Polly Glynn

“I have worked with three outstanding members of the team in recent years – Polly Glynn, Sue Willman and Keith Coughtrie. All three have a huge amount of expertise and experience in this field but also have a huge amount of dedication to their clients and publicly funded work – a rare combination of qualities in a time when publicly funded work for the most vulnerable members of our society is so under-valued.”
Legal 500
“They went above and beyond to ensure that each individual had the legal advice they needed, but also wraparound support.”
Legal 500
“Driven by the fact that they believe in what they do, they put the clients at the centre of everything. They were an integral source of support to my team, and the individuals we referred to them.”
Legal 500
“DPG have a brilliant team of talented lawyers who have a broad and deep understanding of civil liberties and human rights claims, including administrative and civil law.”
Legal 500
“They are all professional, knowledgeable, thorough and responsive. When they are working with any of our beneficiaries they take the time to keep us updated on the case and explain each step.”
Legal 500
“I truly cannot comment enough on the support my team has received from Polly Glynn and Sasha Rozansky. Polly and Sasha are responsive to each and every enquiry for support we make. They always take the time out to talk to us and explain the legal framework of each and every case we enquire about and provide us with the knowledge and tools to support our beneficiaries. They always take into consideration the vulnerabilities of our beneficiaries and they support us to achieve the best outcome for them. They are knowledgeable and thorough.”
Legal 500
“Polly Glynn is a go-to lawyer for clients seeking to challenge the failures of public bodies, including campaign groups and migrants.”
Legal 500
"Always helpful, supportive and a great source of expertise"
Chambers Legal Directory
"A great figure in social welfare cases … willing to go the extra mile for her clients"
Chambers Legal Directory

Background

Polly Glynn set up Pierce Glynn in 1997 which merged into Deighton Pierce Glynn in 2012. She is the firm’s managing partner. She qualified in 1993 having trained and worked at Leigh Day and Fisher Meredith solicitors.

Expertise

Polly is a public law and human rights lawyer, and 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.

Achievements and experiences

As part of her commitment to ensuring access to justice, she has set up The PAP Project, an innovative & hugely successful scheme that enables front line organisations to take formal pre action steps in legal proceedings using a combination of training, precedents and supervision. See the link for a video describing the scheme.

Recent important cases include the Supreme Court case of Imam v Croydon challenging a decision to take their resources into account when fulfilling statutory duties, and R(DMA) v SSHD – a systemic challenge to delays in the provision of section 4 support and failures to monitor private contractual arrangements.

My work

After so many years, I remain hugely motivated and inspired by our clients. It is a privilege to be able to work in this field, with amazing colleagues inside and outside the firm.

Recognition

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 directories “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.” “Polly Glynn is an exceptional solicitor with a thorough understanding of administrative and public law, a keen eye for detail, and an empathetic manner with clients.”

In addition, the Legal 500 directory have placed her in their “Hall of Fame” for her work in Civil Liberties and Human Rights.
In October 2018 she was highly commended in the Law Society Excellence Awards.

Key Cases

Significant cases in which Polly has acted include:

R(Imam) v Croydon – Supreme Court case challenging a Local Authority’s decision to take resources into account when fulfilling statutory obligations.
R(DMA) v SSHD – systemic challenge to delays in the provision of section 4 support and failures to monitor private contractual arrangements.
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 (House of Lords) – 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.