Abigail is a leading barrister. She is routinely instructed in several of chambers’ many practice areas, whether public, civil or criminal. Abigail has particular expertise in special jurisdiction (terrorism, extradition, exceptionally high value fraud). She frequently advises doctors on how to engage with their insurance companies and professional regulators and appears before coroners sitting with juries at Article 2 inquests. Abigail successfully represented the British Medical Association at a statutory failure trial, having been instructed by its legal department. Abigail has successfully defended Bar school students accused of dishonesty, material failures to disclose and other types of misconduct before conduct committees. She presents and defends environmental health prosecutions.

Abigail was Counsel to the Inquiry for the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. On 20th October 2022, the Inquiry published its final statutory report, which was presented to Parliament pursuant to section 26 of the Inquiries Act 2005. In accordance with the Inquiry's Terms of Reference, the report sets out the main findings about the extent to which state and non-state institutions failed in their duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation and makes recommendations for reform. The final report concludes seven years of work by the Inquiry. It draws on the Inquiry’s 15 investigations and 19 related investigation reports, and the Inquiry’s earlier Interim Report. The Inquiry has made 20 recommendations in this final report, which can be read here.

In September 2022, Abigail presented two papers over two days on psychiatric issues and expert witness evidence in extradition cases at the annual Grange medicolegal conference.

In September 2022, Abigail appeared in the High Court for several defendants facing applications by various local authorities to commit persons to prison for contempt of orders of Judges of the High Court.

Between 2021 and 2022, Abigail defended as sole counsel in three American extradition requests (one originating in New York; one in New Jersey, one in Pennsylvania) and she advised on Moldovan, Indian, Australian, Albanian and Norwegian requests. For five years, Abigail has advised an Indian national, living at his home in the UK, on how to engage with his embassy in London; he faces an Indian extradition request for the murder of a serving police officer in India.

In January and February 2023, Abigail will defend the first defendant in indictment order at the fifth trial in a series of linked trials of law firm employees indicted with counts of conspiracy to defraud the public purse. Abigail defended at earlier trials in 2022 and 2021. At the forthcoming fifth trial in 2023, the prosecution alleges that claims made for payments were fraudulent – count one specifies £8,683,277 (inclusive of VAT) and count two specifies £159,294 (inclusive of VAT).

In June and July 2023, Abigail will defend the first defendant in indictment order in a Terrorism List trial. Abigail defended the same defendant at a Terrorism List trial in 2022.

Abigail relishes complex questions to do with jurisdiction, civil and criminal.

In February 2022, The Times’ Register reported as of major public significance Abigail’s case of Cleeland v. Criminal Cases Review Commission [2022] 4 WLR 8. Abigail was led by Edward Fitzgerald KC. The result is that the Court of Appeal, Civil Division, recognised new rights of appeal in judicial review claims of CCRC decisions. In so doing, the Court corrected the prior misstatement of the jurisdiction. A series of cases - wrongly - had decided that a judicial review of a decision by the CCRC was a ‘criminal cause or matter’. That meant that, for decades, the only remedy for an adverse decision from the High Court was to seek a certificate [to determine that the case involved a ‘point of law of general public importance’ and, consequently, an application for leave to the Supreme Court. The result and practical impact of the ruling is (newly) to empower a claimant in that position who, on the papers, has been refused leave to apply for judicial review by the High Court. A person in that position now may renew an application to the Court of Appeal, Civil Division. A person in that position is now recognised as having a right of appeal against adverse substantive decisions by the High Court to the Court of Appeal, Civil Division, rather than forcing such a claimant to seek to obtain a certificate of a ‘point of law of general public importance’ and, of course, then asking the Supreme Court, exceptionally, for leave to appeal.

In May 2021, Abigail successfully argued that the Criminal Procedure Rules 2015, by means of Rule 50.27, admit exceptional jurisdiction to entertain an application to re-open a Single Judge’s decision to refuse permission: Oleantu-Ursache v. Romania; Majewski v. Poland [2021] A.C.D. 90. Abigail’s lay client was discharged from extradition proceedings by means of a consequential order before a substantive hearing.

In August 2020, in the very first extradition case concerning the UK leaving the European Union, Abigail’s lay client, a German national, was granted permission to appeal, relying on Germany’s constitutional non-reciprocity [nationality] bar. Abigail was led by Edward Fitzgerald Q.C. and instructed by Karen Todner.

Abigail was Counsel to the Inquiry in four major public inquiries (instructed by the Department of Health and Treasury Solicitor’s Department). Abigail holds Developed Vetting, sponsored by the Home Office.

In both 2020 and 2021, Abigail taught advocacy for the Inns of Court College of Advocacy, South Africa international advocacy programme. In September 2019, she represented Middle Temple as an advocacy trainer at the University of North Carolina and accompanied the Inn’s student mooters at several moot rounds held in various courts in North Carolina.

Abigail presently acts for a Turkish academic, journalist and writer and drafted his application to the European Court of Human Rights re violations of Articles 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10 and 14 (in conjunction with Article 5) of the European Convention on Human Rights. The application was filed on 30th April 2020. On 23rd November 2021, the President of the Second Section of the European Court of Human Rights determined that the claim is admissible, applying articles 34 and 35 of the Convention: Altayli v. Turkey, re application no. 18733/10. The President of the Second Section of the European Court acceded to the application pursuant to the Rules of Court, Rule 54 (2) (b), and ordered that the Government of Turkey must submit a statement of facts on the admissibility and merits of the complaint. The case has been joined to 242 other such cases against Turkey.

In September 2019, Abigail was a standing member of the teaching faculty hosted at the CEELI Institute for the Rule of Law in Prague at a conference funded by the National Center for State Courts, US Department of Justice. Abigail assisted a delegation of judges drawn from several jurisdictions to formulate media guidelines for an international Bench Book, Bench Book for the Effective Adjudication of Terrorism, Money Laundering, and Cybercrime Trials.