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Before coming to Garden Court Deirdre worked for three years in the legal department of Liberty (National Council for Civil Liberties) as part of a small team providing free legal advice to members of the public. Deirdre then became a tenant at Garden Court in October 2010 after successfully completing pupillage under the supervision of Leslie Thomas and Rajiv Menon. InquestsDeirdre is experienced at representing bereaved Families at inquests into deaths of their loved ones within police stations, prisons, hospitals, mental health facilities, nursing homes and in the community. In October and November 2011 Deirdre was instructed alone in the Inquest into the death of Leonard Guest which returned the unusual verdict of 'pure' neglect where the Deceased had lost his life following a 'catalogue of failings' by the hospital Trust. She also represented the very young daughter of a mental health patient detained in the community and secured a narrative verdict after the first inquest verdict of suicide was quashed by Attorney General's fiat. Deirdre has also recently completed two complex death in custody inquests; the first in relation to Barry Nelson and the second Junior Jermaine McNeill Cartwright. In the latter, the Jury returned a very critical narrative and the Coroner was moved to make two Rule 43 recommendations to avert the risk of future deaths; the first increasing the number of emergency bags in the prison (the current amount of 4 being described as 'woefully inadequate') and the second recommending the national implementation of a 'Code Purple' system where there is an inmate who has sustained both 'bleeding' and 'breathing' injuries, bringing the Prison Code system in line with that used by the emergency services. As a result the prison has increased the number of medical bags by 100%. Deirdre was led as junior counsel in the jury inquest into the death of Jonny Riley at HMP Norwich. She was led in this 2 week jury inquest by Leslie Thomas which resulted in a damning narrative verdict which was highly critical of the treatment that Mr. Riley received while he was detained in prison. Read more here Deirdre appeared as Counsel for the Family in 14 inquests in 2011 and has just concluded the double inquest of Baby EG and his mother YM in April 2012 which resulted in two narrative verdicts confirming that on the balance of probabilities YM's illness had been the cause her inability to care for EG, a matter which had been of great concern to the Family. Claims Against the Police and Public AuthoritiesDeirdre currently advises on causes of action against the police and police-related litigation, including claims for false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, trespass to property/person, misfeasance in public office and claims under the Human Rights Act. Deirdre is also happy to advise on post-inquest civil actions and has experience of drafting pleadings in such actions. During pupillage she worked with Leslie Thomas on many civil actions including Clifford v Chief Constable of Herefordshire HousingIn Deirdre's housing practice her work is substantially the defence of tenants in possession proceedings brought by local authorities and claims by tenants against local authority or private landlords. She has experience in representing clients in proceedings related to injunctions including applications to set aside and committals. Deirdre is experienced in homelessness cases and has represented clients in related appeals. Deirdre also represents defendants in mortgage possession cases and has experience advising and representing in disrepair cases. With cases involving local authorities there is often a strong public law dimension and Deirdre is experienced in using public law and HRA defences. Family LawDeirdre maintains her practice in family law, and has experience of both public and private law proceedings involving children covering section 8 matters (contact, residence and specific issue orders) EPOs, non-molestation orders and s38 hearings. Deirdre has represented parents, grandparents and local authorities in the Family Proceedings Courts, County Courts and High Court. Prison Law and Mental healthDeirdre has recently written an article on prisoners voting rights in the Garden Court Prison Law Team blog - you can read it here (Comment and Analysis section). While working at Liberty Deirdre frequently advised detained clients including both prisoners and those detained under mental health legislation. Some of Deirdre's inquest work has also examined questions about the care of mental health patients in the community and this is a growing area of interest. BackgroundDuring her time at Liberty her 'Liberty Letters' project was shortlisted for the Lawworks Pro Bono Awards 2008. Previous to that, on graduation from Trinity College she worked for two years at the Office of the Attorney General, (AGO) Dublin where she was a legal researcher specialising in human rights law and was also Secretary to the Working Group on the European Convention on Human Rights. PublicationsCritical Narrative amd two Rule 43 recommendations after inquest into death of young father at HMP Wealstun, Inquest Law, Issue 23, Feb 2012 Inquest into death at Pinderfields Hospital returns pure neglect verdict after 'catalogue of failures' are revealed, Inquest Law, Issue 23, Feb 2012 Fresh Inquest returns different verdict for Family of non-detained mental health patient, Inquest Law, Issue 23, Feb 2012 Unlawful Arrest Contributes to Death in Sutton Coldfield, Inquest Law, January 2010 Failures in medical care of mental health patient contributed to death, Inquest Law, Dec 2009 K.U. v. the Netherlands, European Human Rights Law Review 2009
E.B. v France, European Human Rights Law Review 2008
Oxford University Beyond Profit Law Fair Guide articles 2008 and 2009
Law Society Graham Turnbull International Human Rights Competition 2008 (Runner Up) "Is human rights law relevant in the struggle against poverty and social injustice?"
European Human Rights Law Review 2007 Pye v. United Kingdom
European Human Rights Law Review 2007 Kehoe v. United Kingdom Professional Memberships Profile updated May 2012
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