Public Inquiries & 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 there is uncertainty as to the cause of their death, or where they have 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 inquiry. Our team have a wealth of experience to provide 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 death in prison, Police shootings, and death from neglect in Police custody.

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

Public funding 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 bodies 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.