Who Is Scarlett Milligan?
Scarlett Milligan is a British barrister whose legal career has developed across several areas of public and private law. She is a member of 39 Essex Chambers in London and has built a practice that includes public law, civil liberties and human rights, personal injury, inquests and public inquiries, regulatory and disciplinary matters, health and safety, procurement, environmental law and sport. Her work is notable for crossing the boundaries between different areas of law, particularly where public authorities, individual rights, civil liability and investigations overlap.
Scarlett Milligan was called to the Bar in 2015. Since then, she has developed a broad practice that has involved representing individuals, families, organisations, regulators and government bodies. Her professional profile also includes work in some of the United Kingdom’s significant public inquiries and legal proceedings. These experiences have contributed to her reputation as a barrister who deals with complicated factual records and cases involving substantial amounts of evidence.
The term “Scarlett Milligan barrister” is therefore closely associated with a wide-ranging legal practice rather than one narrowly defined speciality. Her work includes cases involving public authorities and government departments as well as civil claims and matters involving human rights. This breadth is an important part of understanding her career because many of her cases involve more than one area of legal expertise.
Scarlett Milligan Barrister and Her Career at the Bar
Scarlett Milligan’s career began at the Bar in 2015. A barrister’s professional development is generally shaped by the cases they handle, the areas in which they practise and the institutions before which they appear. In Milligan’s case, her practice has expanded into several connected areas, allowing her to work on cases involving public law, civil liability, human rights and investigations.
Her career also includes appointments to government and public-interest legal panels. She joined the Attorney General’s Panel of Civil Counsel as a C Panel member in 2020 and was appointed to the B Panel in 2023. She has also been a member of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s B Panel of Counsel since 2024.
These appointments are significant parts of her professional biography because they show that her work includes instructions connected with public bodies and government-related legal matters. They also demonstrate how her career has developed from her early years at the Bar into increasingly substantial work across public and civil law.
Her professional profile describes her as acting for both claimants and defendants. This is an important feature of her practice. A barrister working across different types of cases may represent an individual challenging a public authority in one matter while representing a public body or organisation in another. Consequently, her professional work cannot be described simply as representing one particular side of legal disputes.
Education, Legal Qualification and Professional Development
Becoming a barrister in England and Wales involves professional training and qualification before an individual can practise. Scarlett Milligan was called to the Bar in 2015, marking the beginning of her professional career as a barrister.
Since qualification, her development has included work in public law, human rights, civil liability, inquests and inquiries. Over time, she has also developed experience in regulatory matters, health and safety, procurement, environmental issues and sports law.
One notable characteristic of her professional development is the relationship between these areas. For example, an incident involving a fatality can potentially lead to an inquest, civil litigation, human rights considerations and questions about public authority responsibilities. Similarly, an issue involving a building or workplace can raise health and safety, regulatory, personal injury and public law questions.
This interdisciplinary aspect helps explain why Scarlett Milligan has developed a broad professional profile. Instead of limiting her work to a single category of litigation, her practice covers situations where several legal principles may need to be considered together.
Scarlett Milligan and Public Law
Public law is one of the central areas of Scarlett Milligan’s practice. Public law deals with the exercise of powers by public authorities, government departments and other bodies carrying out public functions.
Her work in this field has included judicial review proceedings and matters involving government departments, regulators, prisons, healthcare and other public institutions. Judicial review is a process through which the lawfulness of decisions or actions by public bodies can be examined by the courts.
Public law cases can be particularly complex because they often involve large documentary records, statutory frameworks, administrative decisions and questions about procedural fairness. A barrister working in this area may need to analyse legislation, regulations, previous court decisions, evidence and the reasoning behind an administrative decision.
Milligan’s professional profile describes her as regularly acting as sole counsel in significant public law proceedings. Her work has included matters before the High Court, Divisional Court and Court of Appeal.
Her public law practice also overlaps with her human rights work. A challenge involving a public authority may involve both administrative law principles and rights protected under domestic law and the European Convention on Human Rights.
Civil Liberties and Human Rights Work
Another major component of Scarlett Milligan’s career is civil liberties and human rights law. Her practice has involved cases concerning areas such as discrimination, prisons, trafficking, mistreatment, fatal incidents and other circumstances in which individual rights may be engaged.
Human rights litigation can involve questions under several provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights. Depending on the facts of a case, issues may involve the right to life, protection from inhuman or degrading treatment, privacy and family life, or other Convention rights.
