We are delighted to announce that we have been shortlisted at the Legal 500 ESG Awards 2026.
The Chambers UK Bar Awards 2025 champions diversity, inclusion and sustainability in the legal sector.
Garden Court Chambers is delighted to be shortlisted in two categories:
- Oscar Davies – LGBTQ+ Champion of the Year
- Garden Court Chambers – ESG: Bar Initiative of the Year
Oscar Davies – LGBTQ+ Champion of the Year
Oscar is a multi-award-winning barrister and is ranked as a ‘Tier 1 Rising Star’ in the Legal 500. Oscar undertakes a range of civil and public law work. As the UK’s first publicly recognised non-binary barrister, Oscar is a dedicated advocate for trans and non-binary legal professionals and under-represented communities. Oscar is widely known in the LGBTQ+ community as an educator and explainer of the law, putting it in simple terms and making it accessible to all. They are a writer on trans rights and legal recognition, and regularly speak on panels, podcasts, and legal trainings about inclusion and justice.
Oscar advised MPs in a parliamentary briefing in the first all-trans legal panel on the Supreme Court case For Women Scotland Ltd v the Scottish Ministers. Oscar is instructed on the legal team by Trans Legal Clinic on behalf of Dr Victoria McCloud in her application at the European Court of Human Rights challenging the ruling. In 2024, they were named Legal 500’s LGBTQ+ Champion of the Year for their advocacy work. Most recently, Oscar featured on the Diversity Power List 2025/2026, shortlisted for the 2026 DIVA Creator Award and awarded KCL Alumni’s ‘Changemaker of the Year’.
Garden Court Chambers – ESG: Bar Initiative of the Year
Garden Court is proud of its commitment to diversity. We were founded in 1974 with a commitment to promote social justice and equality. Our founding members wanted to work in an environment with a balance of sexes and races and work towards justice for all. These ‘revolutionary’ aspirations have shaped our standards and we have consistently worked towards achieving social progress. Our motto: ‘Do right, fear no-one’, encapsulates this stance of achieving justice and defending the rights of individuals through an innovative and bold approach.
Our pioneering and award-winning mentoring scheme, ‘Access to the Bar for All’, encourages students from minority and disadvantaged groups to consider a career as a barrister. Sixteen-year-old students, girls and/or those from ethnic minority and disadvantaged groups are offered. In addition to having a barrister mentor over the five-year period, the scheme also awards scholarships to two students, if they study Law, of £7000 per year, over three years. We currently have three recipients who receive the Garden Court Chambers’ Access to the Bar for All Scholarship during their undergraduate study.
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.
View the full shortlist here. The Awards will take place on 30 April 2026.
