APPEAL

What APPEAL does

APPEAL (legal name: Centre for Criminal Appeals) is a UK charitable company limited by guarantee and a Solicitors Regulation Authority-authorised law practice (SRA Authorisation Number 621184, Registered Charity Number 1144162), founded by Emily Bolton in 2011 and operational since 2014. Headquartered at 72-75 Red Lion Street, London, the organisation fights wrongful convictions and campaigns for systemic reform of the criminal justice system in England and Wales, representing individuals who cannot afford an appeal lawyer before the Court of Appeal and the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC). It currently employs 27 staff under Co-Directors Emma Torr (barrister) and Matt Foot (solicitor).

APPEAL's product surface combines three integrated lines: (1) specialist legal casework and boots-on-the-ground case investigation; (2) the Bound By Injustice survivor advocacy community, launched in 2018 to provide peer support and empowerment for those affected by miscarriages of justice; and (3) research and policy reform, including the 'Joint Enterprise on Trial' court-watch report, the 'Doubt Dismissed' analysis of majority jury verdicts, and the April 2026 'Seeking Justice: A Guide to Criminal Appeals for Women'. The organisation runs the #PayUp4TimeSpent campaign to scrap the 2014 compensation test, under which fewer than 7% of applications from 2016-2024 were granted.

The business model is non-commercial. APPEAL charges no fees to clients and is funded by a mix of grants from over 20 charitable trusts and foundations (with the National Lottery Community Fund, Baring Foundation, and AB Charitable Trust as core funders), individual donations, and substantial in-kind pro bono legal services from 15+ commercial law firms including Clifford Chance, Linklaters, Latham & Watkins, Gibson Dunn, Reed Smith, and WilmerHale. Marketing and client acquisition are primarily driven by prisoner letters, media coverage (BBC, Sunday Times, Channel 4), and word-of-mouth referrals from the legal community, with public advocacy campaigns driving donations and newsletter sign-ups.

Name

APPEAL

Legal name

Centre for Criminal Appeals

Website

https://appeal.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

APPEAL (Centre for Criminal Appeals) is a UK charity and SRA-regulated law practice that provides free legal representation to wrongfully convicted individuals and campaigns for systemic reform of the criminal justice system in England and Wales. Founded in 2011, it serves prisoners and their families through specialist casework, survivor advocacy, and policy research, funded by grants, donations, and pro bono law firm partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Aid Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (54111), Human Rights Organizations (813311), Other Individual and Family Services (624190)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGAEAM

Legal Aid & Client Advocacy Services

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Social Services & Community Support (Food, Housing, Family)

SECONDARYBPAHALAG

Litigation Support & Expert Witness Services

Business & Public Services/Professional Services (Legal, Accounting, Consulting)/Research, Analytics & Expert Services

Keywords

• Wrongful conviction appeals
• Criminal appeals law
• Miscarriage of justice
• Legal aid representation
• Criminal justice reform

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding: APPEAL receives financial support from grant-giving organisations and charitable trusts including The National Lottery Community Fund, The Baring Foundation, The AB Charitable Trust, and others that fund specific projects and core operations.
2. Donations: Individual donors contribute to APPEAL's work. Donations can be made via the website, CAF account, or by cheque.
3. Pro Bono Legal Services: APPEAL provides free legal representation to individuals who cannot afford to pay for an appeal lawyer, funded by grants and donations rather than client fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

APPEAL is a charity and SRA-regulated law practice that provides free specialist legal representation and fresh-evidence investigation for individuals who have been wrongfully convicted or unfairly sentenced in England and Wales. The organisation's team of specialist lawyers, investigators, and experts investigates cases and presents new evidence or legal arguments to the Court of Appeal or the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), while also running systemic advocacy campaigns to reform the criminal justice system. Services are delivered free of charge to eligible clients who cannot afford to pay for an appeal lawyer.

Product overview

APPEAL (Centre for Criminal Appeals) is a charity and law practice that fights wrongful convictions and promotes a fair justice system in England and Wales. The organization operates as a unified legal service combining specialist casework representation, survivor advocacy, and systemic campaigning. Core offerings include legal representation for wrongful conviction appeals through the Court of Appeal and Criminal Cases Review Commission, the Bound By Injustice survivor community, and research publications including the 'Joint Enterprise on Trial' report and 'Doubt Dismissed' on jury verdicts. The organization also runs the #PayUp4TimeSpent compensation campaign and published 'Seeking Justice: A Guide to Criminal Appeals for Women' in April 2026.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Legal Casework Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Secured the exoneration of Andrew Malkinson in 2023 after more than 17 years of wrongful imprisonment
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

