Garden Court Chambers

Garden Court Chambers is praised as ‘the go-to set for quality advice and representation in immigration law’. The set fields expertise in the full range of claimant-side immigration work including asylum and international protection, human rights, trafficking, family and children and business immigration, including appearing in front of all courts such as the Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court and the European Court of Human Rights. Multiple barristers have notable capabilities handling national security cases before the Special Immigration Appeals Commission. Sonali Naik KC led Mark Symes, Eva Doerr, Isaac Ricca-Richardson, Adrian Berry KC (who was then appointed to KC in 2025) and Ella Gunn in AAA and others v SSHD, the high-profile challenge to the previous government’s policy of transferring irregular arrivals to Rwanda, in which Ali Bandegani and Raza Halim were also involved in separate teams. Stephanie Harrison KC, Gordon Lee and Alex Schymyck were recently involved in the Brook House Inquiry looking into the mistreatment and abuse of detainees at Brook House Immigration Removal Centre. With extensive experience in cases relating to the Afghanistan Relocation and Assistance Programme, Nicola Braganza KC and Maria Moodie acted for a senior Supreme Court judge (prior to the Taliban’s takeover of the country) in Afghanistan in a judicial review of the refusal to grant settlement under the scheme, and Duran Seddon KC is also active in this space. Gemma Loughran, as was, is now an Upper Tribunal judge.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

'Harriet Massie and Lisa O'Leary are fantastic - personable, efficient and understanding of what solicitors require from chambers.'
'Clerks are excellent, very responsive and always available to assist. I would give particular recommendation to Harriet Massie, who has been invaluable at finding counsel to assist at short notice.'
'The clerks are brilliant - always available at a moment's notice to speak.'
'Garden Court is, and always has been, the go-to set for quality advice and representation in immigration law.'
'They are the best in immigration, asylum and human rights law.'
'Strong range and depth of experience on immigration matters.'
'Garden Court are excellent at detention work.'
'Garden Court are probably the leading human rights set, particularly in the field of immigration law.'

Lawyers

Leading Silks

KCs at the very top of their field, with a long-established record of market-defining cases, and widespread endorsement from clients and peers. All silks appointed in the last two rounds are listed further below.

Laurie Fransman KC

Laurie is without equal in this field. He brings to these cases a depth of experience, a level of legal knowledge, and strategic and tactical brilliance, which is almost impossible to find elsewhere. This blend of skills means that Laurie regularly secures remarkable results in these most complex and demanding cases, and is the reason why he remains so heavily in demand from the leading solicitors in these areas of law.'

Stephanie Harrison KC

Stephanie is one of a kind - exceptionally energetic and committed, a fantastic leader and a commanding advocate.'

Sonali Naik KC

‘Sonali is extremely experienced in complex strategic litigation. She is a persuasive advocate who can set out complex legal points clearly. She is unafraid to use the law inventively in order to get the best outcome for her clients.’

Nicola Braganza KC

‘Nicola continues to be a highly engaged, compassionate and effective lawyer and advocate. She is approachable, thoughtful and intelligent.'

Amanda Weston KC

Committed and forceful advocate.‘

2025 Silks

Adrian Berry KC

‘Adrian is a leading expert in British nationality law and always a pleasure to work with. He deploys his extensive legal knowledge with remarkable acumen and intelligence.’

2024 Silks

Greg Ó Ceallaigh KC

‘His advice is pragmatic but not over-cautious: he is determined to get the best possible outcomes for the clients. He is very clever and is always two steps ahead of the room when thinking through sticky legal and strategic issues. He is approachable and communicative, and is a pleasure to work with.'

2023 Silks

Edward Grieves KC

‘Ed is an excellent barrister. He is totally committed to his clients and a really inventive lawyer. He is a powerful advocate and has very good judgement.’

Irena Sabic KC

Irena is an outstanding barrister. Her ability to apply her mind to different areas of public law is truly remarkable. She also brings a real warmth and humanity to her work and this is reflected in the commitment and hard work for her clients.'

Duran Seddon KC

Leading Juniors

Leading juniors are those with significant experience of key cases, strong market recognition from both peers and clients, and are seen as future candidates for silk.

Kathryn Cronin

She is the star lawyer in relation to children covering both family and immigration law. Nobody knows this cross over of law like she does.'

