Emma Torr - Co-Director

Emma is APPEAL’S Co- Director alongside Matt Foot. She is an in-house barrister. She has oversight of APPEAL’S legal service across all initiatives ranging from the Innocence Project, Women’s Justice Initiative and TV licensing cases. Emma is a fearless advocate who fights for individuals who have suffered serious miscarriages of justice, working closely with APPEAL’s specialist investigators to uncover fresh evidence and overturn convictions through the CCRC and, ultimately, the Court of Appeal.

Prior to joining APPEAL in September 2020, Emma worked for over 15 years as a criminal defence barrister. Previously practising at One Pump Court Chambers, before moving in-house to work in a specialist firm of criminal defence lawyers. Her practice encompassed a broad range of serious criminal offences, developing an expertise in representing women and the most vulnerable and marginalised in society.

Before practising as a Barrister, Emma worked at Protect (formerly Public Concern at Work), the whistleblowing charity. The Charity was instrumental in the implementation of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998.

Emma holds a LLB (Hons) in Law and was awarded the Jules Thorn Scholarship from the Honourable Society of Middle Temple. She was called to the Bar in 2001.

Emma is also a committee member of the Criminal Appeals Lawyers Association and the Bar Council's Pro Bono and Social Responsibility Committee.

Matt Foot - Co-Director

Matt is APPEAL’s Co-director, leading aspects of both the law practice and charity, alongside Emma Torr. He is a solicitor.

Matt has previously worked as a defence solicitor at the law firm Birnberg Peirce for more than 17 years, building a reputation as one of the country’s top miscarriage of justice lawyers and acting in a number of high-profile criminal appeals, including those of Sam Hallam and Eddie Gilfoyle, as well as specialising in protest cases.

Alongside his legal practice, Matt has established himself as a leading voice in the fight to make the system fairer for those at the sharp end of criminal justice. Most recently he co-authored Charged: How the Police Try to Suppress Protest – an investigation into violent and authoritarian police tactics. Previously he co-led the campaign to protect legal aid, co-founding Justice Alliance; and to review the use of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs).

Matt has written extensively in the media, including in the Guardian and the London Review of Books.

Emily Bolton - Lawyer

Emily is APPEAL’s founder. Her casework focuses on challenges to unsafe convictions and on achieving access to evidence. She also engages in broader public advocacy directed at criminal justice reform. Emily is a practicing solicitor in England and Wales, and formerly an attorney-at-law in the State of Louisiana.

After graduation from law school, Emily was awarded an Equal Justice Fellowship and later a Soros Advocacy Fellowship to establish Innocence Project New Orleans (IPNO), a non-profit law office providing legal representation to the wrongfully convicted in the United States. IPNO grew from a staff of one to nine during her tenure, and has so far freed 46 innocent prisoners. Returning to the UK in 2004, Emily helped develop the UK legal action charity Reprieve of which she is a co-founder.

Emily then received an Unltd* Award and a Shackleton Leadership Award to work on establishing APPEAL.

Emily holds a J.D. from Tulane University School of Law, where she graduated cum laude in 1999.

James Burley - Investigator

James is an Investigator at APPEAL working on cases at the CCRC and Court of Appeal levels, as well as on evidence access challenges in the Administrative Court.

Prior to joining APPEAL in March 2016, James interned at the Louisiana Capital Assistance Center in New Orleans, helping to investigate pre-trial death penalty cases with a particular focus on using public records law to obtain records.

Before this James volunteered on the death penalty team at Reprieve as a researcher. He has also worked at Skoob Books, and was news editor of London Student.

James has a BA in philosophy from University College London and holds an Advanced Professional Certificate in Investigative Practice.

Tara Casey - Women’s Justice Lawyer

Tara is APPEAL’s Women’s Justice Lawyer, working on individual cases at the CCRC and Court of Appeal levels, and contributing to campaign efforts. She qualified as an attorney in the State of New York, USA in October 2022, and as a solicitor in England and Wales in November 2023.

Tara has previously worked as a student attorney at the Capital Punishment Clinic at the University of Texas at Austin and the Family Law/Domestic Violence Clinic at the Legal Services Center at Harvard Law School.

She has also volunteered for the Clann Project and Justice for Magdalenes Research in Ireland, two organisations which campaign for effective redress for women and children who were institutionalised in industrial laundries and mother and baby homes throughout the twentieth century.

