Magdalena Gray

Magdalena is a public interest solicitor with a broad practice covering planning, environment, and human rights. She has also built a strong practice advising NGOs on all aspects of their campaign strategy, including defamation, intellectual property, and litigation including judicial review.

Magdalena’s experience includes:

• Acting for a migrant workers union in relation to a potential interference with their members’ rights under Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights. This case could have wide-reaching consequences for the ‘gig economy’ and is soon to be heard in the UK Supreme Court;
• Acting for an environmental NGO in relation to a major exposé of the industrial meat industry, its impact on the destruction of the Amazon rainforest, and the culpability of UK supermarkets.
• Acting on a Europe-wide initiative to encourage whistleblowing in the fishing industry.
• Advocating at a licensing hearing on behalf of a parish council in the successful objection to an application to hold a large music festival in a rural area of southeast England;
• Acting in contempt proceedings defending a major environmental campaign group following direct action involving a deep-sea oil rig off the coast of Scotland;
• Acting on behalf of an NGO opposing new nuclear in Wales, including written legal argument and advocating at application hearings;
• Making a complaint to the European Commission on behalf of a campaign group in relation to dangerous emissions from the uncontrolled use of combined heat and power units in London, causing a breach of European law on air quality;
• Regularly acts for groups and individuals in drafting objections and pursuing planning judicial review and statutory review claims.

Magdalena is a member of the Association of Lawyers for Animal Welfare, and has previously volunteered as a guest writer for a number of publications which advocate for a global ivory trade ban.