Hannah Moxsom
Host Organisation: Public Law Project
Hannah is a trainee solicitor at Public Law Project. PLP is a national legal charity that aims to promote access to justice, uphold the rule of law and ensure fair systems for all. PLP’s casework team of specialist lawyers assist individuals experiencing personal disadvantage, or charities or organisations representing the interests of marginalised or disadvantaged groups.
Hannah studied law as a mature student, having spent some years working as a legal accounts clerk and working in local authority housing departments amongst several periods of travelling. Hannah studied law with the aim of working in social justice law, as she is passionate about representing those who are marginalised by society. Hannah studied both her undergraduate degree and LPC with LLM at the University of Law and during her studies volunteered with Amnesty International.
Hannah found her home at PLP in August 2018, initially as a paralegal and since January 2021 as a trainee solicitor. In the past year, Hannah has directly assisted PLP’s lawyers with judicial review claims for individuals and NGOs. Hannah has assisted with a variety of cases, including a challenge to a local authority’s use of s.222 Local Government Act injunctive powers against street sex workers; an access to justice challenge to the Secretary of State for the Home Department’s removal window policy; two successful challenges to legal aid means regulations; and several asylum support accommodation challenges.
Hannah is committed to a career in public law and is particularly interested in access to justice and legal aid.
Project – Second tier advice on asylum support accommodation challenges in a recognised advice desert
This project will provide second tier advice to the asylum and refugee sector in a recognised advice desert in relation to asylum support accommodation. The aim of this project is to:
- increase access to legal advice and judicial review for individuals in inadequate asylum support accommodation within a recognised advice desert.
- upskill the refugee and asylum advice sector in a recognised advice desert on the availability of public law remedies and judicial review, to challenge inadequate asylum support accommodation issues; and
- increase partnership working and networks within a recognised advice desert to assist with casework referrals of asylum support accommodation and linked issues.
Hannah has recently assisted PLP’s lawyers with various challenges to inadequate asylum support accommodation, including cases concerning disabled children and individuals accommodated in the Penally military barracks in Wales.
Hannah has a particular interest in this issue and hopes that this project will assist in providing support to asylum seekers who are living in areas where access to legal aid and public law is severely limited and during a time that is increasingly hostile towards refugees and asylum seekers.
