Rajiv Nair

Background

Rajiv is a solicitor in our London office, specialising in civil liberties and human rights. He joined DPG in June 2018.

Prior to joining DPG, Rajiv worked in the charity sector, including at the Public Law Project and as a volunteer with the Unity Project.

He is committed to increasing access to the legal profession and actively mentors aspiring lawyers from communities underrepresented within the legal sector.

Expertise

Rajiv has a broad civil liberties and public law practice focused on state accountability. His work spans inquests, civil claims, public law challenges, and public inquiries, with a strong emphasis on defending the rights of individuals facing systemic injustice.

• Deaths in State Custody
  Rajiv specialises in representing bereaved families in inquests following deaths in police, prison, or immigration custody. He has acted in cases involving self-inflicted deaths, substance withdrawal, and unlawful killing. Alongside inquests, he brings associated civil claims to secure redress and drive institutional change.
• Actions Against the Police
  Rajiv acts in civil claims and complaints against the police, with a particular focus on unlawful use of force, protest-related policing, and racial or other discriminatory treatment. He regularly advises clients navigating the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) complaints process and brings judicial reviews challenging inadequate investigations. He also represents clients in police-related death or serious injury (DSI) investigations.
• Discrimination and the Equality Act
  Rajiv has extensive experience in challenging discriminatory treatment by public authorities. His practice includes Equality Act 2010 claims and public law challenges involving breaches of the public sector equality duty. He frequently represents individuals who have experienced racially biased stop and search, excessive use of force, and failures to make reasonable adjustments for disabled detainees. He works closely with NGOs and grassroots groups to support community-led challenges to institutional discrimination.
• Prison Law and Detention
  Rajiv represents vulnerable individuals in prison, including victims of trafficking and modern slavery, in claims relating to their mistreatment. His cases often involve serious failings by prison authorities in protecting the safety and dignity of those in custody.
• Immigration Detention
  Rajiv acts for individuals who have been unlawfully detained by the Home Office, particularly in complex cases where detention intersects with issues of vulnerability, trafficking, or mental health.
• Public Inquiries
  Rajiv has experience representing clients in complex, high-profile public inquiries. He was part of the DPG team acting for a group of non-state core participants in the Undercover Policing Inquiry, which examines the conduct of undercover policing operations in England and Wales since 1968.

Across all areas of his practice, Rajiv is committed to making legal processes as empowering as possible for his clients. His work is led by their goals, and he takes a collaborative approach, working alongside community organisations to address the structural issues that underpin state abuses of power.

Memberships

Rajiv is a member of the Police Action Lawyers Group, Young Legal Aid Lawyers, The Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers, and sits on the steering committee of the Inquest Lawyers Group.