We are delighted to announce that Miranda Butler has been shortlisted for Legal Aid Newcomer of the Year at the LALY Awards 2020. The winners will be announced at a ceremony online on 7 July 2020.
The LALYs continue to play a vital role in recognising and celebrating the lawyers who go the extra mile to achieve life-changing results for often marginalised and vulnerable clients.
Miranda was called to the Bar in 2013. She has a broad public law practice encompassing immigration, trafficking, unlawful detention and healthcare claims. She also specialises in community care law, including claims on behalf of destitute and homeless asylum seekers.
Her practice is almost entirely publicly funded or pro bono. Much of her work is focussed on strategic challenges on behalf of groups who would not be able to access justice without publicly-funded representation. Miranda’s notable cases include challenges to:
- The 45-day cut-off for victims of trafficking support, which resulted in the policy’s withdrawal;
- A Government decision to pursue deportations to Jamaica prior to the publication of the Windrush Lessons Learned Review;
- A Home Office prohibition on certain victims of trafficking undertaking work whilst within the National Referral Mechanism;
- The lawfulness of the gap in support for recognised refugees, many of whom are left destitute after the end of their asylum support and before they can access public funds, employment and social housing in the UK; and
- The fee of £1,012 charged by the Government to children entitled to British citizenship, which resulted in a finding that the fee was unaffordable and unlawful.
Outside her day to day practice Miranda is committed to widening access to justice. Having provided grassroots legal advice and representation in Greek refugee camps, Miranda was one of the founding members of Refugee Legal Support: Athens, which provides legal assistance for asylum seekers and refugees in Greece.
Prior to joining Garden Court, Miranda worked at the Supreme Court as Judicial Assistant to Lord Kerr. She also worked at the European Court of Human Rights and has been instructed in a number of high profile applications to that body, including claims by journalists and prisoners. She is a member of the Equality and Human Rights Commission preferred panel of counsel. Alongside her practice at Garden Court she teaches medical law at LSE.
