Tenancy
As a barrister at Garden Court North Chambers, you can make a real difference to the lives of ordinary people in a progressive and modern set surrounded by like-minded, ethos-driven colleagues.
Due to significant demand across our core practice areas and our programme of strategic growth, Garden Court North Chambers is recruiting and invites applications from practitioners who share our commitment to social justice.
What can tenancy at Garden Court North Chambers offer you?
- A progressive, democratic organisation where your views matter
- A chambers committed to the equal treatment of all regardless of race, colour, ethnicity, disability, neurodiversity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, religion and belief
- A working environment that is free from discrimination and harassment
- A committed and skilful Practice Management Team providing support across key areas of practice development, fee collection, finance, marketing and communications
- A collaborative working environment where your practice is supported and developed
- The opportunity to develop a multi-disciplinary practice across Chambers’ complementary areas, developing valuable and unique insight
- Mentoring, career support and guidance
- A chambers committed to ensuring the fair and transparent allocation of work
- A competitive rate of contribution with no fixed costs.
If you feel you can add value to the work of Garden Court North Chambers and would like to practice and develop in a supportive environment, please take a look at the vacancy information for the practice areas below and forward a copy of your CV with a covering letter to Annmarie Nightingale, Head of Practice Management, at anightingale@gcnchambers.co.uk.
We welcome requests to have an informal discussion, which can be with our Head of Practice Management and/or member of the relevant practice team. Please contact Annmarie Nightingale to arrange a mutually convenient time. All conversations will be treated in the strictest confidence.
Applications from underrepresented groups at the Bar are particularly welcome.
If you are disabled, you are entitled to reasonable adjustments during the application and recruitment process. Should you wish to discuss reasonable adjustments we welcome and encourage you to do so by contacting our Operations Manager, Helen Hassall, at hhassall@gcnchambers.co.uk.
- Court of Protection Team
Over recent years, our Court of Protection team has grown substantially and we are now seeking to recruit practitioners who can add value to our rapidly expanding team.
Members of the Team are regularly instructed to act for the Official Solicitor and other litigation friends, accredited legal representatives, family members, and public authorities across the full breadth of work including:
- Health and welfare applications including residence, care and support, contact with others, conduct of intimate and personal relationships, and forced marriage cases
- Disputes about the interface between the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the Mental Health Act 1983
- Cases involving the international protection of adults who lack decision-making capacity
- Inherent jurisdiction applications involving children and adults
- Property and finance work, and cases about the validity of lasting powers of attorney.
With cross-disciplinary practices, members of our Court of Protection team have complementary expertise across their other practice areas including public law, family law, housing, immigration, mental health, inquests and social welfare.
We invite applications from Court of Protection practitioners of all levels of call or those wishing to establish a multi-disciplinary practice across Chambers’ core practice areas.
To get a further insight into what it’s like to have a Court of Protection practice at Garden Court north Chambers, listen below to a brief discussion between team members Ben McCormack, Rory O’Ryan and Kerry Smith.
- Crime and Protest Rights Team
‘Members are routinely instructed to undertake complex and high-profile cases …
Cases at the intersection of crime and civil liberties are a particular area of strength for the set, and the team offers considerable expertise in matters involving vulnerable defendants and criminal proceedings arising from protests and demonstrations. The chambers is also a top choice for cases involving an alleged miscarriage of justice’.– Chambers and Partners.
Members of Garden Court North are instructed to defend in a broad range of serious and complex criminal cases and in related inquiry cases such as the ongoing Undercover Policing Inquiry, which is looking into the covert infiltration of mainly left-wing activist groups over the past 50 years.
As one of the most prominent protest rights teams in the country, our team has vast experience of dealing with protest cases and cases within a political context. The importance of this work is rooted in our history, underpinning the ethos of Chambers in protecting the fundamental rights of the individual.
We are one of the only dedicated protest rights teams outside of London dealing with contemporary protest issues and we are proud to provide specialist representation to those arrested defending their communities, standing up for human rights and social justice and defending the constitutional rights of freedom of expression and assembly.
Members of our team have experience in associated civil claims, including opposing civil injunctions designed to interfere with constitutional and human rights to protest and assemble.
Our specialist Crime and Protest Rights team invites applications from barristers of all levels of call who can add value to the criminal defence and protest rights work of Garden Court North Chambers or who wish to establish a multi-disciplinary practice across Chambers’ practice areas.
The Crime and Protest Rights team welcomes applications from those with relevant experience, including criminal practitioners wishing to diversify and develop a multi-disciplinary human rights practice.
Watch this video to hear about the history of protest rights at Garden Court North Chambers.
Watch this video to find out about the contemporary protest rights work we do.
- Family Law Team
We are seeking experienced (3+ years) family barristers, including those wishing to develop a multi-disciplinary practice, who share our ethos and dedication to advancing ‘Peoples’ Rights Through Justice’, to join our expanding Family law team.
We are recruiting due to a continuing increase in both legal aid and private work levels, particularly in children law but also in divorce and finance, across the Northern Circuit, North Eastern Circuit and Midlands Circuit.
Garden Court North Chambers has a particular strength in cross-disciplinary work and we have an established Court of Protection team as well as specialists in immigration and family crossover work such as parallel tribunal/family court proceedings, expert advice in care proceedings and age assessment judicial review. We are a modern and progressive set where our approachable members are willing to share experience to further our commitment to working for those affected by poverty and discrimination.
- Housing Team
‘Without question the best chambers in the north for legal aid civil work, and particularly strong in housing and public law.’
– The Legal 500.
‘Within the field of social housing law, the depth and breadth of expertise is very high at the set.’
– Chambers & Partners.
