Laura is a solicitor specialising in prison law, criminal appeals, community care, mental health and public law. She has particular expertise in representing children, young adults and vulnerable people in detention in both penal and mental health settings.
Laura is a Consultant Solicitor at Scott-Moncrieff & Associates Ltd and GT Stewart Solicitors & Advocates. She was appointed an Honorary KC in March 2025.
Laura has taught extensively (in particular at South Bank University in the Law department since 2007, but also professional associations). She was awarded a professional doctorate in youth justice at the University of Bedfordshire in 2014. She has written extensively for a wide range of audiences on issues ranging from sentencing, children’s rights and parole.
Laura is a Board member the Legal Aid Practitioners’ Group and a trustee of Hammersmith and Fulham Law Centre in her capacity as a councillor in Hammersmith and Fulham. She is also a trustee of the National Association for Youth Justice.
She is the Chair of the Association of Prison Lawyers. She is also a committee member for the Mental Health Lawyers’ Association, the Criminal Appeal Lawyers’ Association and the Law Society’s Criminal Law Committee.
She worked at the Howard League for Penal Reform between 2006 and 2022.
Laura founded Young Legal Aid Lawyers in 2005 and she received both the 2010 Liberty Human Rights Young Person of the Year award and the 2009 Young Legal Aid Lawyer of the year award on behalf of the group. In 2006 she was named Young Legal Aid Solicitor of the year. In 2012 she was listed by the Guardian as a lawyer to watch. In 2019, Laura was awarded Solicitor of the Year by the First 100 Years’ Inspirational Women in Law Awards. Between 2010 and 2022, she was a trustee of Legal Action Group, and chair between 2017 and 2022.
