Activist Lawyer

What’s behind the upcoming Law Society of Northern Ireland Special General Meeting?

In this episode of Activist Lawyer, we are joined by Rosemary Connolly, recently retired solicitor with over 30 years in private practice to discuss the factual background to the SGM called for 9th September in Belfast.

Rosemary talks us through the issues that have led to the meeting, the importance of solicitors engaging with the p...

In this episode of Accidental Activist, Johanna Nejedlová, co-founder of Konsent, shares the story behind one of Europe's most influential consent education initiatives. Johanna discusses how her work emerged from a desire to challenge harmful attitudes around sex, relationships and consent, and explains why education is essential to preventing violence and promoting healthy relationships. She reflects on the development of the Kon...

In this episode of Activist Lawyer, Sarah speaks with Zahraa Al-Jameel, a law student, content creator and passionate autism advocate working to challenge exclusion and systemic oppression.

Zahraa advocates for a more intersectional approach to autism, highlighting the experiences of marginalised autistic people who are too often overlooked or excluded from mainstream conversations.

Her work explores the intersection between law, a...

Sarah revisits an interview with solicitor Ciaran Moynagh from Phoenix Law in Belfast.  Ciaran talks about how he became a lawyer specialising in human rights, equality, family law and specialist criminal defence.  Listeners might be familiar with some of Ciaran’s high-profile cases including Lee v Asher's Bakery Company (the ‘gay cake’ case) as well as his work around advancing same sex marriage and tra...

When Louise O'Keeffe took her case all the way to the European Court of Human Rights, she changed the landscape of accountability in Ireland. But decades later, many of her former classmates and survivors of sexual abuse in Irish schools are still seeking redress.

In this episode, Sarah is joined by Louise O'Keeffe and Professor Conor O'Mahony of University College Cork, to discuss justice, state responsibility, and why the campai...

What happens when citizenship can be taken away? Why are immigration detainees still struggling to access quality legal advice? And has legal aid been 'strangled by reform'?

Host Sarah Henry sits down with Dr Ayesha Riaz to discuss her fascinating research on citizenship deprivation, immigration detention and the long decline of legal aid. Drawing on years of practice and academic research, Ayesha examines the consequences of gover...

We revisit the archive of Activist Lawyer episodes with one of the UK's leading feminist lawyers and founder and director of Centre for Women's Justice - Harriet Wistrich.   We were reminded of the importance of Harriet's work after watching the ITV drama 'Believe Me,' which tells the story of the women who fought for justice and to be believed after serious sexual assaults perpetrated by convicted serial sex offender -&n...

Sarah is joined by Sahar Francis, a Palestinian lawyer and human rights defender, to discuss Israel’s recently passed “Prisoners’ Execution Law” and its devastating impact on Palestinian political prisoners. With over 10,000 detainees- including 350 children, Sahar highlights the ongoing torture, extrajudicial killings, and systemic abuses perpetrated by Israel. Drawing on her 27 years defending prisoners, &...

In today’s episode, Sarah is joined by activist Basira Paigham and legal officer, Ebrahim from ‘Rainbow Afghanistan.’ Learn more about the work of this impactful and vital organisation established to defend the rights, dignity and lives of members of Afghanistan’s LGBTQI+ community. 

Rainbow Afghanistan, is a non-profit organisation established to defend the rights, dignity, and lives of members of Afgh...

Sarah is joined by Dr Yousef Aljamal on his visit to Ireland as Gaza co-ordinator at the American Friends Service Committee.  This discussion focuses on writing as a form of resistance from the perspective of a Palestinian growing up in Gaza at the hands of Israeli apartheid and oppression.  Dr Aljamal, in a candid conversation, shares how the genocide and decades of aggression impacted his family, friends and neighbours,...

In this episode of The Activist Lawyer, we’re joined by barrister Ifé Thompson, whose ground breaking work is reshaping criminal defence through a racial justice and linguistic lens. Ifé is the host of the Black British English Podcast and is widely recognised by communities and by her peers as a champion for linguistic, cultural and human rights.  From challenging the criminalisation of rap and drill lyrics in court to ...

We are delving into the archive and sharing this 2022 Activist Lawyer episode featuring solicitor Jude Copeland. Jude shares his journey into law, his practice as a legal technology specialist and his outstanding work with the LGBTQ+ community.  We chose to ‘replay’ this episode as it is full of brilliant anecdotes and stories showing how activists, campaigners and fearless people can help shape the law for our ben...

In this episode, host Sarah speaks with solicitor Jack Murphy of McIvor Farrell Solicitors about his work across a broad range of human rights areas. From representing Raymond McCord Sr in the long-running campaign for an Article 2-compliant public inquiry into his son’s murder, to challenging unlawful housing decisions affecting refugees and social housing tenancy succession, Jack...

In this episode of Activist Lawyer, host Sarah Henry speaks with Roi Bachmutsky from Amnesty International’s Business and Human Rights team about corporate criminal liability - how companies become implicated in international crimes, and what it takes to investigate and pursue those cases. From tracing supply chains to preparing criminal complaints, Roi unpacks how corporate accountability operates in practice.

Drawing on hi...

We kick off our first Activist Lawyer Book Club of 2026 – with ‘Through the Gates of Hell – American Injustice at Guantanamo Bay’ by Joshua Colangelo – Bryan.

Listeners to the podcast will remember a recent episode featuring lawyer and author , Joshua Colangelo – Bryan discussing his career in international human rights law, his role with Human Rights First and his latest publication which of co...

Host Sarah Henry interviews Keir Monteith KC from Garden Court Chambers, discussing his pivotal work with the Art Not Evidence campaign. Keir explores the use of rap lyrics as evidence in court, shining a light on the systemic racism that pervades the criminal justice system. He shares the story of Ademola Adedeji, an aspiring law student whose conviction for conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm was quas...

We are delighted to welcome two brilliant lawyers, Marbré Stahly-Butts and Ameca Reali, to the Activist Lawyer podcast. Talking to our host Sarah Henry, the discussion centres on movement lawyering - what it is, what it takes, and how lawyers can be forces for liberation. Marbré and Ameca have recently launched an excellent new book, Lawyering for Liberation: A Toolbox for Movement Lawyers -  an i...