Public & Administrative
Siân has a growing specialism in public and administrative law; she is regularly involved in judicial review challenges brought against both central and local government, and in private law claims with a public law element. She acts for authorities as well as for a wide array private parties including charities, businesses, and individuals. As a pupil she worked with supervisors Toby Vanhegan and Annette Cafferkey on several of the leading cases on the application of the public sector equality duty set out in section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 (Forward v Aldwyck Housing Group Ltd [2019] EWHC 24 (QB), London and Quadrant v Patrick [2019] EWHC Civ 1263 (QB), and Powell v Dacorum BC [2019] EWCA Civ 29). She was also involved in the high profile judicial review challenge to the ‘right to rent’ scheme (R (Goloshvili) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2019] EWHC 1263.
Siân is a member of the Attorney General’s Junior Junior Panel and has been seconded in house at a major local authority, so has experience of the practical pressures and issues which face local government and the solicitors who act for them.
Siân also has a strong interest in the academic aspects of public law and regularly publishes articles commenting on current issues; most recently she has been awarded the Michael Beloff Essay Prize for her contribution on the subject interplay between Parliamentary sovereignty and the Human Rights Act 1998. She is an active member of the Constitutional and Administrative Law Bar Association and the of the Human Rights Lawyers Association.
Planning & Environment
Siân has a growing practice is planning and environmental law, and acts in a range of planning matters from the advisory stages through to final hearing. She has experience of acting for both planning authorities and for individuals. She is a member of the UK Environmental Law Association and the Planning and Environmental Bar Association.
Property & Housing
Siân accepts instructions in all areas of property and housing law, and has had the benefit of training with leading practitioners in this field including Toby Vanhegan, Annette Cafferkey, and Jonathan Manning.
Siân has particular expertise in cases involving discrimination, mental capacity, and human rights issues. She is a member of both the HLPA and the SHLA, and regularly offers training on the latest developments in homelessness law.
Commercial & Chancery
Siân has experience of a broad range of commercial work, from bankruptcy matters to contractual disputes. She has been praised for her ability to offer pragmatic advice and for her understanding of the priorities of commercial parties. Amongst her most recent cases, she successfully defended a large London-based charity against a contract claim, favourably bringing to an end a dispute which had been ongoing for several years.
