Overview: Heather Williams' specialises in civil liberties and human rights cases in both the public and private law sphere. She has a particular expertise in claims arising from unlawful detention, official misconduct and discrimination. Her areas of work include police and prison law, immigration detention claims and related judicial review work. She also has a substantial employment law practice. She regularly undertakes appellate, trial, drafting and advisory work. She was appointed a QC in October 2006. Actions Against the Police and Public Authorities
Although having a wider civil liberties practice, Heather is particularly known for her actions against the police work. Both as junior counsel and as a Silk, she has been consistently ranked as a Band 1 leading practitioner in Police Law Claimant-based work in the Chambers & Partners Directory. She is the co-author of a leading textbook in the area, Police Misconduct: Legal Remedies (4th edition) published by the Legal Action Group and co-presents their annual police actions advanced course for practitioners. She has appeared in a number of the leading cases in this area including: Smith v Chief Constable of Sussex [2009] 1 AC 225 HL (police's duty to victims of crime); Austin v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis [2009] 1 AC 564 HL (legality of the police tactic of "kettling"); and Ministry of Justice v Scott [2009] EWCA Civ 1215 (when complainants can be sued in malicious prosecution). Her recent cases in this area include: ZH v Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis (High Court trial relating to police restraint of a severely disabled teenager); Howarth v Chief Constable of Gwent [2011] EWHC 2836 (QB) (High Court trial of a several million pound malicious prosecution claim); Austin v United Kingdom (an application to the European Court of Human Rights alleging that police "kettling" violates article 5 rights); and Adams & Ors v Chief Constable of Gloucester Police (damages claims for protestors unlawfully detained by police when seeking to attend an anti-war demonstration at RAF Fairford). Her ongoing cases include claims arising from police shootings, from discriminatory exercise of stop and search powers, from deaths in custody and from sexual misconduct by police officers. She is also regularly instructed to prepare submissions in high-value applications to the Ministry of Justice for compensation for miscarriages of justice.
Administrative and Public Law
Heather's judicial review work focuses upon unlawful detention, official misconduct, discrimination and policing and prosecutorial decisions. She acted for Neville Lawrence in his judicial review of the Crown Prosecution Service's earlier conclusion not to prosecute further in relation to his son's murder (before the recent successful re-investigation and prosecution). She appeared in R (Miller) v Independent Assessor [2009] EWCA 609 (a leading authority on the valuation of compensation for long-term unlawful detention) and she has also acted in a number of other judicial review claims arising from compensation for miscarriage of justice applications to the Ministry of Justice. Her recent / ongoing public law work includes R (Dowsett) v Secretary of State for Justice [2011] EWHC 2877 (Admin) (a challenge to the Prison Service's policy on rub-down searches of male prisoners as sexually discriminatory) and R (Wood) v Secretary of State for Education [2011] EWHC 3256 (Admin) (whether decision to bar the claimant from working with children breached his legitimate expectation). She also acted for the successful claimants in: R (Houchin) v Secretary of State for Justice [2010] EWHC 454 (Admin) (Secretary of State's refusal to accept Parole Board's recommendation to return the claimant to open prison conditions) and R (A Iraq) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2010] EWHC 625 (unreasonable length of claimant's detention pending deportation). Employment and Industrial Relations
In terms of employment law, Heather is particularly known for her discrimination work. She represented television presenter Miriam O'Reilly in her successful, high profile age discrimination claim against the BBC. She has acted in a number of significant appellate cases, including Ministry of Defence v Cartner [2011] EWCA Civ 1516 (sex discrimination in relation to a non sea-going female naval officer), Oyarce v Cheshire County Council [2008] EWCA Civ 434 (burden of proof in victimisation claims) and O'Hanlon v Revenue & Customs Commissioners (2007) ICR 1359 CA (sick pay policies and disability discrimination). As well as discrimination claims, Heather undertakes other employment work in both Tribunals and in the High Court. She acted for the claimant in Talbot v General Federation of Trade Unions [2011] EWHC 84 (QB) (a High Court action concerning the validity of the claimant's nomination as General Secretary of the defendant). She is a part-time Employment Judge and a Chair of the Royal Mail's National Appeals Panel. She regularly speaks on employment law topics, for example giving a presentation on human rights in employment law at last year's Butterworth's Hot Issues in Employment Law conference. Discrimination