Following completion of an L.L.M. , Tara joined APPEAL as a Fellow in August 2019 having been awarded the Kaufman Fellowship by Harvard Law School.

Claire Bostock - Solicitor

Claire is a solicitor and joined the team at APPEAL in January 2024.

Prior to joining APPEAL, Claire worked for over two decades as a criminal defence practitioner at a leading criminal firm of solicitors in London. As well as undertaking a range of legally aided trial and other work in both the Magistrates' and Crown Courts, she developed a specialist appellate practice, challenging both convictions and sentences before the Court of Appeal, Criminal Division and submitting applications to the Criminal Cases Review Commission.

Claire has been recognised as a leading criminal appeals specialists in legal directories, such as in Legal 500 2023 where feedback included:

“Claire Bostock is an exceptionally knowledgeable and vastly experienced criminal appeal solicitor. She works incredibly hard for each client.“

“[She] is an excellent lawyer, devoted to her lay clients and devoted to ensuring that miscarriages of justice are corrected.”

“[She] is excellent with vulnerable women, has great analytic and legal skills.”

Claire has particular expertise in representing individuals who have severe mental health difficulties and acting for other vulnerable people including women, young adults and children

Claire was awarded a LLB from the University of Westminster in 1997. As part of her degree, she studied in France and obtained a diploma in French Law at the University of Paris X, Nanterre in 1996. After obtaining her law degree Claire took the Bar Vocational Course at the Inns of Court School of Law, London and qualified as a barrister (called to the Bar in 1999). Claire re-qualified as a solicitor in 2002.

Claire is a committee member of the Criminal Appeals Lawyers Association and London Criminal Courts Solicitors’ Association.

Outside of her interests in criminal law, Claire has previously spent time living in South East Asia. There she volunteered at Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) and at the Migrant Workers’ Centre, non-profit organisations dedicated to improving conditions for low wage migrant and domestic workers, as well as at AWARE, a leading NGO promoting gender equality. She also contributed to various initiatives for UN Women.

Before embarking on her legal career, Claire trained as a Registered General Nurse and specialised in Cardiothoracic Intensive Care and worked in the NHS for over a decade.

Camille Wrightson - Women’s Justice Associate

Camille is APPEAL’s Women’s Justice Associate, working on individual cases at the intake, Court of Appeal and CCRC levels, and contributing to campaign efforts. She qualified as a barrister and solicitor in her home country of Aotearoa New Zealand in September 2018.

Camille’s time at APPEAL was initially supported by a Columbia Law School Public Interest and Government Fellowship, awarded after completion of her LL.M. (High Honors). 

Before this, Camille worked as an Assistant Crown Counsel at the Crown Law Office/Te Tari Ture o te Karauna, representing and advising New Zealand government agencies on human rights, constitutional and public law issues. She has also worked as a Judges’ Clerk at the High Court of New Zealand at Christchurch.

She founded the YWCA Greater Wellington and its E Hine fund, which provides small grants to initiatives supporting young women in the Wellington/Te Pane Matua Taiao region.

Lizzie Norton - Solicitor

Lizzie completed her training contract as APPEAL’s Justice First Fellow, awarded by the Legal Education Foundation. She works on wrongful conviction cases before the Criminal Cases Review Commission and the Court of Appeal.

Before joining APPEAL, Lizzie was a paralegal at Hickman & Rose, where her casework focused on police misconduct. She worked on civil litigation arising from the criminal justice system, inquests and inquiries, as well as data challenges including criminal record deletions. Prior to that she was a paralegal at the Infected Blood Inquiry.

She produced APPEAL’s Surviving Injustice podcast as an intern in 2018.

Lizzie studied law at the University of Nottingham and completed her Legal Practice Course at BPP.

Sue Beere - Survivor Advocate

Sue is a Survivor Advocate at APPEAL, supporting Bound by Injustice (BBI), a community made up of APPEAL clients and their loved ones. With Cath Snow, she develops opportunities for BBI members to share their experiences of miscarriages of justice and campaign for change in the criminal justice system, as well as providing pastoral support. 

