Joanna Bain

Joanna is a public law specialist with over ten years of experience in central Government departments. She has advised Ministers on complex, high-profile policy areas such as policing, civil contingencies, modern slavery, devolution, and national security. Joanna has extensive experience in developing and implementing primary and secondary legislation, advising on freedom of information issues, and handling sensitive internal investigations. Before joining TLT, she was the Solicitor to the Scottish Covid-19 Inquiry, where she set up and led the legal team advising the Chair.

Joanna has a strong understanding of the political landscape and decision-making. Her key strength lies in working collaboratively with clients to understand their organizational objectives and finding creative legal solutions that align with those broader aims. She excels at identifying risks early and working with clients to mitigate them.

Joanna is well-versed in the legislative process and Parliamentary procedure. She has recently provided advice on amendments to legislation, including drafting legislative provisions and accompanying briefings and explanatory notes.

She has advised a public body on various policy development and governance issues, as well as on responding to inquiries and investigations.

Joanna has recently conducted training workshops for public bodies on information law, specifically FOI handling. She has also advised on several information law cases from a policy advisory perspective and on litigation handling.

In her previous role as the Solicitor to the Scottish Covid-19 Inquiry, Joanna set up and ran the legal team supporting the Chair. She provided risk-based, pragmatic advice on all aspects of the Inquiry’s work, drafted protocols and key documents, established procedures for effective operation, planned and strategized the team’s investigative work, and collaborated closely with the Counsel and operational teams.

Jurisdiction: Scotland