Angela Sandhal

I am a public law and judicial review solicitor at Duncan Lewis Solicitors, specialising in education, equality law, children law, and mental capacity. I am based in the firm's Leeds office and work under the supervision of public law and Court of Protection director, Alex Peebles.

My clients include individuals, professional deputies and trustees, education and nursery establishments, and third sector organisations. I am regularly instructed to act in judicial review proceedings, statutory appeals, claims and appeals to the First-tier Tribunal, higher education fitness to practice disputes, complaints to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator, and claims for discrimination in the county court. I am a regular speaker at education law events and provide training to schools and other groups on education law.

I also regularly act for clients in the Court of Protection on behalf of the Official Solicitor and interested parties, and I have a particular interest in acting for young adults with special educational needs.

• Legal Practice Course (2004)
• LLB (Hons) (2002)

• Duncan Lewis Solicitors, 2019-present
• Atherton Godfrey LLP, 2015-2019
• Irwin Mitchell LLP, 2010-2015
• Admitted as a solicitor in November 2010

• Recommended in Chambers and Partners 2016 edition
• Recommended in Chambers and Partners 2015 edition

High Court

• Northamptonshire County Council and Abor v The Lord Chancellor [2018] EWHC 1628 (Fam) – Examination of the statutory power to exercise the legal aid statutory charge in claims for damages under the Human Rights Act 1998 arising from section 20 of the Children Act 1989.
• R (on the application of Enterprise Insurance Company PLC) v The Financial Ombudsman Service and GH (Interested Party) [2017] – Successfully opposed an application for judicial review of a decision of the FOS on the duty to provide financial services to an insured individual by a defaulting indemnity insurer following an unsuccessful personal and professional negligence claim. Details of the case have been published in the Journal of Personal Injury Law.
• R (on the application of Sharon Moore) V (1) Skipton Fund Ltd (2) Secretary Of State For Health [2010] EWHC 3070 (Admin) – Acted for the claimant in a judicial review of the eligibility criteria of the Government’s ex-gratia compensation scheme for individuals infected with the hepatitis C virus through the use of contaminated NHS blood or blood products in the 1970s and 80s.

Civil Court

• T v A School [2014] – Acted for a former school pupil in a county court claim for discrimination against the school which settled for £15,000 compensation.


• VR v Northumberland County Council [2013] – Acted for the parent in an appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Health, Educational and Social Care Chamber) resulting in a high value place at an independent conductive education school worth in the region of £300,000.

• Chair of Governors of PACES School (NMSS), 2016–present
• Director and Trustee of PACES Charity for Conduction Education, 2014–present

• Legal challenge to “unfair” and “discriminatory” A-level results is imminent (17 August 2020)
• Appealing decision of the Disclosure and Barring Service (2 April 2020)
• Challenging an Ofsted inspection outcome (21 November 2019)
• University complaints rise as students demand better value for money (14 November 2019)