Media coverage of John Horan’s Labor Court victory — Cloisters

Have you read our blog post about John Horan’s £50,000 Employment Tribunal claim for a profoundly deaf client? (No, access here.) In summary, John successfully represented Paul Rimmer in West Yorkshire against abuse by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) over six years for various breaches of the Equality Act.

Being in the highest award band, the judgment in John’s case, delivered appropriately during Deaf Awareness Week, generated media attention including but not limited to:

John states: “It is interesting that the Manchester Evening News prominently placed my previous quote, likening the poor treatment of my client to the totalitarian society depicted in George Orwell’s dystopian novel. 1984. I won’t get too political. In the run-up to the general election, I’ll leave the political commentary to others. However, the key point is DWP engaged 1984– style tactics that have been proven to violate the fundamental rights of a claimant with a disability. Such systemic and institutional failures have no place in today’s society.”

Shedding light on John’s profile for a moment, he is a lawyer since 1993 whose caseload comprises 90% disabled clients and who is known for his representation of vulnerable people. In addition to earning a number of award nominations and wins in the diversity, inclusion and pro bono categories, John is recognized as one of the most influential people with disabilities in our country and was instrumental in bringing about changes to the Rule of civil procedure 1.6 and in Practice. Direction 1A, both relate to the reasonable adjustment of the judicial process when the participants are vulnerable parties or witnesses.