“I just want to say a massive thank you for being my Solicitor. I could not have asked for a better person to represent me. I think you was amazing so thank you! Reeds Solicitors should be proud to have you on their team and working for them. What ever my outcome may be, I want you to know that people like you do make a difference to us!”
Client
“Thank you for all your support and hard work. It has made this process so much easier to understand and navigate”.
Family member
Taylor Jones is a Solicitor within Reeds’ Prison Law Department. She is based in our Cardiff office, covering Wales and the Southwest. She undertakes a variety of the Prison Law workload including determinate and indeterminate recalls, parole reviews, and recategorisation reviews.
Taylor is also an accredited Police Station Representative. As a result, she is able to attend Police Station interviews to advise clients and represent them throughout the process.
Taylor graduated the University of South Wales with a First Class Degree in LLB Legal Practice Exempting, where she also achieved an LPC.
She has held many volunteer roles prior to joining Reeds, including a Student Volunteer for the Family Litigant in Person Help Desk; Student Advisor at a Legal Advice Clinic, University of South Wales; Student Volunteer, Citizens Advice Bureau, Pontypridd; Student Volunteer, ELIPS- Employment Tribunal; Student Volunteer, Freedom Law Clinic Project and Placements- Shadowing Criminal Defence Solicitors.
With her high level of organisation, good time management, excellent teamwork and communication skills, Taylor enjoys her work and is very passionate about providing a high standard of representations on behalf of her clients. Taylor understands that her clients require assistance through the Prison system and is passionate about being able to provide a voice for her clients which is crucial and allows their evidence to be considered by the appropriate panels.
Taylor first joined Reeds as a Trainee and completed a year with our Prison Law department before moving to the Mental Health department. On qualification, Taylor decided that her passion was with Prison Law. However, her time in the Mental Health field has given her a better depth of knowledge when dealing with Prisoners with Mental Health issues.
Specialist Recall Solicitor
As part of Taylor’s case load, she deals with a range of prisoners and sentences including determinate and indeterminate sentence recalls.
Taylor is passionate about securing her client’s re-release on licence or a recommendation for transfer to open conditions. Taylor puts an immense amount of effort into all stages of a Parole Board reviews; from the paper review (MCA) whereby written representations are submitted to the Parole Board to the Oral Hearings (OH) where Taylor provides the voice for her clients and argues for their freedom or progression.
Throughout the recall process, Taylor considers how best to secure release or progression for her clients and has involvement with independent experts when required to arrange expert psychological and psychiatric reports in efforts to support her client’s case.
Due to the passion Taylor displays throughout her cases, she has been sought out on numerous occasions as Prison Offender Managers (POM’s) have recommended Taylor to prisoners with upcoming Parole Board reviews.
Recent and notable cases
A case involving a discretionary life sentence recall. Recall related to further offences for which the client received an additional conviction. An oral hearing was conducted and despite probation not supporting re-release the client was directed release.
An IPP sentence recall for alleged new offending; these did not result in any further conviction but this was S’s forth recall on this sentence. Originally an Oral Hearing was directed by the Parole Board but shortly before the hearing was due to convene, the case was concluded on the papers and S was granted release to a supported living residence.
This was M’s first Parole review. He was serving an extended determinate sentence (EDS) and after conducting an oral hearing M was granted early release.
This was a standard determine recall. After submitting M’s in-depth written representations M was granted release from the paper review (MCA) to reside with his family.