Welcome to Hard Talk on the BBC World Service with me, Zayna Badawi.

She is arguably the most famous lawyer in the United States

and handles more women's rights cases than any other private firm in the country.

Her name has for more than four decades been synonymous with feminist causes.

My guest today is the veteran lawyer, Gloria Allred. Currently, she's representing victims of the

convicted paedophile, the late Jeffrey Epstein. What motivates her and has she brought about

real change in America? Gloria Allred, welcome to hard talk. Let's start with the Jeffrey Epstein case.

You are representing 20 women who claim they

were sexually abused and exploited by the late convicted paedophile. What does success look like

to you in this case? We are looking for accountability. We are looking for justice. And so far, there has not been justice for the victims

of Jeffrey Epstein. Jeffrey Epstein, of course, was convicted. He entered a plea of guilty.

To soliciting an act of prostitution, that was ridiculous to allow him to enter that plea in 2008 in Florida.

Ultimately, he was arrested last year in New York on felony charges of sex trafficking underage girls.

But then, of course, he was found dead in his cell. And whether that was suicide

or homicide, we don't know. But here's what we do know. We do know that the victims of Jeffrey

Epstein had wanted to be able to confront him in a court of law. And they were deprived of that

by the fact that he was not kept safe in custody.

His former girlfriend, the British socialite, Gillane Maxwell, who's being detained in New York, awaiting trial in July for allegedly assisting and helping procure girls for Jeffrey Epstein.

But it seems like she's already been found guilty. Trial by media and

public opinion. Does it strike you as though that's what's going on? Well, it may be that that is

the position of her defense team, that she has been convicted in the court of public opinion.

But what is important is the court of law.

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