Leila Ghahhary

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Leila Ghahhary is dual-qualified in England & Wales and Canada and practises in public inquiries and inquests, administrative and public law, regulatory law, civil liberties, human rights and international law.

She is consistently ranked by the Legal 500, Chambers & Partners (UK and Canada) and Canada’s Benchmark Litigation.

Leila is routinely instructed in complex, high-profile, sensitive and nationally significant, matters. She acts for central government departments, regulators, public authorities, local authorities, NGOs, corporations, senior government officials and high-profile individuals.

Leila is appointed onto the Attorney General’s Public International Law Panel of Counsel, the Attorney General’s Civil Panel of Counsel, the Equality and Human Rights Commission Panel of Counsel and the Panel of Specialist Advocates in Health and Safety and Environmental Law.

She has been instructed in many major public inquiries and inquests, acting for government departments, public authorities, senior government officials, bereaved families and as Counsel to inquiries.

Notable Public Inquiries:

The Covid-19 Inquiry, as Counsel to the Cabinet Office, No10, and HM Treasury
The Manston Inquiry, as Counsel to the Cabinet Office
The Nottingham Inquiry, as Counsel to the Home Office
Canada’s Foreign Interference Inquiry, as Counsel to the Inquiry
The Manchester Arena Inquiry, as Counsel to the bereaved families
The Gosport Independent Panel, as Counsel to the Inquiry
The Hillsborough Inquests, as Counsel to the former Assistant Chief Constable for West Midlands Police
The Renewable Heat Incentive Inquiry, for the UK Information Commissioner

Alongside her domestic practice Leila has an international practice encompassing public international law, international human rights law and international criminal law. Leila was appointed onto the Attorney General’s Public International Law Panel of Counsel in 2026. She is also the Senior Legal Adviser to an international NGO, advising and acting across a wide portfolio of international work which operates at the intersection of international litigation, diplomacy, policy, accountability and government engagement. Her work includes advising and acting on complex legal and strategic matters involving accountability for atrocity crimes, universal jurisdiction, international justice, United Nations mechanisms, international law reform and multilateral engagement. This work brings together governments, parliamentarians, diplomats, international organisations, academics and civil society to advance accountability, strengthen legal frameworks and support survivor-centred justice in multiple jurisdictions. Leila also works with leading international law firms on complex multi-jurisdictional matters. Her international practice is characterised by strategic international legal and diplomatic engagement on some of the most significant contemporary issues in international justice and accountability.

Between 2022 and 2023 Leila undertook a Master of Laws at Columbia University. Her scholarship focused on public international law, global governance, international criminal law and international human rights. During her time at Columbia Leila was an appointed Editor for the Columbia Human Rights Law Review, a Board Member of the Columbia Society of International Law and she received the Parker School of Foreign and Comparative Law: Certificate of Achievement in International and Comparative Law, recognising her extensive scholarship in the field of international law. During her time in New York Leila also completed an externship with UN Women at UN Headquarters, undertaking work relating to the UN’s Women, Peace and Security mandate and engagement with the Security Council and broader UN mandates including General Assembly, Secretary General, and the Commission on the Status of Women.

Prior to joining the independent Bar, Leila spent a decade in house in local government. This role involved advising and representing the authority across a wide range of common law, statutory and corporate functions of a local authority on public law, regulatory, civil and criminal matters, including inquiries, inquests, environmental protection, health & safety, licensing, trading standards, food safety, housing, revenue, social care & health, planning, highways, education, fraud, data protection, freedom of information, and human rights law. Many aspects of this work engaged European law. This work involved advising and representing the local authority on administrative and key decision-making processes, civil and regulatory matters, panel proceedings and on the implementation of various statutory regimes. Her experience in local government involved the implementation, administration and application of public law at all stages and levels of local government.

Expertise

Ranked as a leading barrister by Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners in this area. Leila has an extensive practice in complex public inquiries and inquests of national and international significance. This work frequently involves voluminous and sensitive evidence, national security issues and sensitive material, parallel political or criminal processes, and intense public and media scrutiny.

