About Aneela Samrai
Aneela is Solicitor within the Housing team who specialises in Homelessness, Public Law and Discrimination. She is committed to securing access to justice for all and empowering often vulnerable and marginalised clients to hold the state to account and defend their rights.
She qualified as a solicitor after completing a training contract at Hodge Jones & Allen. Aneela undertook seats in Housing, Personal Injury, Crime and Civil Liberties.
In her first seat as a trainee in the Housing Team, Aneela worked with the head of the team, Jayesh Kunwardia on various housing matters including unlawful eviction, disrepair, and homelessness. Aneela worked on a variety of complex and high-profile judicial review challenges including challenges to HS2 Ltd’s Three Tunnels Design for the Euston Approaches, the Latin Village Compulsory Purchase Order and a local authority decision to cut funding for vital grassroots charities.
In her second seat in the Personal Injury team, Aneela assisted Peter Todd with complex and high-value clinical negligence and personal injury claims, multi-party product liability actions, and judicial review challenges.
In her third seat in the Crime team, Aneela worked with Caroline Liggins, Chloe Hartnell and Graeme Hydari. She worked on a variety of criminal matters, including some of the most serious offences, often with young and vulnerable clients.
In her third seat in the Crime team, Aneela worked with Caroline Liggins, Chloe Hartnell and Graeme Hydari. She worked on a variety of criminal matters, including some of the most serious offences, often with young and vulnerable clients.
In her final seat in the Civil Liberties team, Aneela worked with Susie Labinjoh on a range of civil liberties cases including claims for false imprisonment, assault, misfeasance in public office, misuse of private information, breaches of the Data Protection Act 2018, breaches of the Human Rights Act 1998 and also inquests.
Prior to joining Hodge Jones & Allen, Aneela was a paralegal at another firm in their Public Law and Community Care Department. In this role she routinely assisted often vulnerable clients in judicial review challenges of Home Office, other Government Department and Local Authority decisions. Aneela also worked as a paralegal in an Employment Law Department assisting solicitors to represent claimants in a large and high profile group claim pursuing equal pay in a UK supermarket.
Aneela has volunteered with Refugee Action, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Refugee Forum, the Free Representation Unit, Legal Advice Centres and Camden Citizens’ Advice Bureau. In 2019 she volunteered with European Lawyers in Lesvos assisting lawyers to provide free asylum advice in Moria Refugee Camp, Lesvos.
Aneela is on the Young Legal Aid Lawyers (YLAL) National Committee and is spearheading YLAL’s anti-racism work. She also mentors aspiring lawyers through YLAL and Urban Lawyers.
Client Comments
- “I just wanted to thank you [Aneela] and the team at Hodge Jones and Allen’s solicitors. You have been extremely professional, supportive, understanding and clearly experts in your field. You have supported me to make a small but significant positive change in a situation affecting disabled people’s health and welfare. I appreciated that you listened to me and my desire for proceedings to be handled in a very respectful manner to all parties. I would gladly recommend you and your firm to others needing to get legal support.”
- “I am genuinely very grateful for all your hard work. Always happy to recommend if you ever need it. Thank you so much for everything you’ve done on our case. You have always dealt with us with professionalism, sensitivity, and care and it has been most appreciated. I have felt supported throughout the case and appreciated your guidance through the justice system. You have been beyond helpful and your kindness has meant the world.”
"Aneela is a thoughtful, caring solicitor that goes an extra mile for you. She has a lovely personality so it's pleasure to deal with her."
- “Aneela has always made herself available to us, answering any questions we had and giving us any information, we needed. Her manner in dealing with the sensitive nature of the case meant I instantly trusted and respected her which made it easy to talk things through. I’ve really appreciated everything Aneela has done and how empathetic and kind she has been throughout which always made me feel calm and reassured despite the stress of the case. Wishing her all the best for the future and am deeply thankful for all of her hard work.”
Career & Personal Interests
Career
- Solicitor, Hodge Jones & Allen, September 2021 -present
- Trainee Solicitor, Hodge Jones & Allen, September 2019 – 2021
- Paralegal (Public Law and Community Care), Bhatia Best Solicitors, October 2018 – June 2019
- Paralegal (Employment), Leigh Day, June 2018 – October 2018
Membership
- Young Legal Aid Lawyers
Education
- LLM Legal Practice Course (Distinction), Nottingham Law School
- Law LLB (Hons), First Class, University of Manchester
Personal Interests
In her spare time Aneela enjoys reading, cooking and spending time with friends and family. She also enjoys live music and has volunteered as an Oxfam Festival Steward multiple times.