Civil Liberties & Human Rights Solicitors

If your rights have been infringed or you have suffered injustice at the hands of the State you don’t have to suffer in silence. For 40 years, we have been at the vanguard of challenging unlawful actions by the State.

Hodge Jones & Allen is ranked in Chambers & Partners 2018 for Civil Liberties and Human Rights law in the UK. Our lawyers have an exceptional track record of holding authorities to account, including police forces, the Independent Police Complaints Commission, the Prison Service, Coroners, the Ministry of Defence, the Crown Prosecution Service, immigration detention centres and healthcare providers.

Download our Civil Liberties leaflet.

How can we help?

Our mission is to seek accountability from the state and redress for those whose rights have been infringed. We passionately believe in helping clients from all walks of life, irrespective of their resources. Here are the types of cases we can help you with:

Pursuing civil actions against the police or other detaining authorities including immigration detention
Police complaints
Pursuing Judicial Reviews of decisions taken by public bodies
Bringing challenges under the Human Rights Act
Equality and Discrimination claims
Challenging failures to investigate crimes
Holding authorities to account following deaths or injury in detention
Human Rights in Healthcare claims

Recent case

Clair Hilder and a client who was strip searched spoke of her ordeal in an interview on the BBC Victoria Derbyshire show.

This video was posted with kind permission from the BBC.

Find out more about how we can help by visiting the other Civil Liberties pages in this section.

Our Civil Liberties Solicitors are backed by four decades of experience. Our legal practice and team of London Solicitors have a strong track record of achieving favourable client outcomes. For expert legal advice use our contact form or call us on 0800 437 0322 today.

Top Ranked Civil Liberties Team

Our Civil Liberties team is ranked as one of the top 10 firms in the UK for this area of law in Chambers UK 2018 and the Legal 500 2017.

Susie Labinjoh co-heads the firm’s civil liberties team. is well known for her representation of protesters in their actions against the police. Market commentators say: “Her attention to detail is second to none, she has fantastic client service.” She has recently acted for a number of members of the Cops Off Campus protest on claims for false imprisonment, assault and malicious prosecution, as well as human rights breaches. Chambers UK 2018

Jocelyn Cockburn co-heads the firm’s civil liberties team. She is “very committed” to representing claimants challenging controversial state decisions. Jocelyn is described by impressed interviewees as “hugely diligent and extremely thorough in her investigation of a case. She is very imaginative and uses the law in new ways which others do not spot.” She is highly regarded for her public law practice in police law, particularly her involvement in public inquiries. She is further renowned for her work on claims against the MoD concerning its duties to soldiers. Chambers UK 2018.

Sasha Barton represents clients in actions against the police, CPS and other public bodies, with a particular interest in failures by the police to investigate and protect the victims of crime, and failures by the CPS to disclose evidence in prosecutions. She is ranked in both Chambers and Partners 2018 and the Legal 500 2018. Commentators say: “She is greatly admired for her approach to cases: Having her is like working with the best of silks as well as solicitors – she works every angle and does great work as a result. She is a phenomenon.” Chambers UK 2018. She is described in the Legal 500 UK 2017 as “exceptionally bright and perceptive”.

Award Winning Team

Our Civil Liberties solicitors have been recognised for their pioneering work on some of the most sensitive and high-profile cases over many years.

We launched the judicial review that helped secure the reopening of an investigation into Stephen Lawrence’s death, and which helped bring about the conviction of two men for his murder.

We won a landmark case in June 2013 at the Supreme Court on behalf of families killed in Iraq in poorly armoured Snatch Land Rovers. The ruling established that the Ministry of Defence has a duty to protect the human rights of soldiers, even when they are on the battlefield.

We are renowned for our work on miscarriage of justice compensation claims, our team has unrivalled expertise in this highly specialised field. We are currently challenging the restrictive eligibility criteria for entry to the statutory scheme for compensation for miscarriage of justice in the Court of Appeal.

Our lawyers have represented clients in all of the major protests in recent years, including the G20, Critical Mass, TUC day of action, UK UnCut, anti – Dsei and Dale Farm protests.

All of our lawyers are passionate about their work and have a reputation for fighting tenaciously for their clients no matter what obstacles they face. Several of our solicitors have achieved notable recognition for their outstanding work:

Jocelyn Cockburn:

Winner of Partner of the Year 2012 (The Lawyer Awards)
Highly Commended for Legal Personality of the Year 2013 (Law Society Excellence Awards)
Hot 100 Lawyers 2013 (The Lawyer)
Jocelyn is a well-known and respected media commentator.

Sasha Barton:

Shortlisted for Junior Lawyer of the Year 2013 (Law Society Excellence Awards)
Shortlisted for Young Legal Aid Solicitor of the Year 2012 (Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year Awards)

Natalie Sedacca: