wider practice in relation to
civil actions against the police and has successfully settled a
claim under the Race Relations Act relating to the discriminatory
use of stop and search powers, and is currently testing the extent
of the duty of the police to protect life under article 2 where
they failed to protect a victim from threats to kill made by a
third party.
Jocelyn is on the steering group of the
organisation INQUEST and is involved in the consultation process
for the reform of the coronial system. She is a member of the
Police Action Lawyers Group and the Inquest Lawyers Group.
The Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year Awards are
organised by the Legal Aid Practicioners Group (LAPG). Carol
Storer, Director of LAPG, said of the 2010 awards: “Despite the
pressures on the legal aid sector, the calibre of entrants this
year was higher than ever.”
Jocelyn is one of three nominations in the
Social and Welfare Lawyer Award sponsored by Trimega Labs. The
winners will be announced on 26th May 2010 at a
presentation for finalists and sponsors, hosted by Cherie Booth
Q.C.
View the list of finalists here:
http://www.lapg.co.uk/legalaidlawyer.cfm