Sue previously worked in a primary school for 22 years. She worked as a Family Liaison Officer supporting families and children whilst also overseeing the school’s Nurture Group which encourages children to develop their emotional and social skills. She is qualified in ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support), WWP (Working With Parents) Behaviour and Attendance.

Sue not only has professional experience of supporting prisoners’ families but also has personal experience – for 11 years her husband served a 24 year sentence for a wrongful conviction. Sue is an active member of APPEAL’s Bound By Injustice community.

During the early years of her husband’s sentence, Sue volunteered for a local Barnardo’s project, Community Support for Offender’s Families (CSOF) where she co-facilitated training to professionals across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. The training raised awareness of the impact on families of the justice system and gave professionals tools with which to support children and families.

Sue has shared her husband’s story across various media channels over the years including on Victoria Derbyshire Programme, podcasts, and news articles.

Cath Snow - Survivor Advocate

Cath is a Survivor Advocate at APPEAL, supporting Bound by Injustice (BBI), the community made up of APPEAL clients and their loved ones. With Sue Beere, she develops opportunities for BBI members to share their experiences of miscarriages of justice and campaign for change in the criminal justice system, as well as providing pastoral support. 

Prior to joining APPEAL, Cath worked as a facilitator and caseworker for StandOut, delivering courses in prisons and supporting men post-release. An experienced Art and Theatre practitioner, Cath planned and delivered issue-based, trauma-informed workshops in schools, colleges, secure care homes, mental health hospitals, and women’s prisons.  

Cath Studied Drama at the University of Manchester, where she first encountered those affected by the UK prison system through a facilitation course called ‘Theatre in Prisons and Probation’. After graduating she pursued work in the Arts in the Criminal Justice sector whilst volunteering for Trafford Rape Crisis & The Mustard Tree, a charity that supports vulnerable and homeless adults.   

Cath completed her MSc in Criminal Justice Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science.  

Charlotte Threipland - Communications & Policy Lead

As APPEAL's Communications and Policy Lead, Charlotte uses the systemic injustices exposed by our casework to build awareness of miscarriages of justice among the media and policy makers and drive forward our campaigns.

Charlotte is a lawyer, writer and researcher, using her legal knowledge and investigation skills, alongside the power of storytelling, to expose practices and policies that undermine the integrity of the UK justice system.

She was founder and Editor of openJustice, part of openDemocracy, where she produced and commissioned articles, podcasts and videos relating to justice and social change. In her role as Communications and Research Consultant at the social justice law firm Commons, Charlotte was involved in successfully campaigning against a criminal justice policy that had a disproportionate impact on minority ethnic groups.

She started her career as an intern and then Fellow at the Louisiana Capital Assistance Center, working on the cases of people facing the death penalty in Louisiana, USA. After working in the criminal department at Bindmans LLP, she qualified as a solicitor at Matthew Gold, a London-based civil liberties law firm in 2014.

Charlotte has an MA in Philosophy from the University of Edinburgh.

Nadiyah Akoo - Resource Development and Operations Lead

Nadiyah is APPEAL’s Resource Development and Operations Lead, working on grant applications, crowdfunding and other income generation, as well as supporting Co-Directors with all operational aspects of running APPEAL.

Graduating with a BSc in Business Management and Marketing, Nadiyah worked in the higher education marketing sector before joining an inner London secondary school and sixth form where she worked as a School Business Manager, leading on all operations including premises and facilities, marketing, administration, catering, IT, HR and finance.

Aware of the miscarriages of justice faced by many in the UK, Nadiyah has a personal motivation to contributing to the work of APPEAL.

Nisha Waller - Racial Justice Researcher

Nisha works part time as APPEAL’s Racial Justice Researcher. She is leading a research project which aims to establish whether non-unanimous jury verdicts are contributing to miscarriages of justice and / or disproportionately affecting defendants from minoritized racial communities in England and Wales.

Alongside her work at APPEAL, Nisha is a PhD candidate at the University of Oxford. Her PhD research investigates racialised processes of prosecution in the context of ‘joint enterprise’, particularly focusing on the experiences of young black men. Nisha’s work is motivated by her lived experience of racial injustice.

Nisha also holds an MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Oxford, and a BA in Sociology and Criminology from the University of Westminster.

