Meet The Team

Janani works in ESG and sustainability in the housing sector. Prior to this, she spent nearly a decade in Government working across central health, consitutional and housing policy. She is a trustee at two Newham organisations: the Tamil Welfare Association and Trinity Centre. She is also a founding member of the Newham Solidarity Fund, an initiative aimed at redistributing wealth in Newham.

 

Janani grew up in Newham and feels passionately about the decline of services for those who need it most in the community, as well as their inability to enforce their rights. This is what spurred her to set up the Newham Legal Advice Project.

Connor is a Newham resident and barrister specialising in housing, homelessness, and community care law. He is the co-author of two textbooks in these areas: Housing Allocation and Homelessness (Lexis, 2018) and the Migrant Support Handbook (Legal Action Group, 2023).

 

In the last 10 years Connor has represented numerous Newham residents facing eviction or dealing with poor housing conditions. He is currently on sabbatical at the Law Commission leading up the review of disabled children's social care law.

Ollie is a barrister with a broad public law practice focusing on the rights of children, asylum seekers and migrants and disabled people. He has expertise in discrimination, education, community care, mental health and Court of Protection matters. He is ranked in Chambers & Partners and the Legal 500 and was a finalist for a ‘Junior of the Year’ award at the Legal 500 Awards 2022 for his work in his core practice areas.  Ollie is the consultant editor of the latest edition of the highly regarded practitioner text, ‘Halsbury’s Laws on Judicial Review’, and a contributing author of the Legal Action Group textbook, ‘Discrimination in Public Law’.

 

Ollie is a trustee of Southwark Law Centre, a director of the Education Law Association and a former co-chair of Young Legal Aid Lawyers. Prior to joining Garden Court, he was a lawyer at Public Law Project, an academic at the LSE and Oxford University and worked for the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights.

Rachel is a seasoned legal aid lawyer who is passionate about educating the next generation of social welfare lawyers.

​

She practices in community care and education law, and specialise in representing young people directly. She is interested in contextual safeguarding, local authority gatekeeping, youth homelessness, care leavers and empowering young people by making them aware of their rights.

Rachel is committed to social justice education and run the UCL Integrated Legal Advice Clinic where students have the opportunity to work on a range of social welfare cases, learn about access to justice and legal aid, whilst helping the community. UCL iCLAC are currently the only university clinic with a legal aid contract and we were awarded a LALY in 2022.

Brian is a Legal Organiser at Migrants Organise, where he leads strategic legal and policy work. He is an OISC Level 3 immigration adviser and a welfare adviser.

 

Brian coordinates the Migrants Mental Capacity Advocacy (MMCA) project which is a specialist strategic project looking into the issue of mental capacity in the immigration system. 

Angharad is a housing law specialist having worked in this area prior to joining the bar when employed by the Hackney Community Law Centre. She regularly conducts work across all areas of housing law, including homelessness, allocations, possession, disrepair, in addition to accommodation related aspects of community care law. Angharad’s comprehensive and in-depth knowledge of housing law enables her to provide practical advice and creative solutions in complex cases.

 

Angharad is ranked for Social Housing as a Rising Star in the Legal 500 2024. Angharad speaks regularly on a range of subjects at Garden Court Chambers' seminars and webinars.

Prune recently completed her Graduate Diploma in Law at City, University of London. During this time, she volunteered at Bail for Immigration Detainees and  became a student member of Young Legal Aid Lawyers, where she had the opportunity to join the Newham Legal Advice Project.

 

Since her GDL, Prune has gained exposure to working in legal aid as a Family Caseworker at Wilson Solicitors LLP, where she has assisted some Newham residents with their family matters.  This has reinforced her passion for access to justice.

Alexandra recently completed her final year studying Law (LLB) at UCL. During her studies she volunteered at legal clinics including UoL’s Refugee Law Clinic, assisting refugees with fresh asylum claims, and UCL’s integrated Legal Advice Clinic, working in the area of welfare benefits law. 

​

Her desire to further support the local community in Newham and interest in promoting access to justice more broadly encouraged her to join this project.

​