PracticeJo became a tenant at Garden Court after completing pupillage with us. She is rapidly developing a broad immigration and asylum practice, representing clients in the COURT OF APPEAL, Administrative Court and at first instance and reconsideration level in the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal in asylum, DEPORTATION, entry clearance, family reunion, bail, settlement and EEA appeals. Jo is particularly committed to unaccompanied child asylum cases, cases involving trafficking for any sort of exploitation and those where there is a mental health issue, which the immigration authorities and tribunal seem to handle spectacularly badly. Jo's inquest work covers deaths in police and prison custody as well as other circumstances. She represented the family of the deceased in an inquest into a police custody death where the jury found a breach of the article 2 right to life. She also has an interest in deaths at work and is keen to further develop her inquest practice. She has successfully represented clients in the employment tribunal in race discrimination and constructive dismissal claims. Jo has a strong interest in developing a mental health practice having worked as an advocate for Bristol Mind while training. She has appeared in the Special Educational Needs Tribunal and is looking to build on a broad based civil practice including prison law and claims against the police and public authorities. She is committed to a pro-active approach to justice using public law in all spheres especially the right to protest and cases involving crossovers between prison, immigration, mental health and so on. Jo also maintains an interest in international human rights work and believes strongly in the need to apply creativity in using domestic courts and legislation to curb the excesses of British corporations, arms dealers, government and military overseas. In November - December 2006 she participated in a delegation to Turkey to meet with human rights lawyers opposing F-Type isolation prisons.
BackgroundAfter a masters degree in health science, Jo realised that it was not "lifestyle choices" but political factors such as housing, transport, town planning and down-stream proximity to nuclear reactors that had the greatest impact on health and, as a result, spent several years before coming to the Bar living up trees and down tunnels on environmental protests, doing mental health advocacy work, campaigning for civil liberties and against nuclear weapons, working in the immigration department at Bristol Law Centre and involved with self-help housing activities. She has made three visits to Iraq, documenting civilian casualties during the bombing in 2003, reporting on the effects of economic sanctions on the population, setting up a small circus to work with traumatised children after the war, providing advocacy and support for Iraqi people who had to deal with Coalition authorities and escorting ambulances under siege in Fallujah. Her reports from Fallujah during the April 2004 siege were among the only non-embedded accounts and were published all over the world. The broadcaster and writer John Pilger stated: "Jo Wilding, a young trainee lawyer and human rights worker in Iraq, produced some of the finest frontline reporting of the war online from Fallujah, then under siege by the US Marines"
PublicationsBook: "Don't Shoot the Clowns" - published by New Internationalist, 2006 "Fallujah" in John Pilger, "Tell Me No Lies: Investigative Journalism and its Triumphs" 2004 Two chapters in "Fallujah 2004", published in Japan, 2004 Jo has also written numerous articles on Iraq in several languages.
Notable CasesChipeni v Secretary of State for the Home Department: article 8 claim where the daughter of a recognised refugee "aged out" of family reunion due to Home Office delays. Inquest re Kevin Seymour: a 7-day inquest into a death in police custody; jury found that article 2 right to life was breached. Maklaj v Sofra International: a 4-day race discrimination case.
SocietiesAmnesty International, Lawyers for Liberty, Legal Action Group, Young Legal Aid Lawyers.
PersonalJo is mum to one small boy and step-mum to two others.
(Last Updated: September 2009)
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