Our Team
LAPG is a membership body representing legal aid practitioners in England and Wales and the clients they serve.
Our Team
LAPG Staff
Chris Minnoch
CEO
Chris
Chris has been the CEO of LAPG since 2018. He is responsible for setting the strategic direction of LAPG, supporting the board of Directors, financial sustainability and building relationships with key stakeholders.
Kate Pasfield
Director of Policy (Legal Aid)
Kate
Kate works to improve the delivery and administration of the legal aid scheme and helps our members understand legal aid policy. Kate has been with us since 2019.
Rohini Jana
Director of Policy (Parliamentary Engagement)
Rohini
Ro runs the APPG on Legal Aid and educates Members of Parliament on Legal Aid and Access to Justice. She has been with us since 2017.
Anna Neira Quesada
Operations Officer
Anna
Anna has been with us since 2020. She is responsible for LAPG’s Membership, keeping us running as well as social media presence. She is also part of Non-Chargeable Tasks Research Project
Andrea Shumaker
Head of Learning & Development
Andrea
Andrea is responsible for all things training at LAPG. She has been with us since January 2022. She is also part of Non-Chargeable Tasks Research Project.
Tina Puryear
Organisational Training & Development Associate for the LAPG Management & Leadership Hub
Tina
Tina joined us in June 2024. She is responsible for strengthening advice for organisations to help them be more resilient and sustainable through training, consultancy, community, advice, mentoring and resources.
Charlie Boyd
Parliamentary Affairs Officer
Charlie
Charlie joined the APPG on Access to Justice team as a Parliamentary Affairs Officer in January 2025.
LAPG Board of Directors
Nicola Mackintosh KC (Hon)
Mackintosh Law
Nicola
Co-Chair of LAPG / She is a longstanding member of the Law Society’s Mental Health and Disability Committee. She has also been a member of the Law Society Council. She is an accredited member of the Law Society’s Mental Capacity (Welfare) Accreditation scheme. She is also a member of the ad hoc Court of Protection Rules Committee and the Court of Protection ‘Hive’ group.
Jenny Beck KC (Hon)
Beck Fitzgerald
Jenny
Co-Chair of LAPG / She is a current member and former chair of The Law Society’s Access to Justice Committee. She is also a member of The Law Society’s Family Law Committee and a private law solicitor representative on the Family Justice Council.
Julie Bishop
Treasurer of LAPG / Director of Law Centres Network
Julie
Treasurer of LAPG / Director of Law Centres Network for over 10 years.
Beverley Watkins
Founder of Watkins Solicitors
Beverley
She is the founder of Watkins Solicitors and specialises in Family, Education and Public law. She is also a member of Resolution and The Law Society’s Advanced Family Panel, as well as a a member of the Education Law Association.
Lisa Phillips
Director of Switalskis Solicitors
Lisa
She is the director of Switalskis Solicitors and Solicitor Advocate specialising in Child Care Law.
Dr Laura Janes KC (Hon)
Consultant Solicitor
Laura
She is a consultant solicitor for Scott-Moncrieff and Associates Ltd and GT Stewart Solicitors & Advocates where she represents young people in detention. She is also a visiting fellow at the London South Bank University.
LAPG Advisory Committe
Helen Johnson
Emery Johnson Astills
Oliver Carter
Irwin Mitchell
Phil Walsh
Miles & Partners
Phil
He joined the LAPG committee in May 2012 and served as Vice Chair for many years. Phil is a partner in Miles & Partners LLP, a London-based Legal Aid Practice specialising in Family, Court of Protection, Housing, Community Care and Public Law. Phil has been involved in legal practice administration since the late 80s and had his first experience of managing an LSC contract as a Franchise Rep in the early 90s. These days, his focus is on practice administration with the current emphasis on contracting and compliance.
Rakesh Basin
Edwards Duthie Shamash
Lucy Verity
Solicitor & Director - Philcox Gray
Lucy
She has been part of LAPG’s advisory committee since 2006. Lucy became director of Philcox Gray in 2018. She has, since 1999, been the contract liaison for the LAA, managing franchises, audits, and tenders, and continues to hold this role for Philcox Gray. She has practised in family law since qualification and is a LS accredited public law children and a Resolution-accredited private law children and child abduction specialist, as well as a qualified mediator and a Resolution-trained mentor.
Andrew Sperling
SL5 Legal
Andrew
Andrew is a Solicitor-Advocate and Managing Director and founder of SL5 Legal. He was admitted as a Solicitor in 1996 and granted Higher Courts Civil Advocacy rights in 2010. Andrew was a Finalist in the 2013 LALYS Criminal Defence category and a 2021 LALY winner for his work in Social Welfare Law. Andrew is a founding member of the APL, established in 2008 and Chairman of APL between 2011 and 2013. In April 2014, Andrew was commissioned to work on stakeholder engagement and governance projects for the Parole Board of England & Wales. SL5 was established in 2017 and specialises in representing prisoners in parole proceedings and judicial review proceedings. He has been part of the LAPG Advisory Committee since 2016.
