Who? Katy Colton, partner and head of politics and law at Mishcon de Reya, London.

Why is she in the news? The firm has been instructed to pursue legal action to secure a pardon for Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in the UK.

Thoughts on the case: ‘The case of Ruth Ellis is harrowing, and a dark chapter for justice in the UK’s history. Ruth was hanged just three months after being arrested; her cross-examination was the shortest ever recorded in a murder trial; and the jury took just 23 minutes to convict her of the murder for which she was hanged.

‘Our firm’s founder, Lord Mishcon, was instructed by Ruth shortly before her execution to try to seek a reprieve. This ultimately failed. It is a privilege to continue Lord Mishcon’s work to seek a conditional pardon for Ruth – by which the state formally recognises that she should have been reprieved. To do so, we must show why Ruth deserves a pardon and collate all the material upon which we will be relying. The case shines a light on attitudes towards women and domestic violence at the time of Ruth’s conviction. We are hopeful that in seeking a conditional pardon, we can demonstrate the necessity of ensuring justice is served, even many years after the fact.’

Dealing with the media: ‘There has been great interest in Ruth’s case over the years, with multiple books and plays written about her. The recent ITV drama, A Cruel Love, has once again brought Ruth’s story to public attention. As a result, the press attention has been significant, on both Ruth’s family as advocates for Ruth, and on Mishcon de Reya as the family’s lawyers. Handling this attention requires a careful balance of transparency and sensitivity. We are still delving into the primary evidence to uncover exactly what was put before the court at the time of her trial and, importantly, what was omitted. The coverage has been fair. We are optimistic about the feedback received from the public which consistently acknowledges the injustices faced by Ruth.’

Career high: ‘Acting for the Jewish Labour Movement as complainants in an investigation by the Equality and Human Rights Commission into antisemitism in the Labour party. This led to a stark and chilling finding: the Labour party was not a safe place for Jewish members. Following the finding, the Labour party implemented an action plan to address these concerns.’

Career low: ‘Seeing first-hand the scale of bureaucracy, groupthink and lack of accountability within some parts of NHS management when acting on behalf of a celebrated NHS surgeon who faced persistently unjust treatment, perpetuated at both a local and national level of the NHS.’

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