Tessa is a solicitor in the Civil Liberties/Actions Against the Police Team. She is passionate about defending the most vulnerable and disenfranchised individuals in society and holding state bodies to account.
She has over a decade of experience in civil actions, complaints against the police and inquests.
Within her Actions against the Police practice she is regularly instructed by clients in claims that involve police assaults, false imprisonment use of excessive force, misfeasance in public office, malicious prosecution, failures to investigate and in claims under the Human Rights Act. Her cases often involve high value claims for personal injury and psychiatric harm. She works tirelessly to secure the best outcome for her clients, supporting them throughout what is inevitably a stressful process.
Although her work focusses primarily on police misconduct, she often represents clients in cases against the Prison Service for false imprisonment.
Tessa regularly represents bereaved families in contentious inquests where the deceased has died following police contact or contact with other public bodies such as the NHS. She has a particular interest and specialism in inquests where the deceased had been detained under section or a voluntary patient under the Mental Health Act and had complex mental health needs. She also regularly negotiates damages settlements for family members of the deceased in the resulting civil claims.
Prior to working at ITN, Tessa was a solicitor at two other legal aid law firms in London also specialising in Actions Against the Police, specifically working on the Hillsborough Misfeasance Litigation for a number of years.
Tessa is a member of the Police Actions Lawyer Group and the Inquest Lawyer’s Group.
She has over a decade of experience in civil actions, complaints against the police and inquests.
Within her Actions against the Police practice she is regularly instructed by clients in claims that involve police assaults, false imprisonment use of excessive force, misfeasance in public office, malicious prosecution, failures to investigate and in claims under the Human Rights Act. Her cases often involve high value claims for personal injury and psychiatric harm. She works tirelessly to secure the best outcome for her clients, supporting them throughout what is inevitably a stressful process.
Although her work focusses primarily on police misconduct, she often represents clients in cases against the Prison Service for false imprisonment.
Tessa regularly represents bereaved families in contentious inquests where the deceased has died following police contact or contact with other public bodies such as the NHS. She has a particular interest and specialism in inquests where the deceased had been detained under section or a voluntary patient under the Mental Health Act and had complex mental health needs. She also regularly negotiates damages settlements for family members of the deceased in the resulting civil claims.
Prior to working at ITN, Tessa was a solicitor at two other legal aid law firms in London also specialising in Actions Against the Police, specifically working on the Hillsborough Misfeasance Litigation for a number of years.
Tessa is a member of the Police Actions Lawyer Group and the Inquest Lawyer’s Group.