This lecture will focus on human rights and the wrongs of unexpected and/or sudden deaths in which the state is implicated. It will cover the importance of a proper death investigation, the impact on the family and state, how Magna Carta influences death investigations 800 years on, and current trends and statistics in state deaths.
How does the state show it cares when deaths occur? Does the state learn lessons? How can the bereaved move on?
Professor Leslie Thomas QC was appointed Gresham Professor of Law in 2020.
He is one of the top rated silks in the country, ranked leading individual by both Chambers and the Legal 500 (2020). He has been a QC since 2014. He was educated at a South London comprehensive and studied law at Kingston University.
Professor Thomas is a leading expert in claims against the police and other public authorities, and claims against corporate bodies, with expertise across the full spectrum of civil wrongs, civil litigation, human rights, data and privacy claims. He is an expert in all aspects of inquests and public inquiries, having represented many bereaved families, in particular where there has been abuse of state or corporate power.
As well as winning cases, Thomas has won a string of awards for his work and has been called to the Bar in several other international legal jurisdictions.
Until 31 January 2020, Professor Thomas served as a joint Heads of Chambers at Garden Court Chambers. He is a Bencher to the Inner Temple, where he is also Deputy Master for inclusivity and diversity. He is on the Bar Standards Board, the bar’s regulatory body. He has also served on the management committee of Liberty and the Central London Law Centre.
Professor Thomas's lecture series are as follows:
2021/22 Race, Colonialism and Power in the Legal System
2020/21 Death, The State and Human Rights
All lectures by the Gresham Professors of Law can be accessed here
