Litigation and public law team

Kim has worked as a local government lawyer since 1998, initially as a childcare lawyer but expanding her practice areas to include adult social care, mental health, education law, information law, governance and public law, litigation, housing, and employment law.

Kim hold the Law Society Diploma in Local Government Law and GDPR Practitioners Certificate. She is the Lead Legal Advisor on information law and public law matters such as consultation and public sector equality duty. Kim has been Deputy Monitoring Officer for the London Borough of Waltham Forest since 2011, providing support to the Monitoring Officer, senior officers and members, in matters of corporate governance.

Mitchell qualified in private practice specialising in employment law, acting for claimants. He moved to the public sector shortly after qualification as a locum lawyer, continuing to work in the field of employment and started to practice education.

Mitchell has worked for a number of local authority legal teams, defending claims issued in the Employment Tribunal and advising on education law issues.

Patricia qualified as a solicitor and worked in private practice for a number of years. She became a local government lawyer in 2008, working initially as a housing lawyer and specialising in that field.

In 2016, Patricia became a litigation and public law lawyer and is continuing to expand her areas of practice within the Litigation and Public Law team.

Jennifer worked in local government for a number of years, before moving back to private practice, where she specialised in housing law and litigation, dealing with private landlords, companies, local authorities and housing associations, whilst continuing to develop her advocacy skills in the County Court.

After a 10-year stint in private practice she re-joined local government in 2012, dealing mainly with rent possessions, and more recently expanding into prosecutions in the Magistrate's Court.

Samia has worked in local government for over 10 years. She is a senior lawyer in the Litigation and Public Law team, practicing primarily in employment law. Samia undertakes education work and judicial review and she advises and assists clients in defending public law decisions in the High Court.

Previously, Samia was the lead lawyer in adult services and has a keen interest in ensuring our most vulnerable members of the community are adequately protected and safeguarded. Prior to moving to local government, Samia worked in private practice for a number of years. Samia is committed to working for local government and has successfully obtained the Diploma in Local Government Law.

Donna has a strong background working in local authorities. She is efficient in managing varying caseloads including public and private law proceedings, inter-country adoption, and advocacy, including running contested emergency protection order hearings.

Most recently, her experience and caseload involves housing law and prosecution matters, dealing with possession proceedings, advising whether it would be in the public interest to prosecute an offence and covering hearings at the Magistrate's and County Courts.

Glenn joined the London Borough of Waltham Forest legal team in March 2018 as a housing litigation specialist. He qualified as a solicitor in 2005 after completing training in housing, mental health, welfare benefits, and community care.

He continued to work in private practice specialising these disciplines until 2013. From 2013 to February 2018, he was the managing solicitor responsible for the legally-aided services offered from the Norwich, Colchester and Slough offices of the homelessness charity, Shelter.

Faisa began her legal career when she heard a solicitor speak at a school careers fair in Year 9. She then developed through work experience placements at Denton and Freshfields. Ever since then, Faisa has actively joined societies such as the Law Society, entered the Herbert Smith Freehill essay competition, and volunteered to pursue this career.

She is now a Legal Officer at the London Borough of Waltham Forest, working with the Litigation and Public Law team.

Sarah graduated from Durham University with a degree in Mathematics and Philosophy and spent several years working as a secondary school teacher. In 2015 she returned to university to study the Graduate Diploma in Law and Legal Practice Course, gaining distinctions in both.
Sarah joined Waltham Forest council in July 2018 and works in the Litigation and Public Law team.

Althia joined London Borough of Waltham Forest in October 2018 as a Commercial Paralegal. She currently works in the Litigation and Public Law team. She has a wide and diverse work background with experience in the private, voluntary and public sector, with case management experience in mental health, drugs and alcohol, housing, troubled families and anti-social behaviour.
Althia has a Master’s degree in criminology (prison studies) and Social Legal Studies and has completed the CPE and LPC.

Pauline qualified as solicitor through the Magistrates Court as a Legal Adviser, before moving into local authority as lawyer after admission to the roll in 2006. She is experienced in Anti-Social Behaviour, Prosecutions, Debt Recovery and General Litigation and ran a busy team for general litigation within Hackney Council for eight years. She has worked within the Magistrates, County and Crown Courts and dealt with cases in the High Court.  She now holds the Senior Prosecutor position within the Waltham Forest Litigation Team.