Garden Court Chambers is once again delighted to have been recommended as a Top Tier Set in this year's Legal 500. We are recommended in six areas of law as a set, with 11 silks and 27 junior barristers recognised individually.
We are pleased to have been ranked in the top tier in the newly-created social housing chapter, reflecting our position as one of the leading sets in the country in this area. We also remain the only top-tier set for immigration law.
Other areas in which we have been recommended are administrative and public law, civil liberties and human rights, crime and planning.
In addition, senior members of our Family Team have been recommended as individual practitioners in the field of children law.
Administrative and public law (including local government) (Tier 4)
"Claimant-focused set Garden Court Chambers is well regarded for its civil liberties work. The 'extremely committed and knowledgeable' Jan Luba QC is a key figure, and new silk Stephanie Harrison QC 'combines formidable intellect, and an extremely high level of legal analysis, with genuine compassion and dedication'."
Four members of our Public and Administrative Law Team have been highlighted as leading individuals:
Civil liberties and human rights (including public inquiry law and actions against the police) (Tier 2)
"Garden Court Chambers fields 'some of the strongest immigration and asylum barristers, whose expertise of domestic and international law is unsurpassed'. The 'passionate' Dexter Dias QC is 'extremely intelligent and experienced', and Stephen Knafler QC is 'a true intellectual heavyweight' who is noted for his 'composed and thoughtful advocacy skills, and good tactical sense'. The 'committed' Stephanie Harrison QC took silk in 2013, and attracts praise for her 'willingness to pursue difficult and novel legal points'. Leslie Thomas 'works tirelessly', and comes highly recommended for his 'outstanding court advocacy skills and cross-examination technique'. Also recommended are the 'highly analytical' Nadine Finch, the 'exceptional' Maya Sikand and Sean Horstead, who is 'fantastic in front of a jury'."
12 members of Chambers have been highlighted as leading individuals:
- Henry Blaxland QC
- Dexter Dias QC
- Stephanie Harrison QC
- Stephen Knafler QC
- Stephen Cottle
- Nadine Finch
- Sean Horstead
- Colin Hutchinson
- Terry Munyard
- Maya Sikand
- Stephen Simblet
- Leslie Thomas
Children law (including public and private law)
"Maggie Jones at Garden Court Chambers is 'very good at grappling with complex cases'"
Two members of our Family Team have been highlighted as leading individuals:
Crime (Tier 3)
"Garden Court Chambers' barristers 'really do go the extra mile to make sure the client is satisfied'. David Spens QC, Henry Blaxland QC, and 'passionate advocate' James Scobie QC are part of 'an excellent and committed team' which is also noted for its 'value for money'. Shiraz Aziz is 'good with clients, friendly, and approachable'."
Five members of the Crime Team have been highlighted as leading individuals:
Immigration (including business immigration) (Tier 1)
"'An elite set', Garden Court Chambers has 'always been at the forefront of immigration representation', particularly in terms of its work for applicants. Laurie Fransman QC, Ian Macdonald QC and Stephen Knafler QC are highly regarded, and Stephanie Harrison QC's recent appointment was 'well deserved'; 'she is sharp as a tack, but also down to earth'. Among the juniors, Duran Seddon and Nadine Finch (who is 'a very reliable source of knowledge, experience and expertise') are recommended, as are Peter Jorro, who 'slices through vast volumes of material to cut to the essence of a case', and Kathryn Cronin, who is 'the best barrister by far for adoption-related cases'. David Jones 'produces very positive outcomes', and Navtej Singh Ahluwalia is 'a superb advocate'. Patrick Lewis 'works around the clock to ensure that clients are given the best representation', and Ronan Toal has 'outstanding knowledge of very technical aspects of immigration law'."
We remain the only set in the country ranked in the top tier for immigration. 16 members of the Immigration Team are highlighted as leading individuals:
- Laurie Fransman QC
- Stephanie Harrison QC
- Stephen Knafler QC
- Ian Macdonald QC
- Navtej Singh Ahluwalia
- Adrian Berry
- Michelle Brewer
- Kathryn Cronin
- Nadine Finch
- David Jones
- Peter Jorro
- Patrick Lewis
- Sadat Sayeed
- Duran Seddon
- Mark Symes
- Ronan Toal
Planning (Tier 5)
"Garden Court Chambers is known for its representation of Gypsies, Travellers and Roma communities on planning matters throughout the UK, with Marc Willers 'one of the leading barristers in this area'. He is a 'magnificent advocate' who 'thinks outside the box', and recently won a statutory review challenge brought as a result of a planning inspector's decision to refuse a Gypsy family temporary planning permission."
Marc Willers is highlighted as a leading individual.
Social housing (Tier 1)
"The 'approachable' and 'committed' Garden Court Chambers is 'the premier set for homelessness and tenant-focused work'. Jan Luba QC is 'second to none in his field', and recently appeared in landmark human rights case Southend on Sea Borough Council v Armour. Stephen Knafler QC is praised for his immigration expertise and 'relaxed style'. Liz Davies is noted for her 'fantastic knowledge, and her feel for homelessness cases', and Edward Fitzpatrick is 'an assured advocate who is always well prepared'. Other recommended juniors include the 'technical' Marina Sergides, the 'fearless' Stephen Cottle, and Adrian Berry, who is singled out for human rights matters."
Nine members of the Housing Team have been highlighted as leading individuals:
- Stephen Knafler QC
- Jan Luba QC
- Tim Baldwin
- Adrian Berry
- Stephen Cottle
- Liz Davies
- Edward Fitzpatrick
- Beatrice Prevatt
- Marina Sergides
The Legal 500 is researched and compiled independently each year. Garden Court extends its thanks to all of those clients who generously provided supporting references, and to the editors and researchers at Legal 500 for all their hard work in compiling the directory.