21 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Clifford Chance LLPcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of APPEAL's key pro bono partners. Clifford Chance helps assess cases from prisoners and contributes to strategic litigation and reform projects. Their white collar crime expertise strengthens APPEAL's casework.
• Linklaters LLPcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor pro bono partner supporting APPEAL with casework assessment and legal expertise. Linklaters has also partnered with APPEAL on research projects including homicide law reform.
• Latham & Watkins LLPcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPro bono partner providing legal support on APPEAL's miscarriage of justice cases and reform initiatives.
• Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLPcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPro bono partner assisting with casework and strategic litigation. Charlie Falconer, a patron of APPEAL, is also a partner at Gibson Dunn.
• Reed Smith LLPcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPro bono partner that assisted with the 'Seeking Justice: A Guide to Criminal Appeals for Women' publication, providing vital legal support for the project.
• WilmerHalecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPro bono partner contributing to APPEAL's casework and efforts to challenge wrongful convictions.
• Cooley LLPminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPro bono partner providing legal support on APPEAL's miscarriage of justice cases.
• Dechert LLPminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPro bono partner contributing legal expertise to APPEAL's casework.
• Hogan Lovells LLPminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPro bono partner providing legal support on APPEAL's cases.
• Mishcon de Reya LLPminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPro bono partner supporting APPEAL's work.
• Morrison FoersterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPro bono partner contributing to APPEAL's casework.
• O'Melveny & Myers LLPminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPro bono partner supporting APPEAL's miscarriage of justice work.
• Ropes & Gray LLPminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPro bono partner contributing legal expertise to APPEAL's cases.
• Seyfarth Shaw LLPminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPro bono partner providing support to APPEAL's work.
• University of East LondonminorOthersUniversity partner collaborating with APPEAL to offer specialist training to aspiring solicitors and barristers, inspiring the next generation of social justice lawyers.
• City UniversityminorOthersUniversity partner working with APPEAL on legal education and training.
• University of NottinghamminorOthersUniversity partner collaborating on legal training and education initiatives.
• University of YorkminorOthersUniversity partner working with APPEAL on law department initiatives.
• Leeds Beckett UniversityminorOthersUniversity partner collaborating with APPEAL on legal education.
• Criminal Appeal Lawyers Association (CALA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAPPEAL co-hosts an annual conference with CALA (November 2026) on miscarriages of justice. Both organisations also submit joint responses to government consultations on criminal justice reform.
• University of Sussex (Dr Lucy Welsh)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAPPEAL collaborated with Dr Lucy Welsh from University of Sussex on the 'Seeking Justice: A Guide to Criminal Appeals for Women' and on research into applicant experiences of the CCRC.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• Centre for Justice Innovation: UK charity working on evidence-based criminal justice reform through research and pilot programmes. Operates in adjacent reform space, with shared funder networks and policy engagement, but focuses on system-level innovation rather than individual casework.
• Legal Action Group: UK charity promoting access to justice through legal education, publications and policy work. APPEAL staff have joined from LAG, indicating overlap in networks and reform orientation, though LAG focuses on legal information infrastructure rather than direct representation.

Direct peers

• Reprieve: UK-based legal charity combining specialist casework with strategic litigation and campaigns on human rights and wrongful detention. Reprieve shares APPEAL's blend of legal representation, investigations, and public-facing advocacy, with overlapping pro bono partner networks.
• Innocence Project: Founded in 1992 in the US, the Innocence Project is the organisation Emily Bolton explicitly modelled APPEAL on, bringing its boots-on-the-ground case investigation and legal-media hybrid approach to England and Wales. Both organisations pursue post-conviction exoneration through investigation, litigation, and policy advocacy.
• Innocence Project UK: A direct UK parallel to APPEAL, focused on investigating and exonerating wrongfully convicted individuals in the British criminal justice system. Operates in the same niche with overlapping intake and casework approach.
• Prisoners Advice Service: UK charity providing legal advice and representation to prisoners, with a particular focus on those without access to legal aid. Operates in the same client-intake model as APPEAL (prisoner letters, individual casework) though with broader prisoner rights scope.

Regional players

• Amicus: US-based legal charity providing representation in post-conviction and capital cases. Operates with a similar mission (post-conviction exoneration, legal aid, reform campaigns) but in a different jurisdiction, making it a thematic rather than direct competitor.

Broad incumbents

• Justice: UK law reform and human rights charity working on criminal justice, administrative justice, and procedural fairness. While broader than APPEAL in scope, Justice shares the same reform-advocacy and policy-submission orientation.
• Howard League for Penal Reform: The oldest penal reform charity in the UK, operating at much larger scale across the full breadth of criminal justice policy. Less focused on individual casework than APPEAL, but works on overlapping reform areas including wrongful conviction and sentencing.
• Prison Reform Trust: UK charity focused on reform of the prison system and reducing imprisonment. Engages in policy advocacy and research similar to APPEAL but addresses a broader systemic agenda rather than individual wrongful conviction cases.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/we-are-appeal

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about APPEAL