Emma Jones
Partner
Emma Jones is a partner at Leigh Day, recognised as one of the UK’s leading claimant lawyers in human rights and public inquiries. She handles litigation across healthcare, social care, education and detention settings, combining human rights and public law expertise in both individual and group actions, and leads on complex cases such as the contaminated blood inquiry.
Emma Jones joined Leigh Day in October 2000. She completed one year of her training contract at the specialist mental health firm Scott-Moncrieff Harbour and Sinclair and one year at Leigh Day.
Emma spent six months training with Sarah Leigh and then moved to the human rights department. She qualified in October 2002 and remained a member of the human rights department until March 2007. She then moved to Mind, the mental health charity, where she was head of legal.
Emma returned to the human rights department at Leigh Day in September 2009, at which time she worked on bringing the Stafford Hospital group claims. She now specialises in human rights claims against treatment and care individuals receive in hospitals, schools and in social care settings, false imprisonment and assault claims, actions against the police and public law challenges.
Emma runs the team working on the contaminated blood inquiry and represents over 260 core participants. She is also running an Equality Act/Human rights claim in relation to the difference in the ex-gratia payments provided to those who contracted HCV as a result of receiving contaminated blood and those who contracted HIV.
She was also instrumental in bring the group claims against Mid Staffs hospital, Basildon hospital, Queen’s hospital (amongst others) all of which resulted in successful outcomes for Emma’s clients.
What the directories say
Emma is extremely knowledgeable. Her expertise in human rights, health and care is invaluable to us.
Chambers and partners 2025
Legal expertise
Emma has been instructed on cases such as:
- Group claims against Trusts such as Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust (over 150 individuals) arguing breaches of patients human rights and in negligence in respect of their treatment and care
- Individual claims arising from poor treatment and care older individuals have received in hospitals or social care settings
- A group action on behalf of children who received poor treatment and care whilst pupils at a residential school
- A challenge against the CPS in relation to the dropping of charges of the rape of a girl with ASD
- Cases in which women have been unlawfully detailed in Yarlswood IRC and received poor medical treatment
- Inquests that raise Article 2 issues
- Claims on behalf of school children whose human rights have been breached
- Cases arising out of local authorities failure to use their s20 powers correctly
- Equality Act group claim on behalf of 300 individuals who received contaminated blood through NHS treatment.
Memberships
Emma is a member of APIL, a member of the Human Rights Lawyers Association and the NAS legal network group.
What our clients say
Emma Jones and her team provided an exemplary service from start to finish, keeping me updated throughout the process and to its conclusion
Gillian Sexton, via Trustpilot
Leigh Day were professional and pursued my claim for compensation for my experiences at Hill End Hospital in the 1970s in a tenacious yet caring way. Thank you to Emma, Josephine, Saoirse, Maddie for your support and hard work - you have given me closure from a traumatic and life changing experience in my youth many decades ago during the 1970s. I actually felt validated and believed after many many years and the compensation received is only part of it.
Heather Troy, via Trustpilot
Very professional services. I would in particular like to say Emma and Karen went beyond and above to support me in both a legal sense as well as emotional. Not an easy matter and they were marvelous. Thank you.
Daniella Moss, via Trustpilot
Emma Jones in the news
- No prosecutions over more than 100 Gosport hospital deaths BBC News 12.11.25
- Families sue government for failing to protect care homes from Covid BBC 25.8.23
- Gosport hospital drug deaths: Three fresh inquests ordered Times 28.6.23
- Grieving families want Hillsborough-style inquest for 'biggest NHS scandal ever' Mirror 27.6.23
- Victims and families call for prosecutions as contaminated blood inquiry nears end Guardian 16.1.23
- Family of victims of Tory Covid care home mistake could be set for £200m Mirror 30.4.22
Accreditations
Chambers and Partners 2026
March 2026 deadline for Hill End abuse survivors to make a claim
Former patients who suffered abuse and mistreatment at the Hill End Adolescent Unit in St Albans in the late 1960s to early 1990s are being warned by lawyers that the settlement scheme to access compensation is due to close to new claimants in March this year.
John’s Campaign and Care Rights UK call for concrete actions after Covid Inquiry’s powerful indictment of political decision-making
UK Covid Inquiry Core Participants John’s Campaign and Care Rights UK have responded to the Inquiry's report into core UK decision-making and political governance during the pandemic.
Families urge faster investigation into Gosport War Memorial Hospital deaths as 100 people are left without answers
After around 100 families were told that police investigations into their loved ones’ deaths at Gosport War Memorial Hospital would not be continuing, a lawyer says inquests are the route to answers.