Brenda Campbell, Sonali Naik, Clare Wade and Amanda Weston from Garden Court took silk in February. The chambers described it as an ‘outstanding achievement’ that reflects its multi-disciplinary expertise across criminal defence, public law, immigration, civil liberties, community care, Court of Protection and inquests.

All four have appeared in high-profile cases over the years. Weston represented Mark Neary in his deprivation of liberty case regarding his son Steven at the Court of Protection ([2011] EWCOP 413; see July/August 2014 Legal Action 8). She was a finalist in the legal aid barrister of the year category in the 2013 Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year (LALY) awards.

Campbell was one of a team that represented the families of 77 of the football fans who died at Hillsborough. The inquest found that they had been unlawfully killed. She was a legal aid barrister of the year finalist in the 2017 LALY awards.

Naik has acted in many test cases on refugee rights, including R (HN and SA) (Afghanistan) [2016] EWCA Civ 123; July/August 2016 Legal Action 27. In the 2016 LALY awards, she was a finalist in the legal aid barrister of the year category.

Wade’s career has included a stint at the Law Commission where she worked on criminal law reform. She appeared in R v Hyde in 2015, a widely reported retrial of a young woman convicted of murdering a violent man. In the retrial, Hyde was acquitted of both murder and manslaughter on the grounds of self-defence.

We congratulate them on their achievement.