This hybrid seminar was brought to you by the Garden Court Chambers Immigration Law Team.
| Date: | Wednesday 18 June 2025 |
|---|---|
| Time: | 6.00pm-7.30pm (followed by networking drinks) |
| Venue: | Garden Court Chambers, 57-60 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London WC2A 3LJ & Online |
| Cost: | Free |
| Areas of Law: | Immigration Law, Administrative and Public Law |
This topical seminar, taking place during Refugee Week 2025, examined the proposals set out in the May 2025 White Paper on immigration, offering critical legal and policy insights. Refugee Week 2025 took place from 16 -22 June, with the theme “Community as a Superpower”.
This event was especially relevant for practitioners working across immigration, public law, and human rights.
Topics covered:
- Economic migration and proposed changes to work routes
- Restrictions on student and graduate migration
- New border controls and implications
- Asylum restriction measures
- Integration policy
Speakers
Sonali Naik KC, Garden Court Chambers (Chair)
Sonali Naik KC specialises in public law cases and in all aspects of immigration, asylum and nationality law and practice. She regularly advises on and acts in public law policy challenges and test cases in this field. She is representing UNHCR in a challenge to the refugee child family reunion policy in the Court of Appeal, listed for May 2025, and she acted in the successful ‘Rwanda’ litigation (AAA and others) in the Supreme Court. Sonali also acted in the leading case on internal relocation in the asylum context: AS (Afghanistan) v SSHD [2019] WLR 5345. In 2023, Sonali was listed in The Lawyer magazine’s Hot 100 list, which recognises excellence in the legal profession. She was also a recipient of a Highly Commended Award at The Lawyer Awards 2022 for a pro bono initiative to assist Afghan judges in securing UK visas.
Adrian Berry KC, Garden Court Chambers
Adrian’s practice spans a range of public law areas concerning nationality, immigration and mobility, human rights, international protection, education, and social assistance. He is ranked Band 1 in Chambers & Partners and Tier 1 in Legal 500 2025 for Immigration Law. He is the co-author of the current 4th edition of Fransman’s British Nationality Law. Adrian is a Patron of the Immigration Law Practitioner’s Association (ILPA), Convenor of its Legislation Working Group, and its former Chair. He was appointed King’s Counsel in March 2025.
Mark Symes, Garden Court Chambers
Mark Symes provides advice and representation in all areas of immigration, asylum, and human rights law, including European Union free movement law. He has represented clients in every court from the Tribunal to the Supreme Court, and the European Court of Human Rights. Mark deals with work ranging from business immigration and entry clearance representations and appeals, to refugee and criminal deportation cases. Mark regularly represents individuals who face separation from loved ones. He is one of the elite top-ranked barristers for immigration in Chambers UK (Band 1) and the Legal 500 2025.
David Sellwood, Barrister, Garden Court Chambers
David specialises in immigration, asylum, nationality, and human rights law. He acts in public and private law proceedings in courts and tribunals at all levels, including SIAC and the Supreme Court. His expertise includes complex immigration, asylum, deportation, and citizenship deprivation proceedings, as well as judicial reviews and claims challenging unlawful immigration detention. David is co-convenor of Garden Court’s Immigration Team and ranked in Chambers and Partners, UK Bar (Immigration). He is regularly instructed in unlawful detention and false imprisonment claims in the Administrative and County Courts.
