We are proud to announce that Garden Court Chambers has won Outstanding Set for Diversity and Inclusion at the Chambers Bar Awards 2020. This is the second year running that Garden Court has won this category at the Chambers Bar Awards.
Improving diversity & inclusion at the Bar is a core part of our ethos. The diversity of our barristers and staff is crucial to our success. 48% of our barristers are women and 26% of our barristers are from ethnic minorities. 58% of our staff are women and 26% are from ethnic minorities.
We pay special tribute to Mia Hakl-Law, Director of Operations and Human Resources at Garden Court for spearheading and championing our work on diversity and inclusion together with many others within our chambers. She said:
“We have always seen ourselves as agents for change with a responsibility to actively work on improving diversity in our industry. We are very proud that our efforts have yet again been recognised. Thank you Chambers & Partners”.
This award recognises how our own commitment to diversity and inclusion is driving positive change within the wider legal profession, through initiatives such as the Garden Court mentoring scheme for students from minority and disadvantaged groups to consider a career at the Bar.
Our ‘Access to the Bar for All’ mentoring scheme offers mentoring for five years and paid internships at Garden Court. Students in the scheme have the opportunity to be awarded a £7000 per year scholarship to assist with living expenses at university if they go on to study a law degree.
Barristers from Garden Court provide mentoring to students over the course of five years. The current mentor barristers are: Ann Osborne, Anya Lewis, Connor Johnston, Gemma Loughran, Helen Curtis, Irena Sabic, Jo Cecil, Marina Sergides, Mark Gatley, Mukhtiar Singh, Paul Clark.
We also won the Outstanding Set for Diversity and Inclusion at the Chambers Bar Awards in 2019.