Public Inquiries and Inquests

The death of a loved one is a difficult and traumatic time under any circumstances, but it can be particularly confusing and overwhelming where the cause of death is uncertain or unknown, or where the person has died in custody or following police contact.

Our lawyers can help you to navigate the Inquest process and to ensure that your concerns are at the heart of the investigation in to your loved one's death. Our team have a wealth of experience in providing professional and compassionate advice and support in order for you to understand how and why your loved one died, and to ensure that lessons are learned to prevent future deaths in similar circumstances. We are robust in holding the state and public authorities to account.

We have experience of advising family members at Inquests concerning self-inflicted deaths in prison, police shootings, deaths from neglect in police custody, and after contact with the police.

We work closely with INQUEST, a registered charity that provides specialist support to bereaved people.

Legal Aid is available for Inquests in limited circumstances and depending on your finances.

Public Inquiries into widespread abuse or a particularly high profile or serious case are a means of holding public authorities to account but they only occur in limited circumstances. 

We have experience of advising clients about their role and their rights in large inquiries into tragedies.  We can also advise you on whether a public inquiry is likely or whether there are other, better tools to hold the state to account. 

Recent inquest cases

  • Representing bereaved families and survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire;
  • The death of a man shot by police firearms officers;
  • Representing the parents of a boy who died from an allergic reaction and asthma attack at school;
  • A number of cases involving self-inflicted deaths after contact with the police;
  • The death of a prisoner who died of an 'ecstasy' overdose.

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