Bridget Dolan KC

Call 1997 | Silk 2016

Bridget Dolan KC | Call 1997 | Silk 2016

Back to Our People

Overview

A leading practitioner in the Coroners’ Courts and the Court of Protection, Bridget was named by The Lawyer as ‘Barrister of the Year’ in 2015. A recent legal directory review has noted “her consummate knowledge of the law, her tactical excellence and her exceptional humanity in dealing with people who are coming to terms with a difficult process”. Drawing on her previous career as a forensic psychologist, she stands out for her specialist work at the interface of law and psychiatry.

Bridget is clerked primarily by Lee Johnson, Clare Sabido, Jennifer Pooler and Emma Bell.

Bridget sits as an Assistant Coroner in Sussex, a Viscount Substitute (coroner) in Jersey and is a co-author of the Chief Coroner’s Bench Book.

Featured by the Sunday Times/Debretts as one of a handful of lawyers in the “500 most influential people in Britain” list, 2016.

Experience & Expertise

Bridget’s practice covers all aspects of mental illness, injury and death throughout the civil courts. She is well known as a leading practitioner in the Court of Protection and Coroners’ Courts and also specialises in bringing and defending claims in the Administrative Court relating to coronial decision making  or under human rights law.

In addition to her Court of Protection practice, which covers the entire range of serious cases that come before the CoP, Bridget is regularly instructed in high profile inquests and inquiries of significant complexity and sensitivity. Her experience of managing countless heavyweight cases engaging rights under Articles 2, 3, 5, 8 and 9 ECHR means she is particularly sought after when public bodies are facing difficult and searching inquiries.

Bridget also has considerable experience of acting as Counsel to the Judge or Coroner in substantial inquests and inquiries heard under intense media scrutiny. Recently these include inquests into: the death of an asylum seeker on the Bibby Barge (2025), the death of a man following police restraint (2025);  the deaths in the Keyham Shootings in Plymouth (2023), the deaths of the 11 men unlawfully killed in the Shoreham Airshow Aircrash (2022), a death on a smart motorway (2022),  a death from a police shooting and an inquest following a sexually motivated murder by a psychiatric patient (both heard in 2021). Bridget was counsel to the inquest in the seven British inquests following the murders of 40 men by Al-Qaeda linked terrorists at the In Amenas gas plant in Algeria – a role which earned her The Lawyer’s ‘Barrister of the Year’ award.

Bridget also has extensive public law experience, advising and appearing in judicial review cases related to Coronial Law, Human Rights Law and the Mental Health Act. She sits as an Assistant Coroner and was a Mental Health Tribunal Judge for over ten years, giving Bridget a particular insight into how to approach the most challenging of cases. Her extensive legal knowledge is put to good use as editor of the Inquest Law Reports and the popular UK Inquest Law Blog.

Whilst she is always keen to work towards a compromise decision that can avoid both the expense and the emotional burden of litigation for her client, she nevertheless relishes courtroom advocacy, using her many skills in cross-examining witnesses and persuading judges when cases go to trial.

Cases and work of note

Bridget’s Court of Protection practice covers all aspects of health and welfare work. She is often instructed in the most serious and complex of cases involving the withdrawal of life sustaining treatment from those who lack capacity. Recent notable cases include:

