Alison Hewitt > Chambers of Jason Beer KC > London, England > Barrister Profile
5 Essex Chambers Offices
5 Essex Chambers
6 Field Court, Gray’s Inn
London
WC1R 5EF
England
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Alison Hewitt
Work Department
Inquests/ Coronial Law; Public/ Administrative Law; Police Law; Personal Injury; Professional Regulatory.
Position
Alison specialises in inquests and is very experienced in all aspects of coronial law and procedure. She has acted as “Counsel to the Inquest” in many long and complex cases including the high-profile and sensitive inquests into the deaths of Ian Tomlinson, Poppi Worthington, Terrence Smith, and Christine and Lucy Lee. Alison also represents a wide range of clients at inquests, including Police Constabularies, private prisons, NHS Trusts, care homes and local authorities. Most of her work concerns deaths involving state agencies or private organisations, in particular deaths in custody (including restraint deaths) or in detention under the Mental Health Act, and deaths with a background of complex clinical care. Additionally, Alison regularly acts for coroners and others in judicial review claims relating to inquests; she is currently instructed in the case of Maughan (concerning the standard of proof for a suicide conclusion) which is to be considered by the Supreme Court.
Alison’s other principal area of practice is Police Law. She advises and represents Chief Constables in relation to civil claims, professional standards/misconduct matters and judicial review. For example, she acted for the Metropolitan Commissioner as part of linked appeals which considered the lawfulness of the revised statutory scheme for the disclosure of convictions and its compatibility with Article 8 ECHR and has recently represented West Midlands Police at hearings before the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.
Career
Called to the Bar 1984; Alison has been an Assistant Coroner herself since 2007 and became HM Senior Coroner for the City of London (a part-time role) in 2016. She also acts as a Legal Adviser to the General Dental Council.
Memberships
The Coroners’ Society of England and Wales; PIBA
Lawyer Rankings
London Bar > Inquests and inquiries
(Leading Juniors)Ranked: Tier 1Alison Hewitt – 5 Essex Chambers ‘Alison is one of the most experienced and well-regarded barristers in this field.’
5 Essex Chambers houses a team of ‘clear leaders in the field of inquests and public inquiries‘. The group is well-known for acting for local authorities, the government and the emergency services in proceedings. Fiona Barton KC handles cases crossing over with her police law practice, having represented Devon and Cornwall Police in the inquests in relation to the 2021 Plymouth shootings, carried out by a man who had his shotgun returned to him after an assault allegation earlier that year. Jason Beer KC‘s recent track record includes instructing as counsel to the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry and representing the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry. Anne Studd KC works on cases with law enforcement elements. At a junior level, Alison Hewitt handles cases concerning deaths in custody, among others, while Beatrice Collier was one of several members of chambers instructed in the inquest into the death of Gaia Pope, who went missing in November 2016 after making an allegation of rape, which Dorset Police did not action. Francesca Whitelaw KC took silk in 2023.