About the Author

Professor Jo Delahunty KC was called to the Bar in 1986, took silk in 2006, became a Recorder in 2009, a Bencher of Middle Temple in 2011, appointed Gresham Professor of Law 2016-2020, and then Emeritus Gresham Professor of Law.Jo is ranked as a ' "Star" Silk Individual' by Chambers & Partners and 'Leading Silk' by The Legal 500.Jo is proud of her history as a child of a single mother, born into a large East Finchley working-class family.She attended state schools, was the first in her family to stay in education beyond the age of 15 and to go to university, attending St Anne's College, Oxford.Jo took the financially perilous path towards the Bar, seeing the law as a weapon for change and challenge in an unequal society and a defence for the vulnerable against the powerful.A passionate advocate for the legal aid Bar, Jo has stayed true to her vocation to act for the neediest members of society.In public law family cases she specialises in the most serious child abuse cases involving the death of/ catastrophic injuries to a child, fabricated or induced illness (FII) and sex abuse.In private law Jo deals with complex cases of domestic abuse, controlling and coercive behaviour, alienation, child and partner abuse.To mark the centenary of the Representation of the People Act 1918, Jo was among 100 women to be awarded the Freedom of the City of London and named as one of Middle Temple's 100 Women of Distinction in the Past 100 Years in 2019.Jo is an Ambassador to Bridging the Bar and Patron of the Association of Women Barristers, a Reader for the Queen Elizabeth II Prize for Education and a Speaker for Schools lecturer.It has been said that 'Jo Delahunty is just the godmother of children law now'.Jo has won multiple industry awards for both her silk and campaigning work and is outspoken on issues affecting diversity,