Milligan’s work in this field also connects closely with her civil liability and inquest practice. A serious incident may produce several legal consequences at the same time. An inquest may examine the circumstances of a death, while separate civil proceedings may consider whether compensation is available and whether a public authority or other organisation has legal responsibility.
Her professional work has included representing different types of parties, including individuals and public bodies. This demonstrates the varied nature of her practice rather than placing her exclusively on one side of human rights litigation.
Inquests and Public Inquiries
Inquests and public inquiries are among the most prominent areas associated with Scarlett Milligan’s career. She has worked on several major inquiries and investigations, including the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, the Infected Blood Inquiry and the Covid-19 Inquiry.
The Grenfell Tower Inquiry examined the circumstances surrounding the Grenfell Tower fire and the wider issues connected with the tragedy. Milligan was instructed as junior counsel to the Inquiry and remained involved through the Inquiry’s work leading to its final report.
Her work on the Grenfell Tower Inquiry included disclosure-related responsibilities. Disclosure is an important part of major litigation and inquiries because it involves identifying, reviewing and managing large quantities of documentary and other evidence.
Major public inquiries can involve millions of documents, numerous witnesses and highly complicated factual histories. Counsel working on such matters may have to examine evidence, prepare questions for witnesses, analyse documents and assist with legal submissions.
Milligan’s experience in this environment is relevant to understanding her career because inquiries require a combination of legal analysis, evidence management and advocacy.
Work Connected With the Infected Blood Inquiry
The Infected Blood Inquiry was another major public inquiry in which Scarlett Milligan was involved. The inquiry examined the circumstances in which people were infected with HIV and hepatitis viruses through contaminated blood and blood products and the consequences experienced by those affected.
Milligan’s role involved representing victims who had campaigned for the inquiry over many years. Her involvement illustrates another dimension of her practice: representing people and families affected by major institutional or systemic events.
Inquiries of this kind can extend over many years and involve complicated medical, governmental, regulatory and historical evidence. Lawyers involved must understand the factual background while also dealing with legal questions surrounding responsibility, evidence and the inquiry’s terms of reference.
Her involvement in the Infected Blood Inquiry sits alongside her wider work in public inquiries, human rights and civil liability.
Work Connected With the Covid-19 Inquiry
Scarlett Milligan has also worked on the UK Covid-19 Inquiry. Her professional profile identifies her as junior counsel for the Department of Health and Social Care in connection with the inquiry.
The Covid-19 Inquiry examined the UK’s preparedness for the pandemic and the response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The legal work surrounding such an inquiry requires analysis of government decision-making, policy documents, correspondence, evidence and witness accounts.
Milligan’s involvement in this inquiry is consistent with her wider public law practice, where government decision-making and the legal responsibilities of public bodies are important subjects.
Her work on major inquiries has therefore provided experience across different types of institutional and governmental issues, from building safety and public disasters to health policy and government responses during a national emergency.
Personal Injury and Civil Liability
Personal injury and civil liability form another important part of Scarlett Milligan’s legal practice. Her work in this field includes claims involving fatalities, psychiatric injury and other forms of civil harm.
Civil liability cases often require detailed examination of what happened, who owed a legal duty, whether that duty was breached and whether the alleged breach caused the relevant injury or loss. Evidence can include medical records, expert reports, witness statements, technical documents and other material.
Milligan’s practice in personal injury also intersects with her work on inquests and inquiries. A fatal incident may lead to an inquest while also producing potential civil claims. Her experience across these areas allows her to work on the different legal questions that can arise from the same underlying event.
Her profile indicates that she acts for both claimants and defendants. This is relevant when considering her professional role because barristers in civil litigation can represent either party depending on the instructions received.
Clinical Negligence and Medical-Related Claims
Scarlett Milligan also has experience in clinical negligence and related civil liability matters. Clinical negligence cases can involve complex questions concerning medical treatment, professional duties, causation and injury.
Such claims frequently depend on expert evidence. Lawyers may need to understand medical terminology and examine competing expert opinions while also applying legal principles concerning negligence and causation.
The connection between clinical negligence, personal injury and human rights can sometimes become important in cases involving serious harm or death. This is another example of how Milligan’s broader practice can bring several legal disciplines together.
Her work in this area has contributed to her recognition in professional legal directories for personal injury and related practice areas.
Regulatory and Disciplinary Work
Regulatory and disciplinary proceedings form another part of the Scarlett Milligan barrister profile. Her work has included matters involving regulators, organisations and individuals.
Regulatory proceedings can involve professional standards, compliance requirements, disciplinary decisions and challenges to the actions of regulatory bodies. They can arise in sectors such as healthcare, public services and other regulated environments.
