Lynne Townley

Overview

Called to the Bar as a Harmsworth Scholar in 1996 (Middle Temple) (Bencher, 2022) and by the Inn of Court of Northern Ireland (2018), Lynne joined the Professional Programmes team at City in December 2016. Prior to this Lynne was in public service, as an Ombudsman and holding a number of posts in the Crown Prosecution Service, including as a Crown Advocate, Advocacy Assessor, and Advocacy Manager for CPS London with responsibility for prosecution advocacy at Isleworth, Harrow, Wood Green, and Blackfriars Crown Courts. She was also a Senior Policy Advisor and CPS national policy-lead on homicide; assisted suicide; honour-based violence/forced marriage, and FGM. In 2009 Lynne was responsible for drafting the 6th edition of 'The Code for Crown Prosecutors'. Lynne has been a member of the Ministry of Justice’s Murder Review Advisory Group (reviewing the law on murder and partial defences to murder) (2008 – 9) ; the Legal Advisor to NHS Health Education England on the drafting of e-learning materials for all NHS staff on FGM (2014 – 15), and since 2020 an academic expert on the CPS Domestic Violence and Honour Based Violence Community Scrutiny Panel. Lynne has been a Committee Member of the South Eastern Circuit Bar Mess (2013 – 15) and Chair of the Association of Women Barristers (2018 - 21). In that role she advocated for equal treatment of those from BAME, LGBT+, and other under-represented communities at the Bar. She also authored, with HHJ Kaly Kaul QC, a major report on bullying and harassment at the Bar (2019). Lynne was a co-founder of the Oxford University Press National Mooting Competition back in 1997 (which coincided with the publication of the OUP book on mooting which she co-authored). She was co-ordinator of the Senior Mooting Competition at City from 2017 - 2022. Lynne is currently undertaking doctrinal research on Honour Crime and has been instructed as an expert witness on familial cultural practices in the criminal, family and coroners' courts. In May 2021, Lynne was awarded Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy and in October 2021, Lynne was appointed by the Lord Chancellor as a fee-paid judge of the Employment Tribunals and a fee-paid judge of the First Tier Tribunal (Health, Education and Social Care Chamber) in England and Wales. In 2022, Lynne was elected as a Bencher and called to the high table of The Middle Temple.

Qualifications

• Bencher, The Middle Temple, Oct 2022
• Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA), Higher Education Academy, United Kingdom, May 2021
• Inn of Court of Northern Ireland, Barrister, Nov 2018
• Middle Temple, Barrister, Oct 1996
• LLB (Hons), University of Birmingham, United Kingdom
• LLM, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom
• PhD Candidate (Honour crime and familial codes of honour), City, University London, United Kingdom

Postgraduate training

• Bar Vocational Course, Inns of Court School of Law, UK

Employment

• Fee-paid Judge of the Employment Tribunals and Fee-paid Judge of the First Tier Tribunal (Health, Education and Social Care Chamber), Ministry of Justice, Nov 2021 – present
• Lecturer Bar Professional Training Course, The City Law School, University of London, Dec 2016 – present
• Ombudsman, The Financial Ombudsman Service, Nov 2015 – Dec 2016
• Crown Advocate and Advocacy Manager, Crown Prosecution Service, Dec 2009 – Nov 2016
• Senior Legal Advisor to the Principal Policy Advisor to the Director of Public Prosecutions, Sir Keir Starmer QC, Crown Prosecution Service, Jun – Nov 2009
• Senior Policy Advisor, Crown Prosecution Service, May 2008 – May 2009
• Borough Crown Prosecutor for the London Borough of Redbridge, Crown Prosecution Service, Oct 2006 – Apr 2008
• Senior Crown Prosecutor, Crown Prosecution Service, Apr 2003 – Sep 2006
• Law Reporter, Court of Appeal (Criminal Division), All England Law Reports, Lexis Nexis UK, Apr 1998 – Mar 2003
• Barrister, Charter Chambers, Oct 1996 – Mar 1998

Visiting appointments

• Visiting Professor, Stetson University, Florida, Sep – Dec 2008

Memberships of committees

• Chair, Chair of Association of Women Barristers, May 2018 – May 2020
• South Eastern Circuit Bar Mess Committee, May 2013 – May 2015

Award

• International Iman Hussain Council (Pakistan) (2017) Award for outstanding achievement campaigning against forced marriage

Featured publications

1. Townley, L. and Kaul QC, H.H.J.K. In the Age of 'Us Too?': Moving Towards A Zero-Tolerance Attitute To Harassment and Bullying at the Bar - A Report on the Association of Women Barristers' Roundtable on harassment and Bullying With Recommendations. The Association of Women Barristers.

Publications by category