Louise Christian

Louise Hilda Christian (born 22 May 1952, Oxford) is a British human rights solicitor.[1] She is the daughter of Jack and Maureen Christian.

Christian was admitted to the Law Society as a solicitor on 16 January 1978.[2] In 1985,[3] she and Michael Fisher, a solicitor best known for his work representing those accused of Irish terrorist offences, whose firm, Fisher Meredith, she had worked in,[4] set up a firm called Christian Fisher.[5][6][7] An early case was representing 49 Liverpool councillors who were being prosecuted for wilful misconduct.[7] The councillors were surcharged a total of £106,000; however they appealed unsuccessfully to the high court, which awarded £242,000 legal costs against the councillors.[8] Sadiq Khan (now Mayor of London) joined the firm as a trainee in 1994, and became a partner in 1997. The firm was renamed Christian Khan when Fisher left in 2002.[5][6] Khan left in 2004;[5] at the time the firm employed about 50 staff.[7] Christian Khan earned money almost entirely from legal aid.[3] Christian has represented detainees at the American Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba.[9][10] and the bereaved in various disasters – the Marchioness Disaster, the Southall, Ladbroke Grove and Potters Bar Rail crashes and the Lakanal House Fire. Christian left in 2010; and the firm merged with Imran Khan & Partners in 2012.[7]

Christian has been prominent in left-wing politics, fighting Hendon South for Labour in 1987 (finishing third of three candidates, with 20.85% of the vote) before standing as a Socialist Alliance candidate in Hornsey and Wood Green in the 2001 election (coming fifth of seven candidates, with 2.5% of the vote).[11] Louise Christian has long been associated with human rights' pressure group Liberty (formerly known as the National Council for Civil Liberties) and was the chair from July 2007,[12] until October 2009.[13] She has contributed to The Guardian,[1] and is the author or co-author of several books.