We are delighted to announce that Helen Foot (Call: 2008), Emma Fenn (Call: 2010) and Gráinne Mellon (Call: 2010) of Garden Court Chambers have been newly appointed as Recorders by the Queen on the advice of the Lord Chancellor and the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales.
They take up these positions on a part-time basis and will continue to accept instructions across their specialist areas of practice.
The Lord Chief Justice has deployed Helen Foot to the North Eastern Circuit for the jurisdiction of civil, Emma Fenn to the South Eastern Circuit for the jurisdiction of crime and Gráinne Mellon to the South Eastern Circuit for the jurisdiction of family.
Helen Foot is a barrister specialising in immigration, public law, human rights and nationality law. She is ranked in Chambers and Partners and the Legal 500 for immigration. Helen is an experienced advocate in the First-tier and Upper Tribunal and the Administrative Court. She has appeared in the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court and specializes in complex protection claims on behalf of victims of trafficking, LGBTI refugees and those fleeing gender-specific persecution. Many of her cases involve children’s rights.
Emma Fenn is a specialist criminal defence barrister with a particular interest in financial crime, serious violence and child abuse cases. She is regularly instructed in a wide range of criminal cases in courts across London and throughout the rest of the country. She also conducts advisory work in relation to appeals and CCRC applications. Emma is ranked in Chambers & Partners and the Legal 500 for Crime.
Gráinne Mellon is a public law specialist with expertise in human rights, civil liberties and equality law. Her practice includes all aspects of immigration and nationality law, community care and Court of Protection, children's rights and discrimination law. Gráinne is ranked in Chambers and Partners in the fields of Civil Liberties and Human Rights and International Human Rights Law. She is listed in the Legal 500 in the fields of Education law, Community Care law and Court of Protection. Gráinne is appointed to the Equality and Human Rights Commission's preferred Panel of Counsel. Gráinne formally taught International Human Rights Law at the London School of Economics, where she was also a Fellow in the Centre for Human Rights at the LSE. She is the Vice-Chair of the Bar Human Rights Committee and sits, on a part-time basis, as a Judge in the First-Tier Tribunal Health, Education and Social Care (Mental Health). Gráinne was highly commended at the Bar Pro Bono Awards 2021 in the 'Junior Pro Bono Barrister of the Year' category and was shortlisted for the International Bar Association's Pro Bono Award 2021.
Official announcements on the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary website can be found here.
Helen Foot and Gráinne Mellon are members of the Garden Court Chambers Immigration, Community Care and Public Law Teams. Gráinne is also a member of the Civil Liberties, Education and Court of Protection Teams. Emma Fenn is a member of the Criminal Defence and Protest Rights Teams.
