Piers G Doggart

Legal Director

Practice areas

• Inquiries and investigations

Practice notes

Piers is a senior lawyer in the Inquiries and Investigations team, who has a wealth of experience of working with and for public inquiries, and in litigating more widely on behalf of government.

Piers joined Eversheds Sutherland in March 2022, having previously worked in a number of roles across government for the previous 20 years.

He has worked with core participants and stakeholders on a number of high profile public inquiries, and was Solicitor to the Undercover Policing Inquiry between August 2015 and August 2020.

He also has extensive experience of handling high-profile litigation from a government perspective, and in particular of working on inquiries, cases, and projects where the handling of sensitive material is a central issue.

Piers is looking forward to bringing all his experience to bear within the thriving Inquiries and Investigations Team at Eversheds Sutherland, in assisting clients, whether public or private bodies, to navigate the challenges presented in conducting or participating Investigations or Inquiries.

In February 2022, Piers was appointed as a fee-paid judge of the First Tier Tribunal, Health, Education and Social Care Chamber within the Mental Health jurisdiction.

He has also conducted hearings as a legally qualified chair at the Fitness to Practice Panel for Medical Practitioners since 2016.

Over his career Piers has delivered training both within the Government Legal Department and more widely on numerous occasions, focussing recently on the conduct of public inquiries.

He appeared on a panel at the (virtual) Bar Conference in 2020 in a Forum for the junior Bar on ‘Making the most of your practice review’, at which he spoke about performance management processes, and the benefits that these could open up in terms of professional development.

Piers has broad and varied experience of advising Government, including recently providing advice on the administration of a substantial government Compensation Scheme and defending private law claims brought in connection with this. He has also co-ordinated and advised on civil claims brought against two large government departments arising from the Grenfell Tower Fire, and a substantial damages claim brought against a Law Enforcement Agency. He has substantial experience of acting and advising where issues around national security and/or sensitive material are in play, having led the litigation team handling national security and counter-terrorism litigation between 2012 and 2015.

Piers has particular experience of working with or for public inquiries and investigations. He represented the government interest in engaging with the Litvinenko Inquiry, and subsequently advised a former senior cabinet Minister in the ‘Maxwellisation’ process for the Iraq Inquiry.

Building on this interest in 2015 he was appointed to the statutory post of Solicitor to the Undercover Policing Inquiry. He held the role for five years, providing legal advice to the Panel (first Sir Christopher Pitchford, then Sir John Mitting), and during this time managing the strategy for the recruitment and management of the legal team, and was a member of the Inquiry’s Overview Board, mandating the investigative strategy and other aspects of the Inquiry’s work. Piers was also the lead point of contact for all core participants, numbering over 200 and including such diverse interest as those infiltrated by and/or deceived by undercover officers, the Metropolitan Police Service, the National Police Chiefs Council, individual officers, and former wives of undercover officers.

Qualifications and Education

• LLB Hons, Leeds University (1990)
• Bar Professional Qualification 1991
• Called to the Bar 1991
• Full rights of audience