Criminal law
Public inquiry representation solicitors
Public Inquiries are usually high-profile events, where media interest and emotions can both run high. If you’re attending as either a witness or participant, it may be wise to seek legal advice before participating.
About to appear at a public inquiry?
Slater and Gordon’s experienced solicitors are here to advise you before you appear at a public inquiry. Call us 24/7 on 0330 041 5869 or contact us and we’ll call you.
Talk to a specialist solicitor today
Contact usAre you a witness or participant at a public inquiry?
Public Inquiries look into important and often highly emotive issues, ranging from political scandals to disasters involving the loss of life. As such, they’re likely to feature heavily in the media, meaning that both witnesses and participants can be subject to unexpected and worrying levels of media intrusion. It’s also possible that media interest may attract a certain level of public criticism, over and above any that may be levelled by the enquiry itself.
That’s why it’s always wise to seek the advice of an experienced solicitor before attending a Public Inquiry in any capacity, in order to ensure that you don’t needlessly attract criticism or censure. If you’re due to appear at a public inquiry as a witness or a core participant, call us on 0330 041 5869, or contact us and we’ll call you.
What happens at a public inquiry?
It’s important to understand that public inquiries are held ‘in the public interest’, rather than simply ‘in public’. This means that it will not necessarily be open to the public, and nor will the report of the inquiry always be made public once complete.
They’re usually held in order to see if lessons can be learned from an event, rather than as a way of apportioning blame. However, inquiries such as the Marchioness Inquiry or the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, for example, have sought to find out ‘why’ a disaster happened, which will mean a certain amount of blame being laid.
Given the seriousness of these events, Slater and Gordon’s experienced solicitors are here to provide sensitive support as well as practical legal advice before, during and after participation in a public inquiry. This generally includes:
- Conducting a thorough document review
- Preparing documents and statements
- Interviewing witnesses
- Determining the extent of public access
- Protecting the rights of the people involved
- Providing legal representation at hearings
If you’re due to appear before a Public Inquiry either as a witness or a core participant, you should consider speaking to one of our specialist Inquiry solicitors at your earliest opportunity. Call us 24/7 on 0330 041 5869 or contact us and we’ll call you.
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