Maya Sikand KC KC > Doughty Street Chambers > London, England > Barrister Profile

Maya Sikand KC KC

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Position

Maya has a strong civil liberties and human rights practice, holding public authorities to account through private law and public law claims, death in custody inquests & public inquiries.

Maya stands out because she is a fearless and highly experienced jury advocate, a natural and accomplished appellate advocate but is also well-known for her excellent and detailed written advocacy. She is a leader in the field of police law as well as Human Rights Act (‘HRA’) and tortious claims against a range of public bodies. She has forged a niche practice on behalf of victims of trafficking and modern slavery charged with criminal offences, overturning their convictions as well as securing both HRA and statutory compensation on their behalf. Maya is ranked in Tier 1 for Civil Liberties in the Legal 500 and ranked in Band 1 for Police Law in Chambers & Partners. She was shortlisted for Civil Liberties and Human Rights Junior of the Year by Legal 500 UK Awards 2020, and Public Law Junior of the Year by Legal 500 UK Awards 2018.

Career

Year of Call: 1997

Background

Maya has established her career across both public and private law claims with a commitment to providing a voice to the marginalised. She started her working life as an advocate and campaigner for women and girls fleeing domestic violence, sexual abuse, forced marriages and other exploitation in the NGO sector. She began her legal career as a paralegal in a leading firm of solicitors before embarking on crime and human rights pupillages at Two Garden Court and Doughty Street Chambers. This invaluable experience means that she brings an intersectional approach to her legal work.

She is an editor of the leading criminal textbook Archbold and a contributor to Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery: Law and Practice (Bloomsbury Professional, Second Edition, 2020) (see publications below). She sits as a Recorder (in Crime).

What the Directories say

“She is highly committed, sharp, utterly determined and not afraid to take on challenging cases.” “She is really engaged and is involved in every aspect of the case.” CHAMBERS UK, 2022

“Maya is great on her feet, her written submissions are strong and her knowledge of the law is superb.” “She is brilliant on complex detail and she leaves no stone unturned.” CHAMBERS UK, 2022

“She really cares about her clients, which shines through. She is dedicated to her cases and brilliant with clients.” “She is a very fair and even-handed advocate who takes good points.” CHAMBERS UK, 2022

“Very bright, exceptionally hard working, has a forensic attention to detail and is a pleasure to work with. She isn’t afraid to speak her mind, and can hold her own powerfully in any setting. She provides detailed and nuanced advices, and you can totally trust her analysis.”  LEGAL 500, 2022

“She gets into all the detail and pre-empts everything, even the tricky points. She is knowledgeable and brings a wealth of experience to any case. She is also direct, realistic and empathetic with clients.” “She gives pragmatic, straightforward advice and is extremely sound strategically.” – CHAMBERS UK, 2021

“An extremely persuasive advocate.” “Her written advocacy is absolutely superb and she has fantastic knowledge of the area.” “She’s easy to work with, gives clear practical advice and produces very good pleadings.” – CHAMBERS UK, 2021

“Formidable advocate. She is very articulate and persuasive, forcefully putting her client’s case, whilst at the same time getting the judge on her side.” – LEGAL 500, 2021

Languages

French, Hindi

Memberships

Police Action Lawyers Group (PALG)

Justice

Liberty

The Administrative Law Bar Association (ALBA)

INQUEST Lawyers’ Group (ILG)

Education

BA (Hons) (Oxon)

MSc (London)

CPE