Priya Malhotra
  • Hardworking and a great team-player, with an enviable ability to organise huge amounts of complex evidence.

    Legal 500 2025, Inquests and Inquiries

  • Her advocacy is a lovely natural style and authoritative.

    Chambers UK 2025, Inquests and Public Inquiries

  • Priya is brilliant with technology and she has great analytical skills.

    Chambers UK 2025, Inquests and Public Inquiriess

  • Priya is tactically masterful. She is excellent at zoning in on the important factors of a case. She is also great with clients and instills confidence.

    Legal 500 2025, Professional Disciplinary and Regulatory Law

  • She is hugely efficient, super competent and organised.

    Chambers UK 2024, Inquests & Public Inquiries

  • Priya is a brilliant advocate with forensic preparation - she's always on top of the detail and always commands confidence.

    Chambers UK 2024, Inquests & Public Inquiries

  • Priya is a phenomenal barrister.

    Legal 500 2024, Professional Disciplinary and Regulatory Law

  • She is extremely clever and forensic in her approach, and her case preparation is impressive.

    Legal 500 2024, Professional Disciplinary and Regulatory Law

  • A phenomenally hardworking junior with fantastic organisational skills, who distills complex information into an intelligible format that can be used to powerful effect.

    Legal 500 2024, Inquests and Inquiries

  • Priya is incisive, analytical and hardworking. She also has very good judgment.

    Legal 500 2023

Called 2007

Priya Malhotra

Barrister

Priya is an exceptional advocate, renowned for her attention to detail, meticulous preparation, sound judgment, and skilful witness handling. She is an experienced barrister who regularly appears in tribunals, public inquiries, and inquests – often in complex cases attracting significant media attention.

Ranked as a leading junior for Inquests and Inquiries and Professional Disciplinary and Regulatory Law in The Legal 500 (2025), Priya has built a distinguished reputation in these areas.

She sits as an Assistant Coroner for Inner West London and the City of London and was appointed Assistant Coroner for Berkshire in June 2023.

Priya has significant expertise in public inquiries. She was counsel to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry and is currently counsel to the Covid-19 Inquiry, as well as representing a Core Participant in the Undercover Police Inquiry.

Her inquest practice includes representing both local authorities and bereaved families, including jury inquests. She has extensive experience examining expert and professional witnesses, including challenging pathologists on the likely cause of death.  

Priya’s regulatory practice covers a broad range of matters, including representing professionals before Fitness to Practice Committees, Investigation Committees and Misconduct Tribunals. She has defended individuals facing action by regulators such as the General Medical Council (GMC), the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). She also presents cases on behalf of the General Dental Council (GDC).

She has experience in environmental law, particularly in matters concerning waste regulation and defending individual and companies prosecuted by the Environment Agency. Priya also represents clients challenging noise abatement notices issued by local authorities or under section 82 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

Additionally, Priya has appeared in the Court of Protection.

Her financial crime expertise includes handling complex and high-value confiscation proceedings, restraint orders and forfeiture proceedings.  She has also advised individuals facing civil fraud allegations in the High Court and has represented clients charged with conspiracy to defraud, money laundering, Missing Trader Intra-Community (MTIC) fraud and high-profile benefit frauds, including defending private prosecutions.  

Education and Scholarships

  • Called to the Bar: 2007 (Inner Temple)
  • Bar Vocational Course BPP London: September 2006 – June 2007 (Very Competent)
  • The University of Sheffield & The University of Trier (Germany): September 2002 – June 2006 BA (Hons) Law with German Law 2:1
  • Inner Temple scholar: BVC Exhibition & the Yarborough-Anderson Prize 2006
  • Neuroscience, Fundamentals Part 1, Harvard (2019)
  • Anatomy: Know your abdomen, University of Leeds (2006)
  • Coronial Law, Bolton University (2022)

Publications and Lectures

  • Inquest Bulletin (January 2025)
  • Inquest Bulletin (November 2023)
  • Culture Based Crime, Lecture, May 2015
  • Identity Documents Act 2010, Lecture, August 2011
  • The nuts and bolts of trial advocacy, The Circuiteer, 2010
  • Bail vs. Gaol – The Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008, Solicitors Journal, May 2009
  • Update on abuse of process, Criminal Bar Quarterly, 2009

Memberships

  • Association of Regulatory and Disciplinary Lawyers (ARDL)
  • UK Environmental Law Association (UKELA)