  • Mrs R v King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust [2024] EWHC 2400 (Fam), a rare case in which the Court discharged declarations relating to the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment from a severely disabled child, which had been granted on the basis that it was in his best interests due to his expected imminent death. Contrary to those expectations the child remained alive and was living at home four months later;
  • BBC v Cardiff Council [2024] EWCOP 50, concerning a transparency order imposing reporting restrictions on the identity of an individual involved in ongoing Court of Protection proceedings in order to facilitate his participation in a proposed documentary;
  • North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust v KAG [2024] EWCOP 38 (T3), concerning whether it was lawful to provide a woman who had developed severe depression and was not eating or drinking with clinically assisted nutrition and hydration. This is an important case concerning the scope of section 63 Mental Health Act 1983;
  • GUP v EUP [2024] EWCOP 3, concerning whether it was in the best interests for an elderly woman who had suffered several strokes to move to palliative care;
  • Re LDP [2024], an emergency application that it would be lawful to administer blood to a 13-year-old Jehovah’s Witness without her parents’ consent if required to save her life;
  • Norfolk & Norwich University Hospitals v Jordan Tooke [2023] EWCOP 45, concerning whether it was in the best interests of a party with autism and learning difficulties, who had entered end-stage renal failure and who had a phobia of needles, for him to undertake haemodialysis treatment whilst under sedation;
  • Re N [2023], an application by an NHS Trust seeking authority to perform neurosurgery on an unaccompanied child asylum seeker;
  • Re H [2023], an application by an NHS Trust seeking authority to treat an adult male Algerian asylum seeker who was starving himself to death for unknown reasons and had possible symptoms of a life-threatening DVT, but who was not communicating with those seeking to help him;
  • Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust v RD [2022] EWCOP 47, concerning a 23-year-old woman who had a personality disorder and a history of serious self-harm who wished to live when capacitous but, as soon she became distressed, lacked capacity and needed physical restraint to prevent her removing her tracheostomy tube in an attempt to end her life;
  • Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust v William Verden [2022] EWCOP 4, an application to set aside reporting restrictions to allow P’s mother to launch a media campaign and find him a suitable kidney donor;
  • Re IA [2022], a welfare case concerning the return of an incapable man to a British Overseas Territory;
  • Re AA [2022], an emergency declaration to provide a baby with urgent treatment needed to save his life;
  • Re TL [2021], concerning whether a vulnerable young disabled man should receive the Covid-19 vaccine against his mother’s wishes;
  • WU v BU and others [2021] EWCOP 54, concerning the balance of personal autonomy and best interests of an incapable woman who was subject to significant coercive control;
  • Re TW [2021] EWCOP 13, considering whether it was in the best interests of a man who suffered catastrophic brain injury arising from a stroke to continue to receive life sustaining treatment;
  • University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust v RS [2020] EWCOP 70, concerning a high-profile application to withdraw artificial nutrition and hydration from a Polish citizen living in the UK who had suffered a significant brain injury and profound disorder of consciousness. His birth family opposed the application, and the Polish Government and Catholic Church sought to intervene;
  • An NHS Foundation Trust v AF [2020] EWCOP 55, concerning the approach of the court when asked to make a best interests evaluation only a few months after another court has made a determination of best interests in respect of a similar decision;
  • An NHS Foundation Trust v MC [2020] EWCOP 33, representing an incapable young woman in the first application to come before the Court of Protection seeking consent for peripheral blood stem cell donation to a relative by someone lacking capacity;
  • GSTT and SLAM v R [2020] EWCOP 4, identifying the framework of the applicable law when an anticipatory declaration was sought relating to a capacitous woman who was likely to become incapacitous during the course of labour;

Judicial Review of Coroners’ decisions
Bridget is particularly sought after to advise and represent parties in challenges to Coroner’s decisions. She has represented Senior Coroners and other parties in numerous High Court cases. Decisions include:

  • Shipsey v HM Senior Coroner for Worcestershire [2025] EWHC 605 (Admin): Whether new evidence from family statements, social media, psychiatric evaluations, and toxicology reports justified a fresh inquest being held where the initial inquest had recorded a conclusion of suicide.
  • R (Parkin) v HM Coroner for Inner London (East) [2024] EWHC 744 (Admin): Whether a Coroner had a duty under Article 2 ECHR to investigate the circumstances of a woman’s death in a housefire where the relevant risk factors were at all times under her control, she had been resistant to State intervention, and where the authorities were dependent on her consent in order to intervene.
  • Bell v HM Coroner for South Yorkshire [2023] EWHC 3533 (Admin): Whether new evidence justified a fresh inquest after a 30-year delay.
  • HM Coroner for West Sussex v Secretary of State for Transport  [2022] 215 EWHC (QB): Whether material deployed in public at a criminal trial may subsequently be used by a Coroner if it is covered by the regulations protecting AAIB material;
  • Davison v Senior Coroner for Hertfordshire [2022] EWHC 2343 (Admin): Whether new expert evidence justified a fresh inquest.
  • Mays v Senior Coroner for Kingston upon Hull [2021] EWHC 3604 (Admin): Whether a fresh inquest was required where relevant material had been knowingly withheld from the first.
  • Skelton v Senior Coroner for West Sussex [2020] EWHC 2813 (Admin): Whether Art 2 obligations were engaged where police investigatory failures were alleged.

