Dr Bridget Dolan QC

Bridget’s specialist knowledge of Coronial Law comes from both sides of the bench. As well as sitting as an Assistant Coroner in West Sussex Bridget is a barrister in private practice at Serjeants’ Inn Chambers, London, where she heads the Inquest and Inquiries Team.

Bridget’s practice covers the entire range of heavyweight cases that come before a coroner. She has acted for countless families, individuals, statutory bodies and private organisations in lengthy and high profile inquests. Bridget often acts as ‘Counsel to the Inquest’ in substantial and complex cases, in addition she frequently represents parties involved in the judicial review of coronial decisions in the High Court.

In 2015 she was Counsel to the Inquest in the long running In Amenas Inquests into the seven British deaths among the 40 men killed by Al-Qaeda linked terrorists at a gas plant in Algeria (a role which earned Bridget The Lawyer’s ‘Barrister of the Year’ award).

Bridget took an unconventional route to the bar, from a comprehensive school in Sunderland via a psychology degree at Bradford University, followed by research for her PhD in psychology at St George’s Medical School, London. After specialising in forensic psychology she undertook a law conversion course and commenced practice as a self-employed barrister at Serjeant’s Inn Chambers in 1998, taking ‘silk’ in 2016.

Bridget has co-edited the Inquest Law Reports since 2000 with Briony Ballard, she also writes and edits the popular UK Inquest Law Blog.