Michael Mansfield

Michael Mansfield
Michael Mansfield in January 2015
Born (1941-10-12) 12 October 1941 (age 82)
EducationUniversity of Keele
Occupation(s)Barrister, legal scholar
Organisation(s)Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers
Nexus Chambers
Known forRepresenting:
Spouse(s)Melian Bordes (divorced)
Yvette Vanson (divorced)
Yvette Greenway
Children6

Michael Mansfield KC (born 12 October 1941) is an English barrister and head of chambers at Nexus Chambers.[1] He was recently described as "The king of human rights work" by The Legal 500 and as a leading Silk in civil liberties and human rights (including actions against the police).

A British republican,[2] vegetarian, socialist[3] and self-described "radical lawyer",[4] he has participated in prominent and controversial court cases and inquests including the Birmingham Six, Bloody Sunday massacre, the Hillsborough disaster and the deaths of Jean Charles de Menezes and Princess Diana[5] and the McLibel case.

  1. ^ "Nexus Chambers". nexuschambers.com.
  2. ^ Edemariam, Aida (19 July 2013). "'There is now a republican movement': anti-royal campaigners get organised". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 June 2020. One of the things I thought staggering," says Michael Mansfield, QC, another republican, who acted for Mohamed al-Fayed in the inquest into the deaths of Dodi al-Fayed and Diana, Princess of Wales, "was the increase of the Queen's sovereign grant. She's getting £5m more than she got last year. That was the day after Osborne outlined cuts of £11.5bn. Now, I know she's got expenses – I dare say the refurbishment of Kensington Palace is necessary but why does the public have to foot the £600,000 bill, rather than the Queen?
  3. ^ Dyer, Clare (8 April 2008). "The great defender?". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 June 2020. No mere mouthpiece, Mansfield is a socialist who throws himself passionately into his clients' causes.
  4. ^ Mansfield, Michael, Memoirs of a Radical Lawyer. London: Bloomsbury, 2009.
  5. ^ Dyke, Thom (24 September 2009). "Memoirs of a Radical Lawyer". New Statesman. Retrieved 25 June 2011.