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Sarah Burton

Senior Associate
About

Sarah Burton practices in public and administrative law. She has a particular focus on public inquiries, investigations and inquests and has extensive experience advising public and private sector bodies and individuals in sensitive and high profile proceedings.

Sarah also has experience advising clients on other public and private law matters including data protection, human rights, freedom of information, regulatory proceedings, judicial review and statutory appeals. She has also advised on private law claims, including personal injury and medical negligence, both on behalf of claimants and defendants.

Sarah has significant experience in advising on the law in public inquiries, investigations and inquests. For example, she recently advised a core participant in the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse and has advised a public company on its involvement in a sensitive non-statutory inquiry. In addition, Sarah is currently part of a team of external legal advisors to the Magnox Inquiry into the award of a GBP6.2 billion decommissioning contract in the nuclear power sector.

She is committed to using her legal skills to assist the disadvantaged and those without access to justice. Sarah regularly provides pro bono advise to support causes in this area, for example she has recently provided emergency legal advice to Mencap, the national learning disability charity, in relation to the COVID-19 crisis. Sarah has also recently featured on the Radio 4 programme File on Four talking about the need for reform of the legal aid system to as to ensure that families have legal representation at inquests where the state is legally represented.

EXPERIENCE

  • Acting for public and private sector bodies in high profile public inquiries and inquests including the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse and the Westminster Bridge Inquest.
  • Advising on private and public law claims against public bodies and central government departments.
  • Advising corporates and other bodies on a variety of public law matters such as judicial review litigation
  • Advising public sector bodies on defensible decision-making and statutory interpretation.
  • Providing pro bono advice to charitable bodies, including Asylum Matters and Mencap, on potential challenges and select committee hearings.
Education

    Recognitions

    • Associate to Watch: Administrative and Public Law - Chambers and Partners, 2024

    Seminars

    Featured on BBC File on 4 Families versus the state: An unfair fight? October 2019

    Prior Experience

    • Trained at London based international law firm 2012-14
    • Worked as a government lawyer at the Government Legal Department, acting for the Ministry of Justice on litigious matters

    Memberships And Affiliations

    • Law Society of England and Wales
    • Young Public Law Lawyers' Group
    • Constitutional and Administrative Law Bar Association

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