Ciara Bartlam > Garden Court North Chambers > Manchester, England > Barrister Profile
Garden Court North Chambers Offices
3RD FLOOR, BLACKFRIARS HOUSE,PARSONAGE
MANCHESTER
M3 2JA
England
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Ciara Bartlam
Work Department
Inquests and Inquiries
Public Law
Position
Ciara specialises in representing bereaved families at inquest, whose loved ones have died in the community.
Ciara’s expertise in housing, mental health and social care law gives her a unique edge in complex inquests arising from deaths in the community, particularly those who have died in supported accommodation settings such as:
- Approved Premises;
- supported accommodation commissioned by the NHS or local authority;
- unregulated housing for young people;
- ‘exempt’ accommodation i.e. accommodation that offers housing-related support in the private-rented sector;
- crisis houses; and
- proxy inpatient psychiatric settings.
Ciara has particular experience working with young people and on inquests related to the deaths of young people to whom the state has owed social care responsibilities. Ciara stands out as an advocate because of her personable and kind manner, attention to detail and fearless representation on behalf of families.
Career
Before becoming a barrister, Ciara worked as a specialist homeless officer with 16 and 17 year olds and care leavers in Children’s Services. As part of this role, Ciara worked strategically and operationally with front-line workers and managers in Children’s and Adult’s social care, CCG and NHS, drug and alcohol services, youth offending teams, housing – including local authority, rough sleeper teams, night shelters, foyers, supported accommodation providers and the private-rented sector – and community mental health teams. She has experience of working with young people with complex and multiple needs, including histories of trauma, exploitation, and offending.
Ciara is part of a coalition of academics, lawyers, medical professionals, support workers, journalists, and local authority officers campaigning for change to prevent homeless deaths, which have increased by 37% during the pandemic while ‘Everyone In’ was in force. You can read more about this work here.
Memberships
- Young Legal Aid Lawyers committee member
- Greater Manchester Law Centre trustee
- Women in the Law UK
- BLAGG
- FreeBar
Education
BA (Hons) Study of Religions and Theology – University of Manchester (1st Class);
GDL – Manchester Metropolitan University (Distinction);
BPTC – Manchester Metropolitan University (Outstanding).
Personal
Outside of her work as a barrister, Ciara is a Young Legal Aid Lawyers committee member and a Greater Manchester Law Centre executive committee member, where she contributes to strategic planning, building the next generation of social welfare lawyers and community outreach.
Ciara’s pronouns are she/her or they/them.
Lawyer Rankings
Regional Bar > Northern Circuit > Inquests and inquiries
(Rising stars)Ranked: Tier 1Ciara Bartlam – Garden Court North Chambers ‘Ciara has developed a specialism in particularly complex inquests involving young people and children who died in the community while under the care of multiple state agencies. She draws on her previous experiences in order to apply a rare and invaluable level of expertise and insight on matters involving the intersection of housing, mental health, and social care.’
Garden Court North Chambers ‘has a very strong inquests and inquiries practice’ that has ‘a ferocious dedication to representing some of the most disadvantaged people’. Pete Weatherby KC specialises in public law matters, and he has a well-established presence in this space; he represented the partner of Anthony Grainger in the public inquiry regarding his fatal shooting by police firearms officers. Anna Morris KC was appointed to silk in 2023, and both she and Weatherby KC have appeared for bereaved families in the Manchester Arena Inquiry. Kate Stone has substantial experience representing bereaved families in Article 2 inquests, and the set also includes Ciara Bartlam, who specialises in representing the bereaved families of young people who have died in community and care settings.