Patrick Allen, co-founder and senior partner of Hodge Jones & Allen (HJA), is to retire in October after 48 years leading the London-based civil rights-focused firm.

Allen set up the Camden-based firm in 1977 with Henry Hodge – who went on to become one of the first solicitor High Court judges – and Peter Jones.

Their aim was to use the law as a force for social justice and it has been involved in a slew of landmark cases over the years, including most recently representing the mother of Ella Kissi-Debrah, who was the first person to have air pollution recorded as a cause of death, leading to an undisclosed settlement with the government last year.

Allen was managing partner of the firm from the outset and became senior partner following Hodge’s departure in 1998 to become a circuit judge.

On Allen’s retirement on 1 October, HJA will be led by its existing management team, including Chun Wong, head of dispute resolution, and Julie Hardy, director of finance, alongside equity partners Agata Usewicz, Jayesh Kunwardia, Raj Chada and Leticia Williams.

HJA – traditionally known as a legal aid firm – positions itself as a provider of ‘personal law’ and employs 250 staff across 10 departments with an annual turnover of £25m. It is highly rated in the fields of personal injury, housing, medical negligence, civil liberties and criminal defence.

Allen said: “I take great pride in the development of HJA, which after 48 years still holds to our founding ethos of fighting for justice. Over the years we have also helped over 300 lawyers to qualify. It has been my great privilege to act for so many amazing clients and work with dedicated and brilliant colleagues.”

Allen led a number of landmark multiparty actions, including representing families following the Marchioness disaster – a 1989 collision on the River Thames that killed 51 people – and women who had been held in Ireland’s Magdalene laundries and belatedly received compensation from the Irish government. He also represented veterans in the Gulf War illness litigation and acted in the New Cross fire inquest, among other major group claims.

He served as a deputy district judge from 1998 to 2014 and was president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) in 2003 - 2004.

He commented: “As anyone who runs a law firm will know, the economic headwinds, legislative change and financial pressures never abate, so to have stayed the course delivering the same work over almost five decades speaks volumes about our commitment to helping people in often unfashionable areas of the law.”

Allen will continue to chair the Progressive Economy Forum, a think tank he founded in 2018 with a mission to promote economic policies aimed at reducing social and economic inequalities.