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Administrative And Public Law (including Civil Liberties And Human Rights)

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Garden Court North Chambers
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Exchange Chambers
Kings Chambers

Leading Silks

Louis Browne QC – Exchange Chambers ‘Louis is personable in conference, putting clients at ease, as a thorough in-depth knowledge of public law and his drafting of pleadings et cetera is first class.’
Lorraine Cavanagh QC - St John's Buildings ‘ Extremely tenacious and hard-working. ’
Sam Karim QC - Kings Chambers ‘ Sam is an incredibly diligent barrister with a real skill in getting to the crux of the issues in the case swiftly. As an advocate he is concise, pragmatic and focused in his drafting and as a result has no need to deliver his clear and succinct submissions forcefully or aggressively to aid persuasion. Sam is equally skilled at identifying legal arguments that require adjudication of the court. ’
Pete Weatherby QC - Garden Court North Chambers

Leading Juniors

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Alex Offer - Garden Court North Chambers
Tom Royston - Garden Court North Chambers ‘ Tom has an encyclopaedic knowledge of social welfare law and EU free movement law. Tom is imaginative and clear. ’
Matthew Stanbury - Garden Court North Chambers ‘ Matt is a class barrister. Judges often compliment his style and expertise at the conclusion of the hearings, whether we win or lose. He is personable and has the ability to relate to a wide variety of people. ’
James Stark - Garden Court North Chambers
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Brynmor Adams - Exchange Chambers ‘ Excellent with technical arguments and great advocacy skills. ’
Simon Burrows - Kings Chambers
Francesca Gardner - Kings Chambers ‘ Francesca is an absolute dream to work with. She is focused, concise and always absolutely on point. She advocates fiercely on behalf of her clients and is a QC in waiting! ’
Mikhil Karnik - Garden Court North Chambers ‘ Mikhil is committed, enthusiastic and knowledgeable. He is always willing to talk through the complex cases he undertakes and offers sound support and advice in relation to both preparatory stages and during the course of litigation. He prepares strong and well-researched grounds that are forceful but succinct. ’
Lucy Mair - Garden Court North Chambers ‘ Lucy is deeply passionate, knowledgeable, incredibly accessible and approachable. She is creative and cares about the clients as much as we do. One of my top go to counsel in this area. ’
Joseph Markus - Garden Court North Chambers ‘ Joseph is an exceptionally bright barrister with a very detailed insight into all aspects of housing law. He is approachable and is always happy to help in any way he possibly can. He is dedicated to helping vulnerable tenants and has a good manner with some very challenging clients with complex needs. ’
Anna Morris - Garden Court North Chambers ‘ Anna is an incisive, compassionate and humane lawyer. She matches high intellectual ability with strength of conviction, and real understanding of a client's trauma. She is also tactically aware, and due in part to sitting as an assistant coroner she understands how best to present a case to the court. ’
David Sandiford - Exchange Chambers ‘ David is cool, calm and collected. He is very approachable and always willing to help. ’
Eliza Sharron - Kings Chambers ‘ Very bright, thorough and friendly. ’
Nick Stanage - Doughty Street Chambers

Rising Stars

Arianna Kelly – 39 Essex Chambers ‘Arianna is friendly and approachable. Robust when necessary and clearly committed to providing and does provide excellent representation.’

Administrative and public law (including civil liberties and human rights) in Regional Bar

Garden Court North Chambers

Garden Court North Chambers members advise across a range of public law matters involving human rights, immigration, inquests and inquiries, housing, community care, prison law and social welfare. Members also assist vulnerable individuals and community groups. Pete Weatherby QC specialises in public law including judicial review, public inquiries, inquests, international law, prison law and criminal defence. Matthew Stanbury undertakes judicial review claims on a range of issues such as prisoners’ rights, inquests, and cases with a criminal angle. Tom Royston acted for a successful intervener, in Secretary of State for Work and Pensions v MM, the first personal independence payment appeal to reach the Supreme Court.

Testimonials

Set

‘They usually have a range of counsel available when needed, and their counsel tend to have a good grasp of the relevant legal and factual points in matters.’

‘Garden Court North provide a good service as a human rights set.’

‘Garden Court North Chambers has a long-standing commitment to matters concerning civil liberties and human rights. Barristers specialise in many fields including those that overlap. The set is firmly committed to publicly funded work. Lots of good counsel and some excellent online presentations during the last year.’

‘Chambers have a great depth and breadth of knowledge in many areas of social welfare law including immigration and asylum, prison law and inquest matters. They offer a wide range of training programs in many specialist areas in conjunction with other specialist organisations including ILPA, PLP and DG Legal.’

‘Garden Court North have very committed barristers who are very knowledgeable on social welfare law.’

‘Garden Court North have a number of very good, sought after counsel.’

‘Its members are all extremely knowledgeable in their field, and provide our clients with an excellent level of care and attention during some very trying times in their lives.’

Clerking

‘Clerks are helpful, contactable and responsive.’

‘The clerks are fantastic. Personable and highly responsive. Nothing is too much trouble and they will always take the time to try to provide an outstanding service. ‘

‘High quality, polite, efficient, pleasant to work with.’

‘I always contact Annmarie Nightingale. I really like the consistency that Annmarie offers and I feel that she knows the cases as well as her barrister.’

‘The clerks are always professional, friendly and helpful.’

‘Friendly and professional.’

‘The clerks at Garden Court North are excellent. They are always on hand, with prompt responses and are highly efficient in ensuring communication between solicitors and the barristers. Their client care is second to none.’

Exchange Chambers

Exchange Chambers has a team of public law and judicial review barristers that advise local authorities and regulated bodies on cases involving civil liberties, inquests, human rights and public inquiries. Louis Browne QC frequently defends the government including the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Justice and showcases a wide range of expertise, from housing and education, to care and social services. Brynmor Adams represents  public bodies and local authorities in public law, human rights and environmental law cases. Adams represented local authorities in Hogan v Knowsley Borough Council and Henry v Leeds City Council; these cases involved an appeal concerning the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 and an appeal involving licensing breaches across a portfolio of properties, respectively. David Sandiford is another key name to mention and has in-depth experience defending police forces in civil claims.

Testimonials

Set

‘A very organised set who provide excellent training throughout the year.’

‘The chambers as a whole have a great strength in depth. They regularly offer training programs bespoke to my area of law which I find very helpful.’

Clerking

‘Very helpful and accommodating clerks.’

‘The clerks have always been highly professional, proactive and helpful.’

Kings Chambers

Kings Chambers' team displays a broad range of expertise in litigation, from local government and human rights, to community care and EU law. Members frequently represent local authorities and public bodies in complex judicial reviews and inquests. Sam Karim QC is the head of the public law department and has a strong public administrative law and local government practice.

Testimonials

Set

‘The set has knowledgeable barristers in relation to mental health and Local Authority law who are well known in this area. We have been instructing them for many years and have built good relationships with them.’

‘I do not hesitate to recommend the barristers to my clients – they provide invaluable advice at a reasonable price.’

Clerking

‘Very efficient and commercial. Very likeable.’

‘They always try to help us when we ask to book counsel and are approachable.’

‘I have always received an excellent service from the clerks, far and away beyond what I experience with other chambers. Not only are they responsive, but they also know their barristers extremely well. I regularly take the clerks’ recommendations for juniors, and have never been disappointed.’

‘Gary Smith is fantastic, and Jake Brooke is also very good.’

‘Mark Ronson and Luke Heywood are incredibly helpful, approachable and willing to assist.’