Saimo Chahal

Saimo graduated from Sussex University in 1982 with a BA Honours in Sociology. She then worked for several years as a caseworker at the Brighton Rights Advice Centre, largely on Immigration and Housing law cases. She did her Solicitors’ Finals at the College of Law completing this in 1988. Saimo did part of her Articles at the North Lewisham Law Centre and the part half at Hornby and Levy, a law firm in Brixton,  London. Her supervisor, Marcia Levy did Mental Health work and she became very interested in this area of work as she thought it was interesting as it raised issues about fundamental human rights.

Saimo qualified as a solicitor in 1990 and after qualifying, she joined Battersea Law Centre as the Supervising Solicitor and when this was closed down by Wandsworth Council, she joined the law firm, Hanne & Co in Lavender Hill, South West London, handling Employment, Housing and Mental Health cases. She joined Bindman & Partners in 1993 and became a partner in 1995.

Saimo’s current areas of practice are in Mental Health law, Healthcare, Inquests, Inquiries, Prison Law and other Public Law cases.  These areas all raise Human Rights issues.

Saimo is passionate about her clients’ rights, is highly regarded and acknowledged as a dynamic practitioner who does cutting edge human rights cases. She won the Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year 2006 in the Mental Health category for “repeatedly pushing the boundaries of the law on behalf of those with mental illness, learning difficulties and other particularly vulnerable individuals.” The judges, which included Cherie Booth QC and Doreen Lawrence, of the Stephen Lawrence Trust, praised Saimo’s work in bringing ground-breaking cases which have helped to protect and extend the rights of these most vulnerable people. Chambers states that she is “known as a fierce litigator in pursuit of her clients’ rights” and has a “reputation for efficiency and a proven track record in her areas”. She is ranked in band 1 for mental health work and second in Civil Liberties in Chambers and Partners 2007.

The case of Peter Sutcliffe was referred to her by another solicitor because she “takes on difficult cases”. For Saimo this case raises the issue of how we treat mentally ill people who have committed heinous crimes and she is concerned that there is a huge amount of information in the public domain about this case that is simply untrue. She sees her role as” challenging the perception of the role of lawyers, providing representation to those who are disenfranchised, putting aside preconceptions and looking at the mentally ill person and the issues her/his case raises”

Saimo has handled many leading cases involving Article 2 (right to life) and  Art 8 (right to family life) of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) which have set legal precedents including:

• R (JL) v the Secretary of State [2007] EWCA CIB 767 involving JL, who attempted suicide at Feltham Youth Offenders Institution, resulting in permanent brain damage.  The Court of Appeal accepted that the simple fact of a death or serious injury of a person in custody gives rise to an obligation on the State to conduct an Article 2 compliant investigation.  The case has far reaching implications.  The Secretary of State has petitioned the House of Lords and the hearing will take place next year.  The Public Inquiry ordered by the Court will commence in 2008, nonetheless. 
• R (LD) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (CA) [2006] .  This and who attempted suicide.  The case concerned the ambit of an Article 2 ECHR Inquiry.  The case established that it should be in public, independent, involve the next of kin and be properly funded.  The case has had far reaching implications as to the nature and terms of independent inquiries in order to comply with Article 2.  
• D in the Public Inquiry   Saimo represents D in the first ever Art 2 compliant public Inquiry into a near death suicide, which seeks to establish how D ended up with catastrophic brain damage whilst in the custody of the State.  Also, as to what lessons can be learned by the Prison Service.  The Inquiry will make recommendations about changes in policy and practise so as to prevent future incidents.
• R (RC and SM) on behalf of the Mental Health Lawyers Association) v the LSC [2007] Admin currently acting for the Mental Health Lawyers Association issuing a judicial review claim challenging the Legal Services Commission’s (LSC) decision to introduce a fixed fee scheme for mental health work from January 2008 which Saimo described as “recklessness” on the part of the LSC in ignoring the views of those at the sharp end of the reforms.
• The case of Debbie Purdy, who is seeking to change the law on assisted suicide. The case is supported by Dignity in Dying and has received considerable media attention.  Ms Purdy suffers from Multiple Sclerosis and wishes to avail herself of an assisted suicide when life becomes intolerable.  She seeks to change the law on assisted suicide, and request that the DPP issue a policy statement that he will prosecute friends or relatives who assist with a medically assisted suicide in line with current practise, where a person avails him/herself of the services of Dignitas in Switzerland, where medically assisted suicide is legal.
• Saimo acts for Peter Sutcliffe (now Coonan), the man who came to be known as the “Yorkshire Ripper”.  He was convicted in 1981 of 13 charges of murder and seven charges of attempted murder. He began his sentence at Pankhurst Prison but  3 years later was diagnosed with schizophrenia and transferred to Broadmoor high security hospital, where he is detained under s.47 of the  Mental Health Act 1983. Saimo acts for Peter Coonan with regard to his mental health case and also on his application to set his tariff as the Secretary of State is in breach of Article 5 (right to protection from arbitrary detention and imprisonment) of the ECHR in failing to set a tariff.