Kirsten Heaven

Practice Areas

Inquests and Public Inquiries

Actions Against the Police and Public Authorities

Administrative & Public Law

Career

Kirsten practises in human rights, public law and civil claims against public authorities. She is a specialist in complex inquests, public inquiries and public law challenges across her practice areas, including in police law. Kirsten has acted in some of the most challenging and complex inquests in recent times including in the Hillsborough Inquest for 77 bereaved families, the Shoreham Airshow Disaster Inquest, the Covid-19 Inquiry for the Bereaved Families for Justice Cymru and the Brooke House Inquiry. Kirsten is currently lead counsel for the Co-operating Group of Non-police Non-state Core Participants in the Undercover Policing Public Inquiry.

Kirsten is a Special Advocate appointed by the Attorney General and acts in cases raising sensitive issues of national security.

Kirsten is a Fee Paid Judge of the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal and Assistant Coroner for Swansea, Neath and Port Talbot.

Kirsten trained as a solicitor at Slaughter and May, London, specialising in corporate / commercial and EU law and subsequently worked as a government lawyer. Kirsten has worked extensively in international human rights law, refugee law and minority rights in the Middle East and the Balkans including in NGOs and at the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe. Kirsten has an LLM in International Human Rights Law from the University of Essex.

Professional Memberships

INQUEST Lawyers Group

Police Action Lawyers Group

Liberty

Publications

‘Neglect and multiple failures contributed to death of a 19-year-old in HMYOI Aylesbury’, Inquest Law, September 2013

‘HMP Leeds bullying related self-inflicted death could have been prevented’, Inquest Law, September 2013

‘Heathrow death preventable?’, Institute of Race Relations News, 28 April 2011

‘Darfuri asylum seeker failed by the system’, Institute of Race Relations, June 2010

‘Inadequate inquiry into natural causes death in Oakington immigration detention centre’, Inquest Law, October 2010

‘Death of patient detained under mental health act from postural asphyxia, airway obstruction and acute alcohol intoxication contributed to by neglect’, Inquest Law, October 2010

‘Jury highlight failings by East Midlands ambulance service and Derbyshire constabulary that contributed to the death of a vulnerable male in their custody’, Inquest Law, October 2010

‘Suicide of recalled prisoner in HMP Leeds’, Inquest Law, June 2010

‘Suicide of care leaver’, Inquest Law, June 2010

‘”Excited delirium” related death in police custody: failures by MET Police and a FME’, Inquest Law, June 2010

‘Part 6 of the Counter-terrorism Bill: Inquests’, Leslie Thomas, Adam Straw, Kirsten Heaven, Legal Action Group Magazine, May 2008

‘PPO fails to adequately investigate natural causes death’, Inquest Law, June 2008

‘Restraint death in mental health hospital’, Kirsten Heaven and Leslie Thomas, Inquest Law, November 2008

‘Suicide at HMP Foston Hall: contributed to by neglect’, Inquest Law, December 2009

Personal

In her spare time Kirsten combines sheep farming and bee keeping with channel swimming.

Industry Sector Expertise

Inquests and Public Inquiries

Kirsten has 18-years’ experience acting in high profile and complex inquests from the Hillsborough Inquest to the Shoreham Airshow disaster Inquest. Kirsten is a specialist in all types of inquest proceedings including in the context of deaths in custody, the use of force/restraint, police shootings/firearms operations, mental health detained/non-detained, deaths of children in the care of the state, of detained foreign nationals, clinical negligence related deaths, mass disaster fatalities and controversial and sensitive military deaths (including UK Special Forces). Kirsten also has extensive experience of working on cases involving deaths of women and children in the context of domestic violence and femicide and of children and young people with autism / neurodiversity / and ALN.

Kirsten is a Special Advocate appointed by the Attorney General and is DV cleared and acts in sensitive national security related inquests. Kirsten frequently advises Coroners and acts as Counsel to the Inquest.

Actions Against the Police and Public Authorities

Kirsten has extensive experience in acting in complex civil litigation across a range of her practice areas from claims against public authorities on behalf of: children and vulnerable adults, including with mental health and learning difficulties and autism/ALN, victims of domestic violence and femicide, including failure to protect cases involving the police and national probation service. Kirsten also specialises in protester-related civil actions and high value claims arising from unlawful immigration detention.

Administrative & Public Law

Kirsten specialises in human rights and equality law-related judicial review challenges across her practice areas.

National Security

Kirsten has a particular interest in cases involving national security issues, sensitive material and closed material procedures. Kirsten regularly acts in sensitive military inquests and related cases including involving UK Special Forces. Kirsten is a Special Advocate and DV cleared. As a solicitor Kirsten spent 3-years as a government lawyer working on public and administrative law, international law (including public international law), war crimes, extradition law and EU law. Kirsten has long experience of asylum and immigration law and practice in many contexts, including working on sensitive asylum cases both in the UK and overseas. Kirsten has a forensic understanding of asylum and immigration law. She also has an interest in international refugee protection and international human rights law. As a solicitor, Kirsten spent a year running a refugee legal aid practice in Cairo providing legal representation to refugees, working specifically with former child soldiers from Liberia and Sierra Leone, survivors of the Rwandan Genocide and victims of torture from Sudan, Ethiopia and Eritrea whilst also developing strategic litigation before UNHCR.

Immigration

Kirsten has experience of advising and representing applicants in the Tribunal and the Administrative Court in a wide range of immigration, asylum and deportation cases involving victims of trafficking, unaccompanied children, spouses and other family members and of advising on appeals to the Court of Appeal.

Kirsten also acts for clients in civil claims for unlawful detention in the Administrative Court and claims arising from assaults during the course of removal from the UK. She also specialises in inquests into deaths of foreign nationals both detained and non-detained. Kirsten focused on UK asylum law and practice in her LLM.

International Human Rights Law

Kirsten has an LLM in International Human Rights Law from the University of Essex with a particular research focus on the extra-territorialisation of asylum procedures in international, European and UK law and the law of armed conflict. Kirsten was awarded the SNELS Human Rights Prize by Anne Owers for the highest distinction.

As a solicitor Kirsten was seconded by the FCO to the OSCE Mission to Serbia and Montenegro rule of law/human rights department to advise on war crime trials, minority rights, legal reform, the Serbian draft law on asylum, and training lawyers on litigation before the European Court of Human Rights.

Kirsten provides pro bono legal advice to a leading conservation charity.

Pro Bono Work

Kirsten undertakes pro bono work for Advocate (the Bar’s national pro bono charity), FRU, INQUEST and the College of Law and has helped set up a school for street children in Guatemala City.

Education