Caleb Bawdon
Associate solicitor
Caleb is an associate solicitor in the human rights department
Caleb is an associate solicitor in Merry Varney’s team in the human rights department. He works on a varied caseload, including inquests, Human Rights Act claims, and judicial reviews.
Caleb specialises in acting for bereaved families in inquest proceedings, often in the context of mental health and social care related deaths. He has a particular interest in cases involving online harms. Caleb also regularly acts in civil claims under the Human Rights Act and in negligence, and in judicial review challenges of Coroner’s decisions. He also acts in applications to the High Court under s.13 Coroners Act 1988 for a second inquest. Most of Caleb’s work is funded by legal aid.
Caleb was a member of the legal team winning the Outstanding Achievement Award at the Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year Awards, for his role in acting for the family of 14-year old Molly Russell. The inquest into Molly’s death is believed to be the first in which tech giants Meta and Pinterest participated as Interested Persons. The Coroner made the ground-breaking conclusion that Molly’s death was contributed to by the negative effects of online content.
Caleb has worked in Merry Varney’s team since February 2021 when he joined as a paralegal. Caleb qualified as a solicitor in November 2023. Before joining Leigh Day, Caleb was a paralegal in the actions against the police/public law Department of Imran Khan and Partners Solicitors.
Accreditations
A lack of independent advocacy contributed to a 22-year-old mother taking her own life after her baby was taken into care, an inquest has found
The lack of an independent advocate on a regular, consistent and continuous basis for a 22-year-old mother whose baby was taken into care contributed to her decision to take her own life, an inquest has found.
Inquests: What is the reality of our coronial system and legal aid for bereaved families?
Merry Varney and Caleb Bawdon from our human rights team discuss the current state of the coronial system and the challenges for bereaved families who must navigate through it.
Molly Russell’s family call for urgent changes to online safety
The family of 14-year-old Molly Russell have called for urgent changes to make children safe online after the inquest into her death concluded that depressive social media posts contributed to her death in a more than minimal way.