Tehreem Sultan - Casework and Resource Development Associate

Tehreem is APPEAL’s Casework and Resource Development Associate, supporting work on intake cases, grant applications, crowdfunding and  communications work on miscarriages of justice. She was called to the Bar of England and Wales in October 2023.

Tehreem completed her Master of Laws (LL.M.) at Harvard Law School specialising in criminal and international human rights law. She worked as a student attorney for Harvard Prisons Legal Assistance Project representing prisoners in parole board and disciplinary hearings in Massachusetts and for Harvard Advocates for Human Rights.

Tehreem previously interned at the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court working on a number of State investigations. She has undertaken various research projects including working with Catharine MacKinnon on issues surrounding legal prostitution under international criminal law. Tehreem’s work is motivated by her experience of the justice system in different jurisdictions including the Middle East and South Asia.   

Tehreem has volunteered for organisations including Amnesty International, Amicus UK, and was the Director for the award-winning prison debating scheme, Vocalise. She writes frequently on human rights issues as an author for the UK Human Rights Blog and the Oxford Human Rights Hub.

Fatou Kane - Finance Manager

As APPEAL's freelance finance manager, Fatou oversees the management of financial records and the payroll. Fatou holds a BSc in Business Information Systems, and Accounting and Finance and she is an ACCA affiliate. She has worked in the non profit sector for over 10 years.

Joe Hingston - Chair

Jacob Bindman

Mair Williams

Margaret Obi

Jacob is a barrister at Garden Court Chambers specialising in serious crime, financial crime and national security. Jacobs practice also covers extradition, protest and related public and international law. He has previously worked as a Judicial Assistant at the Supreme Court and as a fellow at the Centre for Constitutional Rights in New York. Jacob was previously an Executive Committee member of the Bar Human Rights Committee for whom he visited the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay in 2020. Jacob retains a longstanding interest in miscarriages of justice and issues arising from the War on Terror.

Mair is a practicing barrister in England and Wales and has been called to the bar in California. She is a member of Latham & Watkins’ white collar and investigations team and regularly provides advice and representation to individuals and companies in all areas related to financial crime and compliance. Before becoming a Trustee, Mair worked on a number of cases and initiatives with APPEAL.

Margaret has been a Deputy High Court Judge since 2018. She is a solicitor and former partner in a leading criminal defence practice. She has extensive experience of a wide range of criminal allegations including murder, complex fraud and grave sexual offences. In 2014 she left private practice to become an independent legal consultant. Her work includes advising in relation to investigations undertaken by the Serious Fraud Office and the National Crime Agency. She also advises international legal teams defending allegations of war crimes in the International Criminal Court. She is an independent legal assessor and Legally Qualified Chair for various statutory bodies. She is currently a member of the Law Society’s Women Lawyers Division and the author of two practitioner books on prison law.

Glyn Maddocks QC (hon), founding trustee of APPEAL, solicitor who has worked on wrongful conviction cases for over 20 years

Edward McGowan, barrister and attorney at law (New York)

Sophie Walker (barrister, One Pump Court) 

Kat Craig (human rights lawyer, director of Athlead) 

Peter Wilcock QC (barrister, Garden Court Chambers) 

Calvin Duncan (former wrongfully convicted prisoner) 

Francis Fitzgibbon QC (criminal barrister, 23 Essex Street) 

Thom Dyke (criminal barrister, 9 Gough Square)

Simon Ford (producer of Rough Justice television series) 

Rikki Garg (prison law specialist, founding member of the Association of Prison Lawyers and a committee member for Crime in Mind)

Stephen Heaton (researcher, Staff Director for the Innocence Project at University of East Anglia)

Carolyn Hoyle (Oxford Centre for Criminology Miscarriages of Justice specialist) 

Laura Janes (prison, public law and appeals specialist and consultant solicitor at GT Stewart)

Gareth Peirce (lawyer for Birmingham Six and Guildford Four) 

Julie Price (Cardiff University Innocence Project) 

Dr Dennis Eady (Cardiff University Innocence Project) 

Christopher Riley (Sheffield Hallam University) 

Jon Robins (legal journalist and Justice Gap editor) 

Brian Thornton (journalist and academic) 

Paramjit Ahluwalia (barrister, Lamb Building Chambers) 

Clive Stafford Smith (attorney, founder of Reprieve) 

Former UK prisoners and their family members, who prefer to remain anonymous