Leila routinely represents government departments, public and private organisations, individuals, bereaved families and acts as Counsel to inquiries. Her experience in this area brings a deep understanding of the legal, procedural, and strategic complexities involved. Leila’s work draws on her broader experience across public, regulatory, civil, criminal and international law, and her cross-jurisdictional practice in the UK and Canada.

Representative Cases

Manston Inquiry (2025-present): Counsel to the Cabinet Office in this ongoing inquiry established to examine the conditions at the Manston short-term holding facility in 2022.
Nottingham Inquiry (2025-present): Counsel to the Home Office in this ongoing inquiry established to examine events that led up to the carrying out of brutal attacks by Valdo Calocane in Nottingham in 2023, causing deaths and injury.
Covid-19 Inquiry (2023-present): Counsel to the Cabinet Office, No.10 Downing Street, His Majesty’s Treasury, Ministers and senior government officials across multiple modules of the Inquiry.
Foreign Interference Inquiry (2024-2025): Counsel to Canada’s Foreign Interference Inquiry established to examine and report on foreign interference by China, Russia and other foreign states and non-state actors, the integrity of and impacts on Canada’s 43rd and 44th general elections at the national and electoral district levels, and the capacity of the Government of Canada to detect, deter and counter any foreign interference directly or indirectly targeting Canada’s democratic processes. The Inquiry was also asked to consider a parliamentary report which had accused sitting MPs in Canada of wittingly and unwittingly engaging in foreign interference. This work engaged domestic and international law, policy, and international relations on a wide range of issues, the handling of large volumes of national security sensitive material, and the examination of witnesses in closed and open hearings.
Manchester Arena Inquiry (2019-2023): Counsel to the bereaved families in this inquiry, established to investigate the deaths of the victims of the 2017 Manchester Arena terrorist attack.
Renewable Heat Incentive Inquiry (‘Cash for Ash’ scandal) (2019-2020): Counsel to the UK Information Commissioner in relation to this inquiry on matters concerning UK data protection law.
Gosport Independent Panel Inquiry (2015-2019): Appointed by the UK Secretary of State for Health as Counsel to this Inquiry, established to investigate and report on historical events relating to the care, treatment, and suspicious deaths of patients of the Gosport War Memorial Hospital in Portsmouth, UK.
Hillsborough Inquests (2014-2016): Counsel to the Assistant Chief Constable of West Midlands Police in these combined inquests touching the deaths of 96 men, women and children who lost their lives in the 1989 Hillsborough football stadium tragedy. These monumental Article 2 ECHR jury inquests were unprecedented in scale and length. They began in March 2014 and after 2 years of evidence concluded in April 2016 with 96 verdicts.
Acting for nursing and doctor members of the Royal College of Nursing and the Medical Protection Society in Inquests touching patient deaths.
Acting for the Ministry of Justice in Inquests touching the deaths of prisoners.
Acting for local authorities and schools in Inquests touching the deaths of persons in school or under social services care.

Ranked by Chambers and Partners (Canada) in this area. Leila has an extensive public law practice acting for government departments, public bodies, corporate entities, individuals and public and private organisations on a wide range of public law cases. Her public law work frequently engages issues of policy implementation, the lawful exercise of statutory powers, and human rights compliance.

Representative Cases

Instructed by the Equality and Human Rights Commission in relation to its recent consultation on its statutory code of practice following the UK Supreme Court ruling in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers.
Advising a trade union and the UK Private Hire and Hackney Carriage trade in relation to licence conditions connected to permits granted by a major UK airport.
Advising a government department on the processes and procedures connected to the management of a National Anti-Fraud Network facility.
Advising a licensing authority on the implementation of knowledge and language standards for taxi licensees following a public consultation and subsequent committee key decision to raise taxi licence standards.
Acting for a defendant facing a multi-defendant application for a serious crime injunction, brought by a police authority. This complex multi-day case involved arguments concerning ECHR Article rights.
Acting for the Association of Greater Manchester Local Authorities in respect of the development and implementation of taxi and private hire minimum standards and conditions, a major public consultation and policy development. This work formed part of the UK Department for Transport’s wider work to improve taxi and private hire licensing national standards.

