All at Garden Court could not be prouder of Stephanie Harrison KC for winning the LALY 2025 Outstanding Achievement Award
On giving the LALY 2025 ‘Outstanding Achievement’ award to Stephanie Harrison KC, LALY hosts, judges, and colleagues said:
- “[Stephanie has] an incredible ability to spot what is morally wrong about the conduct of the State and turn that into a litigation strategy that will bring wider social change.”
- “A particular inspiration to other women, and to those, like her, from working class backgrounds with no previous legal connections.”
- “Truly indefatigable and fearless both in court and out.”
At the 2025 Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year Awards (LALY’s), Stephanie Harrison KC received the top accolade of the evening, winning the award for Outstanding Achievement.
A barrister of 34 years, a silk for 12, and a former head of Garden Court Chambers, Stephanie is widely known for her immigration work particularly with children and those in immigration detention. Stephanie is recognised for the difference she makes to their lives whilst holding governments to account and changing the legal system for the better.
The LALY audience were treated to a snapshot of Stephanie’s recent achievements that typify her commitment to tackling systemic injustice including:
- Leading on four connected cases of children placed as adults in immigration detention. These cases exposed the flawed and cursory nature of the Home Office’s age assessment processes and led to changes that ensured children will no longer be criminally charged as adults on the basis of what they look like to a border official.
- Being instrumental in forcing the Government to hold a public inquiry into the dire conditions at Brook House – the first-ever inquiry into immigration detention centre – which published damning findings in 2023.
Stephanie said: “This award is not so much a reflection of my achievements and more a damning indictment of Home Office Policy and practice on asylum.”
Host Symeon Brown said: “We do not accept nominations for this award, and there is no shortlist. This is the highest accolade tonight.”
Symeon went on to describe Stephanie as a “once in a generation” barrister.
Praised by colleagues for her exceptional ability to keep the client at the heart of even the most technical legal argument, one barrister described Stephanie as:
“a reminder that being silk isn’t a question of title or just an opportunity to make ever more cerebral points of law, but of making a difference to individual lives and changing the legal system for the better.”
Accepting the Award, Stephanie said:
“We are entitled and indeed obliged to remind ourselves just how important legal aid is in underpinning at least two fundamental elements of our legal system: equality before the law, and equality in the law.
“We must recognise and celebrate that it is the commitment of legal aid practitioners who keep this system running and keeping the vision and the values alive, against the odds, but it is no substitute for funding and fundamental reform that is required.”
- Read coverage of the LALY’s 2025 in The Law Society Gazette