Milligan’s public law background is particularly relevant here because regulatory decisions may sometimes be challenged through administrative law procedures. At the same time, regulatory cases can involve evidence, professional standards and questions about procedural fairness.
Her work therefore demonstrates how public law and regulatory practice can operate alongside civil liability and human rights law.
Health and Safety and the Built Environment
Scarlett Milligan has also developed experience in health and safety law and cases involving the built environment. Her work connected with the Grenfell Tower Inquiry is particularly relevant to this area.
Health and safety litigation can involve questions about whether organisations complied with statutory obligations and whether failures contributed to injury, death or property damage. Building safety matters can also involve manufacturers, contractors, developers, public authorities and other organisations.
Milligan has contributed to legal writing on the Building Safety Act. Her professional profile identifies her contribution to the construction products chapter of a 2025 publication on the Building Safety Act.
This area demonstrates another connection between her inquiry work and her broader legal practice. Major incidents can lead not only to public inquiries but also to civil litigation, regulatory proceedings and changes in legislation.
Environmental Law
Environmental law is another developing area of Scarlett Milligan’s practice. Her work has included the case concerning the estate of Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah and government departments in relation to air quality.
That case involved claims concerning air quality and considered common-law negligence as well as provisions of the Human Rights Act 1998 and the European Convention on Human Rights.
Environmental litigation can involve scientific evidence, public policy, government responsibilities and individual rights. These characteristics make it an area that can overlap substantially with public law and human rights.
Milligan’s involvement demonstrates the expanding range of legal issues covered by her practice.
Sport and Sports-Related Legal Work
Scarlett Milligan also has a developing practice in sports law, particularly where sporting disputes overlap with personal injury, health and safety and civil liability.
One area of her work has involved rugby union brain injury litigation. Such cases can involve complex medical evidence and questions about the responsibilities of organisations involved in professional sport.
Sports law is a broad field that can include contractual, disciplinary, regulatory and injury-related disputes. Milligan’s particular experience connects sports law with her existing civil liability and personal injury practice.
The Importance of Her Work on Major Cases and Inquiries
Looking across Scarlett Milligan’s career, a recurring feature is the combination of complex evidence and multiple areas of law. Her work on major inquiries demonstrates experience with large-scale investigations, while her public law practice involves challenges and proceedings concerning government and public authorities.
Her civil liability work adds another dimension, dealing with compensation and responsibility following injuries, fatalities and other forms of harm.
The combination means that the phrase “Scarlett Milligan barrister” can refer to a legal professional whose work extends across several interconnected fields rather than a specialist working exclusively in one narrow category.
Professional Recognition
Scarlett Milligan has received recognition from legal directories including Chambers and Partners and Legal 500. Chambers’ UK Bar coverage has listed her in areas including civil liberties and human rights, administrative and public law, personal injury, and inquests and public inquiries.
Legal directories generally collect professional feedback and assess lawyers according to their research methodologies. Their rankings are therefore one source of professional recognition rather than a substitute for examining a barrister’s actual cases and legal work.
Her professional profile also records recognition for pro bono work. She has appeared on the Pro Bono Recognition List of England and Wales, and she was shortlisted for Advocate’s Junior Pro Bono Barrister of the Year in 2024.
Pro bono work is legal work undertaken without the usual professional fee, often to assist people or causes that may have difficulty accessing legal representation. Recognition in this area forms part of Milligan’s wider professional profile.
Scarlett Milligan and Pro Bono Legal Work
Pro bono work is an important part of the legal profession because it can help people who might otherwise struggle to obtain legal assistance.
Scarlett Milligan’s professional biography records her commitment to pro bono work and her inclusion on the Pro Bono Recognition List. Her career therefore includes both paid professional instructions and work undertaken in the public interest.
This aspect of her career is particularly relevant when considering the broader role of a barrister. Legal practice is not limited to commercial cases or high-profile litigation. Barristers can also contribute their expertise to individuals and organisations that require legal assistance but may not have the same financial resources as large institutions.
Publications and Legal Writing
In addition to advocacy and litigation, Scarlett Milligan has contributed to legal publications.
Her professional profile identifies her as one of the co-editors of “A Practical Guide to the Law of Driverless Cars,” published in 2019. Her contribution involved chapters concerning negligence, product liability and employers’ liability in the context of automated technologies.
She has also contributed to legal writing concerning the Building Safety Act, including a construction products chapter published in 2025.
These publications reflect areas where technology, regulation and legal responsibility intersect. Driverless cars raise questions about who may be responsible when automated systems cause harm, while construction-product regulation involves questions about safety, compliance and responsibility within the built environment.