Garden Court North Chambers is seeking experienced (3+ years) housing law barristers who share our ethos and dedication to advancing ‘People’s Rights Through Justice’. Due to a marked increase in demand, particularly in possession, housing-related injunction proceedings, housing disrepair and homelessness work, we are keen to expand our team.
Members of our team have acted in some of the most important housing cases in recent years including:
- Dudley MBC -v- Mailley [2022] EWHC 2328 (Q.B)
- Elkundi, R (On the Application Of) v Birmingham City Council [2022] EWCA Civ 601
- Samuels v Birmingham City Council [2019] UKSC 28 [2019] P.T.S.R 1229
- Safi-v-Sandwell MBC [2018] EWCA Civ 2876 [2019] HLR 16
- Makisi v Birmigham City Council [2011] HLR 27 EWCA Civ 355
- Scott v Southern Pacific Mortgages Ltd and Ors [2014] UKSC 52 (North East Property Buyers litigation)
- Manchester City Council v Pinnock [2010] UKSC 45, Doherty v BCC [2009] 1 AC 367
- Kay v Lambeth LBC [2006] 2 AC 465, and Connors v UK (2005) 40 EHRR 9.
The vast majority of the work we do is for people who are eligible for legal aid, and we are committed to representing the rights of tenants, other occupiers, applicants for housing and the homeless. The team is instructed by leading social housing solicitors and not for profit organisations across the country.
Many members of our Housing and Homelessness team have complementary cross-disciplinary expertise in areas including public law, family law, Court of Protection, criminal law including anti-social behaviour, immigration, mental health, inquests and social welfare.
We welcome applications from those wishing to establish a multi-disciplinary practice across Chambers’ core practice areas.
Watch this video to hear about what it is like to practice at GCN, from members of our Housing team.
- Immigration and Asylum Team
‘Garden Court North Chambers is excellent: organised, passionate, and skilled in all areas of immigration-related work.’
– The Legal 500.
‘Consistently high-quality across all areas of immigration’
– Chambers and Partners.
Garden Court North Chambers is recruiting exceptional barristers to join our leading Immigration and Asylum team.
Our team members are passionate about their work in this field and particularly committed to cases funded by legal aid. We fight hard for our clients at every step and are dedicated to providing fearless representation, sensitive to the human impact of decisions made by the Secretary of State.
We expect any barrister wishing to join us to share these values.
Our members appear in cases at all levels, from the First-tier Tribunal to the Supreme Court, and in all areas of asylum, immigration and nationality law. We are a multi-disciplinary team and advise in cases that intersect with many other areas of law, such as Court of protection, crime, housing, family, prison and welfare benefits. We see strength in this approach and particularly welcome applications by those who would like to establish or develop a multi-disciplinary practice.
We regularly appear in country guidance cases and leading cases concerning statelessness, nationality, modern slavery, trafficking, gender-based violence, article 8 and deportation. We undertake a wide range of public law work related to our asylum and immigration law expertise.
We have extensive experience representing vulnerable clients including victims of torture, clients with serious mental health problems and children, and prioritise the need for them to participate in a way that is safe, enables their voices to be heard and ensures they understand the process.
Our members provide training on a regular basis and have contributed to Macdonald’s Immigration Law and Practice and other texts and journals. We also comment in the media on immigration issues.
Members have previously worked for specialist immigration organisations and firms and/or international organisations including the United Nations, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.
We invite applications from established practitioners. Applicants must be able to demonstrate a commitment to the ethos of Chambers.
Find out more about joining our Immigration and Asylum team in this video.
- Inquests and Public Inquiries Team
‘Garden Court North Chambers has a huge impact. It is a progressive set that has a ferocious dedication to representing some of the most disadvantaged people. Their barristers are at the legal aid coalface, and their cases often aim to advance social justice and equality.’
– The Legal 500.
‘Garden Court North is the leading set in representing families in public inquiries.’
– Chambers and Partners.
Our Inquests and Public Inquires team is nationally recognised for our significant expertise in the most complex and high-profile inquests and public inquiries. We are recognised in both Chambers and Partners and The Legal 500 for both our Silks and leading juniors. Ciara Bartlam was awarded a Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year Award 2022 for her inquest work and Christian Weaver followed suit in 2023.
Our senior and junior members currently represent bereaved families and non-state actors in the Covid 19 Inquiry, the Undercover Policing Inquiry, the Manchester Arena Inquiry and the Grenfell Tower Inquiry. We were prominent in our representation of bereaved families at the historic Hillsborough Inquests, and continue the legacy campaign for ‘Hillsborough Law’: to establish a statutory duty of candour and a level playing field for legal representation for bereaved families with state authorities. Our members represented the bereaved families in the high-profile inquests of Awaab Ishak, Yousef Makki, Poppi Worthington and the Anthony Grainger Inquiry. A member of the team was on the panel of the Independent Review into the Events at the 2022 Paris UEFA Champions League Final, which was a near disaster. In every case we seek to ensure that our clients are placed at the heart of the process and to promote a full and rigorous investigation.
Our diverse team works in a collaborative and supportive way, collectively delivering external and internal training on key areas of developing law and practice. The team draws on our strengths in our multi-disciplinary practices which include public law, civil claims in damages, social care and housing law, Court of Protection, prison law and immigration law.
Our team prides itself on the strong long-standing relationships with specialist solicitors. All members of the team are members of the INQUEST Lawyers Group and many contribute training and guidance to other NGOs/ Charities on topics such as deaths of mental health patients in community settings, deaths of care leavers and the homeless and deaths arising from domestic violence against women and girls.
We invite applications from inquest and inquiries practitioners including those wishing to establish a multi-disciplinary practice across all levels of call.
Find out more about joining our Inquests and Public Inquiries team by watching this video.