Heather is described in the Chambers & Partners 2012 Directory as "a leader in the field of discrimination" in respect of her ranking for Civil Liberties and Human Rights work. She has extensive experience of bringing discrimination claims both in the employment and in the non-employment context. In terms of her employment work, she represented television presenter Miriam O'Reilly in her successful, high profile age discrimination claim against the BBC. She has also acted in a number of significant appellate cases, including Ministry of Defence v Cartner [2011] EWCA Civ 1516 (sex discrimination in relation to a non sea-going female naval officer), Oyarce v Cheshire County Council [2008] EWCA Civ 434 (burden of proof in victimisation claims) and O'Hanlon v Revenue & Customs Commissioners (2007) ICR 1359 CA (sick pay policies and disability discrimination). Her other discrimination work is mainly focused upon the policing and prisons context, where she has brought discrimination claims in respect of arrests, police stop and search powers and prison conditions. Her recent cases include: ZH v Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis (2011) (trial of a disability discrimination claim arising from police restraint of a severely autistic teenager); and R (Dowsett) v Secretary of State for Justice [2011] EWHC 2877 (Admin) (am ongoing challenge to the Prison Service's policy on rub-down searches of male prisoners as sexually discriminatory). Immigration
Heather has acted in a number of cases relating to unlawful immigration detention, including both judicial review applications and private law claims for damages. She acted for the successful claimant in R (A Iraq) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2010] EWHC 625, securing his release from detention on the basis that he could not be deported to Iraq within a reasonable time given the political situation at the time. She represented the Claimants in Abaliwano & Ors v Home Department (2010), a damages claim arising from a failed deportation and protracted period in immigration detention. Heather has given a number of talks on unlawful detention, including in respect of issues arising from the Supreme Court's landmark decision in R (Lumba) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2011] UKSC 12. Prison Law and Criminal Justice
Heather specialises in claims arising from unlawful detention and other official misconduct, including in the prisons context. She is ranked as a leading Silk in the Chambers & Partners 2011 Directory in relation to her Civil Liberties and Human Rights work. Her cases include both applications for judicial review and private law claims for damages. She acted for the successful claimant in R (Houchin) v Secretary of State for Justice [2010] EWHC 454 (Admin), regarding the Secretary of State's refusal to accept the Parole Board's recommendation to return the claimant to open prison conditions and also acts for the same claimant in his ongoing misfeasance claim against the prison authorities. Last year she acted for prisoners who were "ghosted" out of HMP Wandsworth to avoid prison inspectors. She has substantial experience of discrimination claims in the prison context including R (Dowsett) v Secretary of State for Justice [2011] EWHC 2877 (Admin) (an ongoing challenge to the Prison Service's policy on rub-down searches of male prisoners as sexually discriminatory) and County Court race and religious discrimination claims arising from prison officers' treatment of prisoners. She has also acted in a number of civil claims arising from deaths in custody. She acted for the intervener in the House of Lords in R (JL) v Secretary of State for Justice [2008] UKHL 68 (concerning the Article 2 investigative obligation in prison near suicides) and for the claimant in Butchart v Home Office [2006] EWCA Civ 237 (establishing that officers could owe a duty of care to a prisoner to protect him from psychiatric harm. Heather has been instructed by the Crown Prosecution Service in relation to several cases involving prosecutions / potential prosecutions arising from deaths in custody and other alleged police misconduct. She has also acted for claimants in public law challenges to decisions not to prosecute, including for Neville Lawrence when he judicially reviewed the earlier decision not to bring a further prosecution in relation to his son's murder. Inquests: Heather has acted for bereaved families at a number of Inquests where death occurred in a policing context. She has particular experience of inquests involving deaths during high-speed police pursuits and has also acted in the subsequent related civil claims. Memberships: Heather is involved with organisations linked to her practice areas including the Discrimination Law Association, the Police Actions Lawyers Group, the Industrial Law Society and Justice. Publications: Heather is a co-author of the textbook "Police Misconduct: Legal Remedies" (4th ed) published by the Legal Action Group and a co-contributor to the regular updates on developments in this area in the Legal Action magazine. Other: Heather sits as a part-time Employment Judge and as a Chair of the Royal Mail's National Appeals Panel; she is a member of the Legal Services Commission's Special Cases Review Panel and until recently was joint deputy-head of Doughty Street Chambers.
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