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- Work 020 7833 4433
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- Email:
John Halford
- Tel:
- Work +44 20 7833 4433
- Email:
Work Department
Public law and human rights, health, community care and housing.
Position
Partner and a member of the public law and human rights, health, community care and housing teams at Bindmans. He has a reputation for successfully litigating cutting-edge judicial review cases for individuals and group clients with a particular focus on discrimination, human rights and regulatory issues. He received a Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year award in 2007. Major recent cases include: R(E) v JFS and another, successfully challenging a racially discriminatory admissions policy; a an ongoing judicial review of the ongoing failure to properly investigate the 1948 massacre of villagers in Batang Kali, Malaya, by British troops; R (Lunt) v Liverpool City Council, challenging a taxi-licensing policy which disadvantages wheelchair users; R (L) v Staffordshire Police, overturning an unlawful decision to take and retain a child's DNA; R(E, T and Morris), successfully challenging mass stop-and-searches at a climate demonstration; R (Moos and Mclare) v Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis, challenging the policing of the G20 Climate Camp and R (AGIP and others) v HPC, challenging proposals to regulate psychotherapists.
Career
Began work as a lawyer in the voluntary sector; manager and senior adviser at an immigration advice centre, Bristol 1990-1991; qualified as solicitor 1996 at Humberside Law Centre; in 1998 joined the Public Law Project, the leading national NGO promoting access to public law remedies; joined Bindman & Partners (now Bindmans LLP) 2003; partner March 2006. John has written a number of articles on public law issues in specialist legal publications such as 'Judicial Review', 'Disabled Student Advisor' and 'Legal Action'; co-author of 'Butterworth's Health Services Law and Practice Encyclopaedia' and 'Legal Action's' health law series.
Member
Legal Services Commission's cost controls review panel; Administrative Law Bar Association; Law Society Mental Health and Disability sub-committee; Law Society human domestic rights reference group; Human Rights Lawyers' Association.
Education
Marlwood Comprehensive School; Essex University (1998 LLB); Southampton University (1992 MA; law faculty's Sally Kiff Prize for Outstanding Work on Human Rights Issues).
Practice Areas
Administrative and public law; Civil liberties and human rights; Healthcare