Leila’s regulatory practice complements and informs her public law and inquiry work, particularly in matters involving systemic regulatory failure, corporate decision-making and questions of public accountability.

Leila has over two decades of experience in this area and acts for government departments, regulatory bodies, public and private organisations, corporate entities, and individuals, before a range of courts, tribunals, and administrative panels. Leila acts in large, complex regulatory investigations in a range of enforcement and administrative proceedings. Such proceedings ordinarily involve large volumes of material, highly technical issues and the need to navigate specialist areas of law, often involving novel points which can give rise to complex legal arguments, appeals, and connected litigation such as judicial reviews or appeals.

Leila has also acted on behalf of regulatory bodies and individuals in professional disciplinary proceedings.

Representative Cases

Prosecution counsel, including leading the disclosure team, on the largest ever UK Trading Standards prosecution. Operation Best was an investigation by National Trading Standards into fraudulent mis-selling by the BES group of energy companies. These were successful businesses with a combined annual turnover exceeding £100 million. The Trading Standards investigation faced a series of failed attempts by the defendants to block it through High Court claims, two judicial reviews, abuse of process applications and a parallel multi-million-pound civil action against the investigating authority. This case was ongoing for eight years and involved unprecedented volumes of material. Following a six-month trial, three company directors were convicted of fraudulent trading and the companies’ Head of Regulation and Compliance was convicted of Fraud by False Representation and received a combined custodial sentence of 26 years and 8 months.
Acting for the UK General Medical Council and for members of the Royal College of Nursing in professional disciplinary proceedings against doctors and nurses.
Prosecution of a clothing supplier for multiple, longstanding and flagrant breaches of trademark law. This case involved legal arguments on novel points of trademark and European competition law.
Prosecution of TGI Fridays, a large American international restaurant chain based in a major UK shopping mall, for serious health and safety breaches resulting in risk and injury to employees.
Prosecution of an internet food company and its director for breaches of food safety / health claim regulations and health products law. The regulations prohibit persons from making unapproved health claims in relation to food products. The prosecution was the first of its kind in the UK and involved technical and complicated areas of EU and domestic law. The breaches had occurred over many years and the evidence in this case was voluminous and highly specialised.
Prosecution of two travel companies and their directors for consumer protection offences involving the failure to secure required visas for travel for hundreds of customers resulting in hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of loss.

Acting for local authorities and police authorities in licensing panel and appeal hearings.

Leila’s international practice encompasses public international law, international criminal law, international human rights and aspects of European law.

Leila’s work encompasses a wide portfolio of advice and advocacy on matters of public international law, international criminal law, and international human rights. This includes engagement with domestic and international accountability mechanisms such as universal jurisdiction proceedings, UN institutional processes, special procedures, advisory committees, working groups, governments and their agencies, to pursue accountability mechanisms and influence the development of domestic and international law and policy; advising on legal, strategic, and policy matters; engaging in multi-stakeholder initiatives involving governments, parliamentarians, UN officials, diplomats, academics, and civil society across multiple jurisdictions and the UN system in New York and Geneva; and managing discrete projects in support of international accountability work. Leila’s international work has also included matters concerning ICJ proceedings and proceedings before courts and tribunals in Canada.

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5 Essex Chambers welcomes Leila Ghahhary

6 July 2026

We are delighted to welcome Leila Ghahhary, who joins 5 Essex Chambers as a tenant…

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“Her work ethic is phenomenal, and she never loses sight of the human aspect of matters. She will be very well prepared and on point. She gets to the crux of matters and is very persuasive.”

"Enormously talented; her ability to assimilate information, deal with complex issues, and to convey matters to clients and witnesses in a way that they understand is second to none."

“A formidable advocate whose brilliance and sophistication sets her apart. Leila is an elegant, engaging advocate who has a commanding presence in court.”

Instructing Leila
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Call +44 (0)20 7410 2000 or click here to email

Memberships

European Circuit of the Bar Executive Committee
Manchester Law Society International Committee, Co-Lead North America Subcommittee
International Bar Association
International Law Association
Canadian Bar Association
Canadian Council on International Law
Toronto Lawyers Association
Commonwealth Lawyers Association