Gemma Abbott

The Good Law Project

“Every tax lawyer has to find their redemption arc and this is mine,” quips Gemma Abbott. Last year was a significant one for the ex-Linklaters lawyer’s organisation, The Good Law Project (GLP), as the public realised it was not simply an anti-Brexit organisation but one with a broader mission as a rights and standards watchdog. Four High Court wins crowned the year: two on government sleaze – the first Covid-19 pandemic cases to reach court – and two on trans rights, relating to puberty blockers and parental consent. Other judgments are pending, such as the one on PPE procurement – but whatever the result in court the GLP has already won the conversation. It has set the news agenda as the first organisation to bring the scale of government cronyism to wide public attention – and made enemies in the halls of power at the same time.

For every case that makes headlines there are many that do not spark and it is the behind-the-scenes work the public does not see making sure projects get lift-off that is the solid foundation of the GLP. As for the future, there is no shortage of potential threats to our democracy, Abbott says. While the reality of life is that people are “more interested in corruption than poverty”, she believes it is important to use the GLP’s platform to move the dial on some of the pressing social issues of the day, using the law to build the society it wants to see. That is why it carved out the time to bring a case around access to healthcare for trans people, and why it now is looking at environmental work around the discharge of sewage into rivers. Expect much, much more in 2022.