Serena Sekhon’s practice focuses on public law. She undertakes a broad range of work within this area, including judicial review, inquests, prison and police law and education.
Her experience includes judicial review of Parole Board, recall and re-categorisation decisions, judicial review and interim relief applications relating to accommodation and financial support under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, representing clients in oral hearings before the Parole Board, appearing in the First-Tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability), and Article 2 and non-Article 2 inquests both with and without a jury.
She is strongly committed to access to justice and is willing to consider instructions pro bono where appropriate.
Prior to coming to the Bar, Serena volunteered at organisations including Southall Black Sisters; Intervene, a legal charity providing advice and representation to prisoners; and at HMP Brixton as a Vocalise mentor.
She has undertaken courses in peacebuilding in Colombia at Universidad de los Andes in 2017, and in international criminal justice in the context of mass atrocities in 2023 (Geoffrey Nice Foundation Masterclass, Dubrovnik). To attend the latter, she was awarded a scholarship by the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple.
Serena sits on the Bar Council’s Young Barristers’ Committee and No5 Chambers’ Equality and Diversity Committee. She regularly participates in outreach events with her Inn of Court and judges mooting competitions.
She is a voluntary member of the Sikh Human Rights Group.
Serena has a rapidly growing inquests practice. Her recent and current instructions include:
Serena specialises in public law. She undertook a pupillage in public law under the supervision of Philip Rule KC.
She welcomes instructions across a wide range of public law matters.
Serena conducts her practice with a particular focus on human rights.
She is regularly instructed on behalf of asylum seekers and refused asylum seekers in relation to various asylum support and accommodation decisions. See, for example, R (OA) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] EWHC 2227 (Admin). In that case, Serena was able to apply her knowledge of special educational needs and disability (from education law) to the asylum support context.
Serena also has experience with challenges to age assessment processes and decisions for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.
During her pupillage, she assisted Philip Rule KC with drafting applications to the European Court of Human Rights.
Serena accepts instructions in a range of education law matters. She has extensive experience with school admission appeals, as well as regularly appearing in the First Tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability).
She welcomes instructions relating to judicial review in the context of education.
Serena has experience in the First-tier Tribunal (Mental Health), representing individuals who are detained under the Mental Health Act.
Serena is frequently instructed on behalf of prisoners in a range of prison law matters. These include:
Prior to commencing pupillage, Serena was a volunteer caseworker at Intervene, a specialist legal charity providing advice and representation to prisoners. In this role she developed experience of prison law and related matters including Rule 39 breaches, breaches of the Public Sector Equality Duty, discrimination, failures to make reasonable adjustments, failures to follow PSIs, issues with healthcare provision and mishandling of prisoner property.
Serena has experience in inquests involving criticisms of the police and prison staff.
During pupillage, Serena assisted with civil actions against the police.
inquest, representing Christopher’s mother, led by Michael Mansfield KC. Christopher died aged 13 after drowning in the River Cynon in Wales. After a two-week inquest, the Coroner found that Christopher was deliberately pushed into the water by a 14 year old boy. The Coroner also issued a Prevention of Future Deaths Report to the Coal Authority about the prevailing absence of a water safety policy with specific steps to protect members of the public.
representing a pregnant asylum seeker, OA, housed for over a year in “temporary” hotel accommodation with her two children including a son with significant care and access needs. The High Court had previously granted permission to proceed with judicial review and ordered that the Secretary of State provide suitable accommodation within 9 days, which the Secretary of State failed to do, leading to the judgment cited above.
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Christopher Kapessa died aged 13 after drowning in the River Cynon in Wales. An inquest into Christopher’s death by David Regan, Assistant Coroner for South…
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The inquest into the death of Christopher Kapessa, who died aged 13 after drowning in the River Cynon in July 2019, resumed on Monday in…
Uncategorised
Christopher Kapessa died aged 13 after drowning in the River Cynon in Wales. An inquest into Christopher’s death by David Regan, Assistant Coroner for South…
Uncategorised
The inquest into the death of Christopher Kapessa, who died aged 13 after drowning in the River Cynon in July 2019, resumed on Monday in…
