Lochlinn is Head of Civil Liberties at ITN Solicitors.
He has extensive expertise in taking legal action against detaining authorities, and acting for bereaved families whose loved ones have died at the hands of, or in the custody, of the state. He works with organisations and individuals who are seeking accountability and compensation for wrongdoing, or who want to challenge the decisions of state bodies. He advises campaign groups and NGOs on the law and assists in devising legal strategies to further their aims.
He receives referrals from a range of activist organisations, NGOs and, in relation to football, from the UK’s largest fan group, the Football Supporters Federation. He is actively involved with campaigning organisations, including, in relation to the monitoring of police, with Netpol.
Bringing cases against the state can be a daunting prospect. The state’s powers to detain and use force have to be subject to accountability and Lochlinn will work tirelessly to make sure you get justice. Lochlinn will advise you on, and guide you through, the many different legal routes to obtain redress, including civil claims, judicial review, the official complaint systems, Inquests and Inquiries.
Lochlinn has brought cases against a number of different Police forces across the country, the Home Office in respect of immigration detainees, the Ministry of Justice in relation to prisoners, the Independent Police Complaints Commission for inadequate complaint investigations and a number of Multi-National Companies who carry out state functions. He has also worked with families seeking to understand the circumstances of their loved one’s death and to hold the state to account, in a range of situations including at the hands of the police, in police custody, after contact with the police, in prisons and in schools.
He has also investigated and advised on cases with an international perspective, including in respect of victims of torture.
Amongst many others Lochlinn is currently working with: three protesters who were arrested during the Cardiff Arms Fair in 2016; young men who have been unfairly targeted by the Police in their neighbourhoods; a 13 year old boy arrested during a school trip; a man whose eye socket and cheek were shattered by a police officer; football fans who were unlawfully dispersed under anti-social behaviour powers; two whole life sentenced prisoners who were seriously injured in assaults by other prisoners in Close Supervision Centres; victims of sexual abuse who are challenging Police decisions not to prosecute; a mother whose son died in prison from an overdose of ‘ecstasy’; a family whose son died of an asthma attack at school; and two families who raised serious welfare concerns with the police hours before their loved one’s death.
Lochlinn is a member of the Police Action Lawyers Group, the Inquest Lawyers Group and the Haldane Society. Lochlinn trained at ITN and Bhatt Murphy solicitors before working for a number of years at Deighton Pierce Glynn. He joined ITN in November 2015 to head up the Actions Against the Police Team.