Bridget’s inquest and inquiry practice includes all types of sensitive and substantial cases that come before a Coroner, including deaths following clinical negligence, in accidents at work, deaths after restraint and fatal self-harm by detainees. Recent cases include:

  • Representing the UKHSA , a core participant, in the first two modules of the Covid-19 Inquiry.
  • Representing SW Ambulance Service Foundation Trust in the Dawn Sturgess (Novichok) Inquiry
  • Acting as Counsel to the Inquest into the death of officer cadet at RMAC Sandhurst;
  • Acting for Dr Jane Harrison in the Inquest into the death of her husband, Dr Kim Harrison, after their son was wrongly discharged from psychiatric care when suffering from schizophrenia;
  • Acting for the Trust in the Inquest into the death of a detained patient where four staff members had been prosecuted for perverting the course of justice in relation to their evidence
  • Acting as Counsel to the Inquest into the death of Archie Battersbee, a 12-year-old boy whose life-support was withdrawn after he suffered a catastrophic brain injury. Bridget’s expertise in both the Court of Protection and in inquests was crucial in navigating difficult legal points, including the impact of High Court reporting restrictions on open justice in the Coroners’ Courts;
  • Acting as Counsel to the Inquest into the deaths of Kamil Iddrisu and Youngson Nkhoma, two Commonwealth recruits into the British Army who collapsed and died during an ‘easy’ 2km run. Medical evidence revealed that both men had sickle cell trait (SCT). Questions arose as to why the Army, when three other recruits had similarly collapsed but survived weeks earlier, had not noted the connection to SCT;
  • Acting as Counsel to the Inquest into the death of Brian Ringrose who died after having been restrained by police officers in a hospital emergency department with several clinical staff looking on;
  • Acting as Counsel to the Inquest into the death of Katie Locke who was murdered by Carl Langdell, a man she had only just met on an internet dating site and who, unbeknownst to her, was a sexual psychopath who had been discharged from a psychiatric hospital only a few weeks before and was still making threats to kill other women. The Inquest focused on significant questions regarding the risk assessment and community supervision of her murderer by police, probation, and mental health services;

Notable civil claims brought under HRA include:

  • Achieving significant damages from a Local Authority for breaching the Art 5 rights of a woman who was removed to and kept in a care home against her capable wishes;
  • Achieving HRA damages of £10,000 from a Local Authority for a man with Down’s syndrome who was wrongly denied sex education and so was required to cease sexual relations with his wife for over a year – Re CH [2017] EWCOP 12;
  • Negotiating a substantial payment for breaches of Art.2 and Art.3 ECHR for the family of a young woman who killed herself after being wrongly denied admission to a psychiatric unit;
  • Representing Mrs D, a disabled client wrongly removed from the care of her husband in breach of her Art 5 and the couple’s Art 8 rights: after securing her client’s return home a compromise agreement saw the couple achieve £27,000 in damages under the HRA.

Awards and Directory quotes

Recognised as a leading practitioner in The Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners for her work in the Court of Protection, in Inquests and Inquiries and Clinical Negligence, Bridget was named “Barrister of the Year” at The Lawyer awards in 2015 following her work as counsel to the In Amenas inquests. In 2016 she has been noted as one of the 500 most influential people in Britain today in the Debretts/Sunday Times list and was also one of the 400 invitees to the “Women of the Year” assembly. She was shortlisted for the Court of Protection and Community Care Silk of the Year Award at The Legal 500 UK Bar Awards 2023.