Peter Jorro

Peter is an excellent barrister both for advice and on his feet. He is an expert in immigration law and his advice is both legal and practical. His specialist knowledge of immigration law including the rules, case law and guidance comes across in his advocacy.'

Ali Bandegani

Ali is a focused and concise advocate and has an unparalleled ability to see the wood for the trees. He is the go-to barrister on complex refugee law issues.'

Rebecca Chapman

Hugely empathic, brilliant on Article 8 family life claims.'

Raza Halim

Raza is an excellent advocate who is more than capable of dealing excellently with factually, evidentially, and legally complex cases, including those with a wider public interest.'

David Jones

David's knowledge on immigration, asylum and human rights law is second to none. He is fantastic at what he does. His advocacy and his drafting is superb, a real force of nature.'

Sadat Sayeed

He combines a sharp intellect with an extensive knowledge of immigration and asylum law, including EU and human rights law. He is adept at handling the most difficult and high profile cases.'

Ronan Toal

Bojana Asanovic

Grace Brown

Grace is amazing. She is extremely bright and able to deal with very complex, historical legislation and complex legal matters.'

Ubah Dirie

Ubah is an extraordinarily persuasive advocate. Her advocacy is very clear and precise and she effectively guides judges through the issues in the case.'

Emma Fitzsimons

Emma is a very knowledgeable barrister who approaches all cases with dedication and meticulous preparation. She is very impressive in her ability to distil complex legal issues and produce high quality and thorough work.'

Helen Foot

Helen is a first-rate barrrister. She is extremely intelligent, she drafts beautifully and she has a great combination of creativity and an encyclopedic knowledge of immigration law. She really goes the extra mile for her clients and she delivers excellent results.'

Sangeetha Iengar

An absolute star, a fearless and tireless advocate and a first-class legal mind.’

Patrick Lewis

David Sellwood

David is incredibly knowledgeable in a wide range of immigration areas. He applies a considered, meticulous approach to all of his work. He is organised and through and his written work is always very persuasive.‘

Abigail Smith

Very organised and extremely good with clients.'

Mark Symes

Mark is brilliant. He is extremely respected in the field and he is an authority on all things to do with immigration and asylum law. He is approachable, knowledgeable and charismatic.‘

Grace Capel

Grace is approachable and very responsive. She has a great grasp of the facts and details.'

Alex Grigg

Very knowledgeable and experienced, a safe pair of hands.‘

Bijan Hoshi

Bijan is extremely responsive and easy to work with. He is able to think of innovative arguments which sets him apart from some of his peers, and he has an intellectual rigour which is a key strength. He has a very strong understanding of the needs of the individual client as well as government policy and public law arguments and his written advocacy is impressive.'

Taimour Lay

'As an experienced immigration law specialist, Taimour is particularly favoured by lay and professional clients for his approachability and his ability to effectively communicate or relay complex legal issues and procedures.'

Gordon Lee

Gráinne Mellon

Grainne is very experienced and has a great calm approach to cases. She is very good on the law including on wider legal points such as the inter-play between immigration and discrimination law.'

Maria Moodie

Maria is an incredible barrister with exceptional understanding of complex legal issues. She meticulously prepares extremely high-quality, detailed submissions in which the client is at the forefront of the case. The level of care and attention she gives is outstanding.'

Maha Sardar

Maha is very thorough in her preparation, her submissions are detailed but clear and her advocacy is persuasive and effective.'

Colin Yeo

Rising stars

Rising stars at the Bar are defined as barristers between four and eight years’ call who are seen as up-and-coming members of the Bar in their respective practice areas by clients and peers alike. They will already be instructed in high-profile, complex, and high-value contentious and non-contentious matters, working with and opposite more experienced leading counsel.

Eva Doerr

Eva is extremely knowledgeable, and always thinks outside the box. She has a wealth of experience across a broad range of immigration and public law areas.'

Isaac Ricca-Richardson

Very thorough and always able to advise on steps to be taken by instructing solicitors which may assist a case.'

Alex Schmyck

Alex is a diligent, extremely intelligent and talented advocate, who is able to think on his feet. He is also extremely adaptable and able think creatively in finding solutions to difficult legal arguments.'

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