Scarlett Milligan’s Role at 39 Essex Chambers
Scarlett Milligan is a member of 39 Essex Chambers, a London barristers’ chambers with practitioners working across numerous areas of law.
Her professional profile places her among practitioners dealing with public law, human rights, civil liability, personal injury, inquests and inquiries and several related areas.
Being part of chambers is an important feature of a barrister’s professional career. Barristers generally practise as members of chambers, where they work alongside other independent legal professionals while sharing administrative and clerking structures.
Milligan’s work within 39 Essex Chambers has provided the setting for her development across a number of legal disciplines and for her involvement in significant litigation and public inquiries.
Scarlett Milligan’s Approach to Complex Legal Cases
Complex legal cases require more than knowledge of individual statutes or previous judgments. Lawyers may need to organise large quantities of evidence, identify the central issues, understand opposing arguments and present the relevant points clearly.
Professional feedback about Milligan has repeatedly highlighted preparation, attention to detail, legal analysis and advocacy. Such comments come from professional directories and individuals who have worked with her, rather than representing an independent assessment of every aspect of her career.
Her cases demonstrate why detailed preparation is important. Major inquiries such as Grenfell, the Infected Blood Inquiry and the Covid-19 Inquiry can involve extensive documentary evidence and numerous witnesses.
Her work in public law and civil litigation similarly requires careful examination of legal and factual material.
Career Development and Current Professional Position
Scarlett Milligan’s career illustrates the progression of a barrister from being called to the Bar in 2015 to undertaking substantial work across several areas and receiving appointments to important legal panels.
Her current professional profile records her membership of the Attorney General’s B Panel and the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s B Panel. It also identifies her as co-chair of the Young Public Law Lawyers’ Group since 2023.
Her continued work across public law, human rights, civil liability, inquiries and related areas indicates an established professional practice with considerable breadth.
At the same time, legal careers continue to develop. New legislation, court decisions, public inquiries and emerging areas of technology can create new questions for practitioners. Milligan’s publication work concerning driverless cars and her work involving building safety and environmental law illustrate how her practice has engaged with developing legal issues.
Frequently Asked Questions About Scarlett Milligan
Who is Scarlett Milligan?
Scarlett Milligan is a British barrister and member of 39 Essex Chambers in London. She was called to the Bar in 2015 and practises across public law, civil liberties and human rights, personal injury, inquests and inquiries and several related areas.
Is Scarlett Milligan a barrister?
Yes. Scarlett Milligan is a practising barrister. Public professional records identify her as a member of 39 Essex Chambers and as a member of the Attorney General’s B Panel of Counsel.
What areas of law does Scarlett Milligan practise?
Her practice includes administrative and public law, civil liberties and human rights, clinical negligence and personal injury, inquests and inquiries, regulatory and disciplinary matters, health and safety, procurement, environmental law and sport.
What major inquiries has Scarlett Milligan worked on?
Her professional profile records involvement in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, the Infected Blood Inquiry and the Covid-19 Inquiry. Her roles have differed depending on the inquiry and the parties or institution she represented.
When was Scarlett Milligan called to the Bar?
Scarlett Milligan was called to the Bar in 2015. She subsequently joined the Attorney General’s Panel of Civil Counsel and progressed from the C Panel to the B Panel.
Conclusion
Scarlett Milligan has developed a broad legal career covering public law, human rights, civil liability, personal injury, inquests, public inquiries, regulatory matters, health and safety, procurement, environmental issues and sport. Her professional history includes work on several major UK inquiries, including the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, the Infected Blood Inquiry and the Covid-19 Inquiry.
The career of Scarlett Milligan also illustrates how different areas of legal practice can overlap. Public law can intersect with human rights, personal injury can connect with inquests, and health and safety issues can become central to major public inquiries. Her work has repeatedly involved these kinds of intersections.
For people searching for information about “Scarlett Milligan” or “Scarlett Milligan barrister,” the central facts are her qualification at the Bar in 2015, her membership of 39 Essex Chambers, her appointments to significant legal panels and her extensive practice across public and civil law. Her professional record also includes major inquiry work, legal publications and pro bono contributions.
Overall, Scarlett Milligan’s publicly documented career presents a legal professional whose work spans individual cases, government-related proceedings, major public inquiries, human rights matters and developing areas of law. Her professional profile continues to cover a wide range of legal questions, making her career relevant to discussions of modern public law, civil liability, human rights and the legal consequences of major national events.
ALSO READ : Robin Niven: Career, Business, Farming, Curling and Life in Scotland