Recent directory editorial has included the following:

“Bridget is a powerhouse. She is so committed to her clients, the commitment and expertise shine through her advice and her.”
The Legal 500, 2025

“Bridget is a tour de force in the coroner world. She is the go-to guru for advice on difficult coronial issues and simply the best as counsel to the inquest.”
The Legal 500 2025

“Bridget is a go-to counsel for difficult and complex welfare matters. Her understanding of complex and developing areas of law is second to none, and she can assimilate vast quantities of material in a short period.”
The Legal 500 2025

“Bridget has superb ability, speed and interpretation of the law.”
“Her advocacy is robust and informed.”
Chambers and Partners 2025

“Her technical knowledge is exceptional and her advocacy, both between parties and on her feet, is impressive.”
Chambers and Partners 2025

“Bridget knows the law and is able to manage sensitively emotional and delicate cases.”
Chambers & Partners 2024

“Bridget is a formidable and fearless advocate.”
The Legal 500 2024

“Bridget is hugely experienced and has a no-nonsense approach that is very much valued by clients and instructing solicitors alike.”
Chambers & Partners 2024

‘An exceptional advocate. Her knowledge of coronial process and law is second to none. Hugely impressive in court.’
The Legal 500 2024

“Her knowledge of all things healthcare is truly impressive and reflects the dedication to her work and clients.”
Chambers & Partners 2024

“Bridget has exceptional knowledge and experience of coronial law; she is well organised and efficient in her approach.”
Chambers & Partners 2024

“She is able to break heart-wrenching material very well; her ability to be sensitive yet forceful was really excellent.”
Chambers & Partners 2024

“Bridget Dolan’s support has been excellent in every respect.”
Chambers & Partners 2023

“She has a very entertaining style and is very knowledgeable on the law.”
Chambers & Partners 2023

“Bridget has a tremendous presence in court.”
Chambers & Partners 2023

“She is absolutely formidable in terms of what she can achieve.”
Chambers & Partners 2023

“Bridget is on top of the issues straight away and handles matters with a huge level of sensitivity and care.”
Chambers & Partners 2023

“Bridget’s knowledge of the Court of Protection is second to none. Her written work is outstanding too, she knows the path through any case.”
Chambers & Partners 2023

“Bridget is simply brilliant.”
The Legal 500 2023

“Her knowledge of the relevant case law and legislation is encyclopaedic, and her advocacy is clear, elegant and highly persuasive.”
The Legal 500 2023

“She is tenacious and does a fantastic job for her clients. She is all over the details and doesn’t miss anything.”
Chambers & Partners 2022

“She is an excellent orator and has an unparalleled ability to perceive novel solutions to difficult circumstances.”
Chambers & Partners 2022

“She has deep sector knowledge and is really easy to work with. She’s extremely good at assimilating immense quantities of information, knowing what the judge will be interested in and identifying how to present a case to a judge.” “She is excellent in court and commands the judges’ attention.”
Chambers & Partners 2021

“She is very sharp, has great analytical skills and is very popular with clients. She’s also a persuasive advocate.”
Chambers & Partners 2021

“The experience of dealing with her is immensely reassuring due to her consummate knowledge of the law, her tactical excellence and her exceptional humanity in dealing with people who are coming to terms with a difficult process, the outcome of which is critical to them.” “Bridget Dolan is an exceptional lawyer who is highly respected in her field. Whilst she is at the top of her game she also has the ability to clearly explain complex issues in a way that everyone can understand.”
Chambers & Partners 2021

“An absolutely fantastic quality inquests expert. She asks tough questions when you need them and soft ones when you don’t.” “She’s extremely good at coming up with the weird and wonderful to get you out of trouble. She isn’t your usual barrister: she has a mind that works about twice as fast and then the solution that comes out is novel, original, well thought out and legally exceptional.” “She’s sensible, pragmatic and calm and clients love her.”
Chambers & Partners 2020

“Bridget is able to get to the crux of a matter swiftly and succinctly. Her expertise in complex matters in the Court of Protection, particularly with regards to sexual relations, is outstanding. She is accessible, responsive and provides clear and helpful advice.” “She is really down to earth, gets things really quickly and thinks outside the box.” “She’s fantastic on her feet – an excellent advocate.” “She’s extremely client-friendly and is very knowledgeable in this area.” “She is incredibly grounded, down to earth, empathetic and always goes the extra mile.”
Chambers & Partners 2020

reflections

I consider myself really very lucky to have enjoyed both my careers so much. As a psychologist for 13 years before I came to the Bar, my focus was on understanding why people acted as they did and helping them to manage their problems. I regard myself as having developed rather than changed my career when I came to the Bar as so much of my work as a barrister draws on the skills I learned in my clinical practice. I still see my main role as helping people or organisations with problems in situations they either can’t or haven’t been able to sort out by themselves.

