Henrietta Hill

Henrietta Hill specialises in discrimination law, inquests, claims against the police and related public law work.

She regularly represents Claimants alleging sex, race, disability and other forms of discrimination in the workplace, often instructed by trade unions. Henrietta has been particularly involved in the successful race discrimination cases brought by former Gurkhas against the Army (Thapa v MoD and Budha v MoD) and frequently represents police officers alleging discrimination by their forces. In 2007 she represented the Claimant in Lynford v Chief Constable of Sussex, a successful and widely publicised sex discrimination claim brought by the only female officer in the Gatwick Airport firearms squad (see details). Further recent examples of her employment discrimination work include Butler v Chief Constable of Hertfordshire (finding of indirect sex discrimination and award of £93,000 for working mother officer), Etheridge v Chief Constable of West Midlands Police (finding of sexist bullying by sergeant of his junior officer) and Barry v Chief Constable (finding of disability discrimination when the Force medically retired an officer with PTSD). She has also won several cases on behalf of victims of post-9/11 Islamophobia (Jayyosi v Daimler Chrysler and Siddiqui v Asite).

Henrietta regularly represents families in inquests arising out of controversial deaths. She represented a key figure in Re Ruddock and others (the second New Cross Fire inquest) and appeared on behalf of the families in Re HK (suicide of young woman after sustained workplace bullying) and Re Andrew Craw (controversial death of British solider in Iraq). Throughout the autumn of 2007, led by Michael Mansfield QC, she represented Mohamed Al Fayed at the inquests arising out of the deaths of Diana, Princess of Wales and Dodi Al Fayed. She has developed a particular expertise in police shooting cases and has appeared in Re Harry Stanley (man shot while carrying a table leg), Re Derek Bennett (man shot by police while holding a gun-shaped lighter) and Re Phillip Prout (man shot while carrying samurai sword). Again led by Michael Mansfield QC, Henrietta is currently representing the family of Jean Charles de Menezes, who was shot and killed by Metropolitan Police officers at Stockwell Underground Station in July 2005. She hopes to appear on their behalf at the inquest in 2008.

Henrietta regularly represents individuals bringing civil claims for assault, false imprisonment and malicious prosecution against the police. She is particularly experienced in bringing discrimination claims against the police, prisons and other public authorities and service providers, having authored Blackstone's Guide to the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, the Act which permits such claims to be brought.

Henrietta's public law work is generally related to inquests and criminal justice work. Recent examples include the de Menezes family's challenges to the CPS refusal to prosecute any individual officers for criminal offences arising out of his death, and to the Coroner's decision to adjourn the inquest pending the health and safety prosecution - respectively, R (Da Silva) v Director of Public Prosecutions and Independent Police Complaints Commission [2006] EWHC 3204 (Admin) [Lawtel link] and R (Pereira) v Inner South London Coroner and others [2007] 1 WLR 3256 [Lawtel link]. She also appeared in Paul and others v Deputy Coroner of the Queen's Household and others (2007) 2 All ER 509 [Lawtel link] (the successful judicial review requiring the inquests arising out of the deaths of Diana, Princess of Wales and Dodi Al Fayed to be heard with a jury), R v Cakir and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department and Independent Assessor (2007) ACD 75 [Lawtel link] (the judicial review challenging the abolition of the ex gratia scheme for compensating the victims of miscarriages of justice) and R (Canning) v HM Coroner for Northampton (a judicial review of a failure to hold an inquest into the death of a severely disabled young boy in a respite care home).

Henrietta's international practice includes several cases before the European Court of Human Rights on behalf of Fair Trials Abroad and Privy Council work (both civil and criminal). In 2002 Henrietta worked at the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York, where she assisted with Turkmen v Ashcroft (class action challenging detention of immigration violators post-9/11) and Daniels v NYC (class action alleging discriminatory 'stop and frisk' practices of the NYPD). In 2006 she visited Colombia as part of a TUC-sponsored delegation to report on the persecution of trade unionists; and trained the staff of the Ombudsman of the newly independent state of Montenegro in fair trial and discrimination protections under the European Convention of Human Rights, on behalf of the Council of Europe.
Henrietta regularly assists groups such as Liberty, JUSTICE and the Center for Corporate Accountability, and was instructed by Liberty in Baker v SSHD [2001] UKHRR 1275 (successful challenge to MI5's 'neither confirm nor deny' policy). She co-authored the Study Guide to The Human Rights Act (Third Edition, 2006) and in January 2008 she published, with solicitor Richard Kenyon, Promoting Equality and Diversity: A Practitioner's Guide. Henrietta sits on Liberty's Conference and Appeals Committee and is a Patron of Peace Brigades International. She is a member of the Police Action Lawyers Group and the Discrimination Law Association.

Henrietta is listed in the Chambers and Partners, Legal 500 and Legal Experts directories. In December 2006 she received the Liberty/JUSTICE Peter Duffy Award (formerly the Young Human Rights Lawyer of the Year Award).

last updated January 2007

Year of Call

1997

Education

* Emmanuel College, Cambridge University - BA (Hons) Law, 1st Class * Harvard Univ. - Herchel Smith Fellow * Pegasus Fellow (2001) - Center for Constitutional Rights, New York (sponsored by Inner Temple)

Email Address

h.hill@doughtystreet.co.uk

Specialist Teams

Henrietta Hill is a member of the following specialist law teams:

• Actions Against the police
• Employment and Discrimination
• Human Rights
• International Law Group
• Public and Administrative Law