The Bar - Regional Bar • Northern Circuit
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Administrative law and human rights

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Garden Court North Chambers

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The members of Garden Court North Chambers specialise in representing claimants, especially vulnerable individuals and community groups, in a variety of administrative and public law challenges, encompassing cases surrounding human rights, immigration and asylum, discrimination, prison law, and social welfare. Among its silks, Pete Weatherby KC‘s practice predominately focuses on public law, and Anna Morris KC has expertise in claims against public authorities on behalf of children and vulnerable adults. Morris is currently active in a number of inquests and civil claims surrounding the deaths of vulnerable mental health patients who were under the care of Tees, Esk, and Wear Valleys NHS Trust; she has lodged grounds for judicial review following the Secretary of State for Health’s decision not to hold a public inquiry into these deaths. Turning to the set’s strong bench of juniors, Vijay Jagadesham is skilled at representing unaccompanied asylum-seekers, torture-survivors, and those suffering from significant mental and physical health issues. Social security law specialist Tom Royston has a strong track record of being parts of counsel team before the Supreme Court, and he represented the claimant in R (Timson) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in which the Court of Appeal decided that the SSWP’s failure to contact claimants before deducting their benefits to repay their utility bill debts was procedurally unfair. Kate Stone is skilled in cases engaging right to life under 2 of the ECHR.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • 'The management team at Garden Court North Chambers is exceptional. Christian Wolfenden and Michael Johnston in particular are absolute stars. Always helpful, quick to reply, and hard working. '
  • 'Garden Court North Chambers is excellent and is always a first choice. They have a wide range of very experienced barristers at their disposal, all of whom offer a high-quality service, coupled with years of experience in this practice area. Their training programmes are very high quality and presented with a level of professionalism. '
  • 'The clerks at Garden Court North Chambers are excellent. They are approachable, friendly, and efficient. They try their best to make sure any request is met promptly, and are very responsive.'
  • 'The clerks of Garden Court North Chambers are extremely efficient, helpful, and will go the extra mile when needed.'
  • 'The set is renown for being at the top of the tree in the field of human rights.'

Silks

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.
Pete Weatherby KC
Garden Court North Chambers
 'Pete is a thorough and strategic thinker and he is always planning for the end result with unlimited patience. He is a tireless advocate with unrivalled knowledge of the law, but also of the politics of the law and the characteristics of the various judges at all levels.'
2023 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.
Anna Morris KC
Garden Court North Chambers
 'Anna is the ultimate professional and she is extremely good with clients and robust with opponents when required. She is extremely knowledgeable of the law and is always able to offer practical solutions.'

Juniors

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.
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Vijay Jagadesham
Garden Court North Chambers
 
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Kate Stone
Garden Court North Chambers
 'Kate is fantastic to work with and her advice is always spot on. She is down to earth, collaborative and responsive, always brilliant on the law, she fights difficult points elegantly, and she is completely committed to her clients.'
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Tom Royston
Garden Court North Chambers
‘Tom is passionate about his work and is well-respected in the world of social welfare. He is often at the forefront of systemic challenges, especially concerning DWP policies, and he is courageous, clear, well liked, and knows social welfare law backwards.’
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Alex Offer
Garden Court North Chambers
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James Stark
Garden Court North Chamber
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Tasaddat Hussain
Garden Court North Chambers
 
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Lucy Mair
Garden Court North Chambers
 
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Mikhil Karnik
Garden Court North Chambers
 'Mikhil is a passionate barrister with a wide range of experience in immigration cases, and his work for some of the most vulnerable clients is carried out with dedication and whole-hearted commitment. He is able to explain complicated legal proceedings to the lay client in a clear manner and builds a good rapport with clients and fellow professionals alike.'
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Joseph Markus
Garden Court North Chambers
 ‘Jospeh is an exceptional advocate, especially in public law and judicial review matters.’
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Christian Weaver
Garden Court North Chambers
 'Christian's strengths include his interactions with the client and his ability to show understanding of wider issues of the case while skilfully drawing the clients to the core issues of the case. Plus, his ability to create a concise narrative of the facts whilst enhancing the facts on key aspects of the case before developing those areas is a delight and quite refreshing.'