The LexisNexis Awards were held on Thursday 16 April 2026 at the Park Plaza London Riverbank.
Garden Court Chambers was proud to be Highly Commended in the Diversity & Inclusion category, in recognition of our long-term mentoring scheme, ‘Access to the Bar for All’.
We are also delighted that Raza Halim of Garden Court was shortlisted for the Pro Bono Award in recognition of his work with Project Pure Hope, and Garden Court shortlisted for the Chambers of the Year Award.
Congratulations to all of the award recipients and to all those shortlisted. View the full list here.
Garden Court Chambers
For over fifty years, Garden Court has remained committed to a simple but enduring principle: Do right, fear no one. That guiding ethos underpins not only our legal practice, but also our deep commitment to equality, social justice, and expanding access to the law. Whether through our work on the School Inclusion Project, our long-standing support for grassroots organisations via the Special Fund, Garden Court continues to stand with those most affected by inequality and exclusion.
Working closely with NGOs, charities, and campaign groups, our barristers take on the defining injustices of our time—from climate litigation and activist defence, to tenants’ rights amid the housing crisis. Our sold-out Black Silk Event, held in partnership with Gray’s Inn, confronted the under-representation of Black Silks and celebrated the achievements and legacy of Black advocates.
We are proud to be recognised for our commitment to diversity, particularly for our long-term mentoring scheme, ‘Access to the Bar for All‘. The scheme awards scholarships to two students, if they study Law, of £7000 per year over three years, and allocates a barrister mentor over the five-year period. We currently have three law students receiving these scholarships.
In 2024, the scheme was awarded Outstanding in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and the Social Mobility Award at the Women, Influence & Power in Law UK Awards. In 2020 and 2019, the scheme was awarded Outstanding Contribution to Diversity & Inclusion at the Chambers Bar Awards. This scheme has been pioneered by Mia Hakl-Law, Chief Operating Officer at Garden Court Chambers, in conjunction with Leslie Thomas KC. To find out more about the scheme, contact Mia Hakl-Law by emailing miah@gclaw.co.uk.
We are currently working with Bringing [Dis]Ability to the Bar by offering mini pupillages to disabled aspiring barristers and this year we hosted two mini-pupils.
Garden Court is proud to be one of the most diverse organisations in the country, though we recognise there is further to go. As Joint Head of Chambers Grace Brown reminds us, “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”
Raza Halim (Call: 2009)
Raza Halim specialises in public law, with an emphasis on refugee law and human rights. He specialises in judicial review and appellate work in the fields of international protection, civil liberties and national security, regularly acting in test case litigation challenging Executive policy at first instance, through to the Supreme Court.
Raza has been committed to pro bono work throughout his career, seeking to vindicate his clients’ fundamental, constitutional right to access justice. Raza is co-founder of and legal advisor to Pure Project Hope (PPH), a pro bono humanitarian initiative committed to facilitating the life-saving medical evacuation of children in Gaza. Through Raza’s legal advice and advocacy over the last 20 months, PPH secured the first ever medical evacuation of children from Gaza to the UK (26 April 2025) and the Prime Minister agreeing to initiate a Government-led scheme, designed and negotiated by PPH with HMG over 20 months, to evacuate 50 children from Gaza to the UK for urgent medical treatment.
A throughline in all of his cases, are children, whether living in warzones, orphaned by conflict, living in homes where their caregivers suffer from precarious mental health, unlawfully detained by the state, or arriving as unaccompanied minors seeking international protection.
Raza is shortlisted for Junior Pro Bono Barrister of the Year at the Bar Pro Bono Awards 2026.