Ollie Persey
YLAL & Public Law Project
Ollie
He is a barrister at Garden Court Chambers with a claimant-focused public law practice that is mostly funded by legal aid. His main areas of specialism are education, community care, mental health and discrimination law. He trained through a Justice First Fellowship at Public Law Project. He is co-chair of trustees at Southwark Law Centre and was previously a co-chair of Young Legal Aid Lawyers. He won the Newcomer award at the Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year (‘LALY’) awards in 2024.
Katie McFadden
YLAL & GT Stewart
Jawaid Luqmani
Luqmani Thompson & Partners
Jawaid
He is a solicitor and partner at Luqmani Thompson and has practiced in immigration for more than 30 years. He has been recognised as a leading practitioner in Chambers and Partners throughout that time and has provided training for other lawyers and community groups and been interviewed by the BBC, Channel 4 and other media outlets in respect of topical immigration matters. He has also contributed to the recent developments update in the Legal Action bulletin for over 30 years
Tim Baldwin
Garden Court Chambers
Tim
He is a practicing barrister at Garden Court Chambers and Albion Chambers. He was called to the Bar in 2001 and practices in Housing, Community Care (CC), Court of Protection (CoP) and Public Law (incl. civil liberties). Tim is ranked as a leading junior in Chambers UK for Social Housing, CC, and Civil Liberties and Human Rights and is also identified as a leading junior in the Legal 500 for Social Housing, CoP and CC, and Administrative Law and Human Rights. Tim is Co-Chair of Housing Law Practitioners’ Association, an editor of the Community Care Law Reports, and a representative on the ACO User Group. He also became a member of the Access Social Care advisory panel to provide support to community care.
Paul Seddon
Seddon Costs Law
Helen Dunn
MCJ Law
Helen
She is Practice Manager at MJC Law, a firm specialising in Court of Protection and mental health law. She brings over 17 years’ experience within legal aid practices, in operations, HR, finance and regulatory compliance. Helen has a detailed working knowledge of legal aid systems and processes, including billing, costs management and the practical challenges faced by providers operating within a highly regulated and resource-constrained environment. She plays a key role in supporting the firm to meet its contractual and regulatory obligations, while helping to ensure the continued delivery of high-quality services to vulnerable clients.
Ann Henderson
Bidwell Henderson
Daniel Rourke
Public Law Project
Lucy Jones-Clarkson
Senior Associate at Beck Fitzgerald
Lucy
Lucy is a Senior Associate at Beck Fitzgerald, a leading family law firm specialising in all aspects of family law. Lucy is committed to the promotion of the rights of the individual recognising that all should be able to access justice. Lucy is a member of Resolution and is Resolution Accredited Specialist in Private Law Children and Domestic Abuse.
Pam Kenworthy OBE
Solicitor – non practicing
Pam
A specialist in employment & discrimination law, Pam has worked as a consultant for 10 years dealing with complex HR issues & providing management training. She has very considerable experience in delivering both face to face & remote social welfare law services. She is also the specialist legal advisor to the Employment & Equality Law Centre and the Chair of Swale CAB.
Jo Underwood
Supervising Solicitor and Lecturer in the Legal Clinic at King’s College London
Jo
She specialises in housing and public law. As well as teaching and seeing housing clients in the Clinic, she also carries out research focused around homelessness and access to justice. Prior to working at King’s, Jo was the head of strategic litigation at Shelter.
Hana Cogingsford
Housing Solicitor and Legal Aid Supervisor at Bristol Law Centre
Hana
A Housing Solicitor and Legal Aid Supervisor at Bristol Law Centre who qualified as a Justice First Fellow, and is developing specialisms in working with complex clients, defending possession proceedings, disrepair, homelessness, and Judicial Review.
Cris McCurley
Partner at Ben Hoare Bell LLP
Cris
Cris is a partner at Ben Hoare Bell LLP and specialises in International family law and women and children who are from marginalised communities who have experienced abuse. My first Job was with North East LAPG in 1988. Member of TLS Access to Justice Committee.
Kate Jackson
MJC Law
Abbi Hart
Simpson Millar
Queenie Sit
YLAL
Jonathan Black
BSB Solicitors
Russell Blakely
Wilsons Solicitors
Russel
He is Chief Operating Officer and a Partner at Wilson Solicitors LLP in London, where he leads operations, finance and IT for a firm of around 130 staff specialising in family, immigration, and public law. He works closely on legal aid billing, and inter partes costs recovery, and has a long-standing interest in how firms can use automation and better internal systems to sustain high-quality publicly funded work.
Caroline Liggins
Partner and Head of the Youth Team at Hodge Jones & Allen
Caroline
She is Partner and Head of the Youth Team at Hodge Jones & Allen. She represents young and vulnerable clients from police interviews to the Court of Appeal and regularly appears in serious Crown Court cases. A leading youth justice expert, she co‑founded the Youth Practitioners’ Association, co‑chairs the MOJ Child (Criminal) Advocacy Expert Advisory Group, and co‑authors Blackstone’s Magistrates’ Court Handbook 2026.