Polly Glynn

Practice Areas

Polly is a public law and human rights specialist, and as a senior lawyer specialises in important or systemic challenges. She has conducted judicial review claims in the High Court, Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court and has brought multiple cases before the European Court of Human Rights.

As part of her work around destitution, she has set up and is running The PAP Project an innovative & hugely successful scheme that enables front line organisations to do the initial legal work to challenge unlawful decisions made by public bodies, particularly around destitution. Watch below a video describing the scheme.

She has extensive experience of discrimination law, both in the ECHR context, and in public law and private law proceedings.

Recommendations include the Chambers Directory where she is rated for public and administrative law and for civil liberties and human rights describing her as “highly rated for her work on judicial review proceedings, with particular expertise in human rights, discrimination and election law.”

Quotes from directory “She is very innovative and forward-thinking.” “She is really wonderful, she is our hero,” “She is so speedy, so effective and so good with clients who are quite vulnerable.” “She is very measured, diligent and engaged; she is all the things you could want.” “really accessible and able to turn legalese into something that’s easy to understand.”

Career

Polly is Deighton Pierce Glynn’s managing partner and one of the firm’s founding partners having set up Pierce Glynn in 1997. She qualified in 1993 having trained at Leigh Day and Fisher Meredith solicitors.

Experience

Significant cases in which Polly has acted include:

R(DMA) v SSHD – systemic challenge to delays in the provision of section 4 support

Good Law Project v Electoral Commission –challenge to decisions not to investigate irregularities in donations made by Vote Leave and to the Electoral Commission’s guidance on whether “donations” can be “referendum expenses” now awaiting leave to appeal in the Supreme Court.

R( MZ) Barking and Dagenham Council – successful challenge to decision and policy of awarding support to destitute families based on Child Benefit rates.

R(FM) v SSHD – challenge to decision not to award free school meals to those on section 4 support.

R(Friends of the Earth) v Welsh Ministers – challenge to building a motorway through Wetlands in South Wales.

R(McCarthy) v Basildon Council – high profile challenge to eviction of travellers from Dale Farm Traveller site.

Bah v UK – challenge to European Court of Human Rights concerning a parents eligibility for housing assistance where a child is ineligible on immigration grounds.

Doran v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Court of Appeal) – development of green belt for use as a gypsy and traveller caravan site.

R (Adow) v LB Newham (High Court) – outsourcing of medical assessments for housing applicants was unlawful.

R (Guiney) v LB Greenwich and Charlton Triangle Homes (Interested Party) (High Court) – unlawful failure to consult before granting planning permission for major development.

Owens v The United Kingdom (European Court of Human Rights) – damages for non-payment of benefit in breach of Article 14 of the human rights convention.

Hobbs Richard Walsh & Green v UK (European Court of Human Rights) – unlawful discrimination regarding tax allowances for widowers.

R (Mani) v Lambeth LBC (Court of Appeal) – local authority obliged to assist disabled, destitute asylum seeker.

R(B) v Lambeth LBC (High Court) – unlawful failure to provide after care services under Mental Health Act.