Rachel is an associate in our Actions Against Police and State team.
She works on a wide range of claims including false imprisonment, assault, malicious prosecution, misfeasance in public office, discrimination, misuse of private information and breaches of the Human Rights Act and Data Protection Act.
She regularly represents bereaved families during inquests and other related proceedings where individuals have died whilst in police custody or under the care of mental health services.
Rachel has expertise in bringing urgent judicial review challenges on behalf of individuals who are being detained under immigration powers and facing removal from the UK and she often represents vulnerable adults who are victims of torture and trafficking.
Rachel also has a particular interest in asserting individuals’ rights to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly under Articles 10 and 11 of the European Convention of Human Rights.
Experience
Cases in the news
- Sarah Everard vigil protester will bring civil suit against Met Police after charges ‘discontinued’
- ‘They saw me as calculating, not a child’: how adultification leads to black children being treated as criminals
- Traumatised asylum seeker in Greece must be reunited with brother in the UK, court rules
- Kent Police apologises ‘unreservedly’ to journalist unlawfully arrested while documenting Napier Barracks protest
- Woman arrested at Sarah Everard vigil to start legal challenge against Met
- Three police officers sacked for lying after teenager left paralysed for life in scuffle outside nightclub
- Education department to review English schools guidance on anti-capitalist groups
- Charity fined £40,000 after death of a teenager in its care
- Family of Reading man ‘sceptical’ police will make improvements after custody death
- CPS under fire for delay in charging man accused of raping boy, 12
- Thames Valley Police apologises over man’s heroin death in cell
Recent directory and client quotes
Chambers and Partners 2025
- Rachel is listed as a “Star Associate” in Civil Liberties & Human Rights, Police Law: Mainly Claimant & Protest Law.
- “She is really good in the civil liberties and human rights space.”
- “Through her hard work and phenomenal tenacious commitment, she got us a phenomenal settlement.”
- “The quality of Rachel’s work is exemplary.”
- “Rachel was incredibly supportive and determined.”
- “Rachel is an excellent negotiator; she will find a way to get a result. She is brilliant in cases that need thought-through strategies involving wider public advocacy and activism.”
Legal 500 2025
- Rachel is recommended in the editorial commentary for Civil Liberties and Human Rights.
- “Rachel Harger is an exceptionally talented and empathetic lawyer who leaves no stone unturned in pursuing positive outcomes for her clients. She works tirelessly, possesses sharp instincts, and is a formidable opponent.”
Chambers and Partners 2024
- Rachel was recognised as a ‘Star Associate’ in Civil Liberties & Human Rights, Police Law: Mainly Claimant & Protest Law.
- “She is breathtakingly competent and committed. It is clear that she believes in her work.”
- “Rachel is an excellent solicitor who is dynamic and very committed to her clients; she builds strong relationships with them and works collaboratively to get the best result possible.”
- “She has an eye for detail, is determined and is able to explain complex legal matters in a clear way.”
- “Rachel’s sincere and unwavering determination brought us peace and inspired hope even at times when this did not seem possible. She is truly a phenomenal solicitor – excellent in every way.”
- “She is really great on detail and always on top of everything.”
- “She is a really serious player in the protest world.”
- “She is fantastic and is probably the most committed and passionate solicitor who I have come across. Her dogged hard work and refusal to take what she was being told at face value resulted in a fantastic outcome.”
Legal 500 2024
- Clients acknowledge her mastery of Civil Liberties and Human Rights cases.
- “Rachel Harger handles complex and high-profile cases with ease; highly astute and sharp practitioner. Commands respect from clients, and is on top of both the law and the running of the case.”
Awards
- In 2016 Rachel and her Bindmans’ Hillsborough Team colleagues jointly with other Hillsborough Family Legal Teams won an Outstanding Achievement Award at LALY Awards.
Publications
Rachel has provided comment for the below articles:
Comments
- Nearly 1,000 police officers operating in UK schools, figures show
- #StudentsNotSuspects – we must make Prevent unworkable
- Now is the time to re-examine how state institutions serve us
- Immigration detention and the politics of Covid-19
- Calls to stop the extension of stop-and-search powers in new policing bill
- A serious annoyance? How the policing bill could stifle climate protests
Professional memberships
- Law Society
- Police Action Lawyers Group
- NETPOL Lawyers
- Stonewall Litigation Advisory Group
- Inquest Lawyers Group
Education and career
- Rachel joined Bindmans in 2014 and qualified as a solicitor in March 2017