I never wanted to be a black letter lawyer; arguing over contracts or bricks was never going to be for me. I am fundamentally a people person, and it is helping people with life problems that gives me satisfaction. My core practice in the Court of Protection, Inquests and Mental Health law provides me with a satisfying balance of interesting and still developing law alongside the very important human aspect in some of the most heart wrenching and difficult of cases. The immense variety between cases, the personalities and the emotions involved keeps me fresh.

“I am fundamentally a people person and it is helping people with life problems that gives me satisfaction.”

Teamwork is my thing; I believe barristers should work cases with the solicitors, and not in addition to them. I have seen that, whether the case is big or small, it will always benefit from pooling our joint views, thoughts and perspectives. We all have our particular skills and outlook and so I look to foster a truly collaborative team approach and try to be available for quick chats and emails as the case develops. So those “phone a friend” calls to me are always welcome at any stage of a case.

Academic

Bridget has a first-class honours degree and a doctorate in Psychology, graduating in 1984. She was awarded a PhD in 1989 for her study of the socio-cultural factors underlying bulimia nervosa. From 1984 to 1997 she worked as a psychologist at St George’s Medical School, London. She completed her part time Law Conversion Course at Brighton University and her bar finals at ICSL whilst still working as a Lecturer in Forensic Psychology at St George’s. She joined Serjeants’ Inn as a pupil in 1997, taking silk in 2016 after 18 years in practice.

Seminars / lectures

Coming from an academic background Bridget has a passion for communicating the law to others through education and so thoroughly enjoys lecturing and contributing to seminars. She is currently part of the Chief Coroner’s Training Team and has been commissioned to deliver training at all levels for High Court Judges, Senior Coroners and Mental Health Tribunal Judges through to undergraduate students. She is always happy to work with solicitors’ firms and public bodies to devise and present custom-made training.

Recent highlights include:

  • Northern Irish High Court Judges & Coroners: delivering training on Article 2 inquests
  • Senior, Area and Assistant Coroners: delivering five seminars as part of the Chief Coroner’s compulsory national training course.
  • Section 12 MHA course for Psychiatrists: trainer on a bi-annual course re: Human Rights Act & Mental Health Law and the Mental Capacity Act.

PRO BONO AND DIRECT ACCESS WORK

Bridget accepts pro bono mental health, Court of Protection and Inquest cases, including providing representation for families at inquests, via the Bar Pro-Bono Unit and mental health charities. She is also Direct Access accredited and accepts direct access work in the Court of Protection and Coroners’ Courts.

Publications

Bridget has written four books and over fifty academic articles. A selection of her publications include:

  • A co-editor of Jervis on Coroners 14th (2019) & 15th (2024) editions.
  • Part of the team devising the Chief Coroner’s Guidance for Coroners on the Bench
  • Co-authoring chapter twelve: Pregnancy and Childbirthin the fourth edition of the book Medical Treatment: Decisions and the Law, edited by Christopher Johnston KC and Sophia Roper KC and written by 27 members of Serjeants’ Inn.
  • Medical Treatment Decisions and the Law(2016) Johnston C (Ed). Co-author of two chapters and editor of three others. Bloomsbury, London
  • Co-authoring the chapter, Law and the Mentally Disordered Offender: an Overview of Structures and Statutes, in Bartlett and McGauley (eds) Forensic Mental Health Concepts Systems and Practice (OUP, 2009)
  • Review of Treatments for Severe Personality Disorder (2003) Home Office, London (co-author of report commissioned by the Home Office/Dept Health)
  • The Mental Health Act 1983 explained (2001) Dolan B & Powell D, Stationery Office, London (Second Edition)

Privacy

Bridget adopts and adheres to the provisions of her privacy notice which can be accessed here.

FURTHER INFORMATION

For further details of Bridget’s practice please click on the links to the left or contact a member of the clerking or client service team.

Bar Council Membership No: 37139
Registered Name: Bridget Maura Dolan
VAT Registration No: 739831693