David Burgess (lawyer)

David Burgess (25 September 1947 – 25 October 2010)^[1] was a leading British immigration lawyer.

Burgess obtained a number of landmark decisions from British courts and the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on behalf of immigrant clients. Notably, as a result of an ECHR decision^[2] in favour of 52 Sri Lankan Tamil asylum seekers represented by Burgess, British law was changed to allow asylum seekers to appeal against refusal of asylum before having to leave the country.^[1]

Burgess and Youdon Lhamo had 3 children (2 biological and 1 adopted) in their 20 year marriage, and in 2005 they separated. Burgess, who was transgendered, then began to transition from male to female, becoming Sonia Burgess,^[3][1] but continued to use the name and gender assigned at birth whilst practicing law. In October 2010, Burgess was killed after falling under a train. A woman, Nina Kanagasingham, was charged with Burgess' murder.^[4][5][6]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Bawdon, Fiona (2 November 2010). "David Burgess obituary: Influential lawyer and tenacious defender of asylum seekers' rights". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2010/nov/02/david-burgess-obituary. Retrieved 2011-01-09. 
2. ^ Vilvarajah and others v. The United Kingdom, application no. 13163/87.
3. ^ Day, Elizabeth (9 January 2011). "The extraordinary life and death of David Burgess". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/jan/09/david-burgess-sonia-lawyer-death. Retrieved 2011-01-09. 
4. ^ Topping, Alexandra (1 November 2010). "Woman accused of tube murder was undergoing sex change". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/nov/01/tube-death-woman-sex-change. Retrieved 2011-01-09. 
5. ^ Hough, Andrew (26 October 2010). "Murder inquiry 'after woman pushed under Tube train at Kings Cross station during joke'". The Daily Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/8086759/Murder-inquiry-after-woman-pushed-under-Tube-train-at-Kings-Cross-station-during-joke.html. 
6. ^ Topping, Alexandra (1 November 2010). "Woman accused of tube murder was undergoing sex change". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/nov/01/tube-death-woman-sex-change. 

Persondata
Name	Burgess, David
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	25 September 1947
Place of birth
Date of death	25 October 2010
Place of death