Practice Summary
Galina is a specialist in public and property law, with particular expertise in all types of property law issues affecting public bodies. She acts for a range of individuals and public bodies in various tribunals and the higher courts. She has recently appeared in the Supreme Court in cases addressing the availability of relief from forfeiture of a licence, the rateability of ATM sites and the alleged discriminatory impact of welfare reform measures. She is a member of the Attorney General’s “A” Panel of Junior Counsel.
Public Law
Galina is recommended for Administrative and Public Law in the most recent edition of the Legal 500, where she is described as, “A star performer whose written work in particular is of the highest order.” She is regularly instructed both for and against central and local government. In addition to the specialisms listed below, her recent work has covered healthcare, community care (she is a contributor to Stephen Knafler QC’s book on Adult Social Care Law), social security (with a particular focus on tax credits) and prisons (including categorisation and recall challenges).
Property
Galina acts for a diverse range of clients, from social housing tenants and public bodies to major property companies, in all areas of commercial and residential landlord and tenant. She is recommended for property litigation in both Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners. She has particular expertise in cases at the intersection of public and property law, including in particular school land issues, as well as rating and also claims raising human rights and/or Equality Act points.
Education
Galina has been described in Chambers & Partners as commanding “huge respect” for her “great experience of representing individuals, schools and local authorities in Special Educational Needs and Disability appeals.” She is also recommended in Legal 500, where she is reported to be “approachable, with good knowledge of the law”. Galina has extensive experience of judicial review claims in education matters, ranging from exclusion and admissions to school organisation issues. Her work also includes acting on behalf of public bodies tasked with regulating those who work in education, as well as representing those subject to that regulation. She recently represented the Department for Education in a number of strands of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.
Immigration
Galina specialises in representing individuals subject to immigration control. She frequently appears in the First-Tier and Upper Tribunal, and has acted in a large number of judicial review challenges to decisions of the immigration authorities. She has particular experience of civil claims for damages for unlawful detention. Galina is recommended for her work in immigration law in both Chambers & Partners and Legal 500 where she has been described as “a real brain-box who makes light work of her cases” and “incredibly gifted on her feet and popular with clients.”
Rating
Galina regularly advises and appears on behalf of the Valuation Office Agency, billing authorities and individual ratepayers in both statutory appeals and liability order claims.
Qualifications
Galina studied Law with German Law at Magdalen College, Oxford, and the University of Konstanz, Germany.
Recommendations
“She prepares meticulously and has everything at her fingertips, which gives you a very real confidence.” “She is always a very impressive opponent and a barrister who is reasonable and pleasant to deal with.” (Administrative & Public Law, Chambers & Partners 2022)
“She is very good and very reasonable.” “She really knows her way around rating.” (Rating, Chambers & Partners 2022)
“She is very good and delivers a very forensic analysis.” “An excellent junior.” (Education, Chambers & Partners 2022)
“She can distil thousands of pages into a killer point, and is very good on her feet in court.” (Immigration, Chambers & Partners 2022)
“She is very approachable, very thorough and creative. She uses out-of-the-box thinking.” (Real Estate Litigation, Chambers & Partners 2022)
“One of the very best juniors at the Administrative Bar, the meticulous thoroughness of Galina’s preparation is reflected in the exemplary quality of her written work, often praised by the bench for its authoritative and measured qualities.” (Administrative & Public Law, Legal 500 2022)
“Very calm, thorough, good with clients. Good at gauging prospects” (Local Government, Legal 500 2022)
“Galina is very approachable, easy to communicate with, very articulate and extremely thorough whilst looking at the end objective and for practical solutions.” (Property Litigation, Legal 500 2022)
“Her advice is very prompt, accessible and demonstrates her clear expertise in education law.” “She is very approachable, responsive and deals with matters pragmatically to get the best result possible.” (Education, Chambers & Partners 2021)
“Galina is great to work with; she is like a walking encyclopaedia and is calm and level-headed when the pressure is on.” “Her analytical skills and ability to cut straight to the point are astounding.” “She has an easy way of explaining complex matters to clients.” (Immigration, Chambers & Partners 2021)
She is known for her work in social housing as well as commercial and residential landlord and tenant disputes. Ward also works in claims brought under the Electronic Communications Code. She has a strong practice representing government entities in property-related tax matters. “Very personable and bright.” “Excellent.” (Real Estate Litigation, Chambers & Partners 2021)
“Excellent all-round.” “She has great judgement and is very measured.” (Immigration, Chambers & Partners 2020)
“She is always responsive and impressive.” “Very intelligent, easy to talk to and pays attention to all the small details.” (Real Estate Litigation, Chambers & Partners 2020)
Articles and Presentations
- COVID-19 and rating – nothing to see?
- Annual Rating Conference 2021
- Medical Evidence in the Asylum Determination Process: Best Practice – webinar
- Social Care – Part 3 – Webinar
- Local Authority Safeguarding Responsibilities
- Pitfalls during evaluation
- Introduction to Public Procurement 1: How to run a lawful public procurement competition – Webinar
- Public Law Errors and Invalidity
- Local Authority Governance: Hot Topics
- The Implementation Period: Business As Usual?
- Calderbank Dos And Don’ts
- The initial stages of the process: checklist, multidisciplinary team and decision support tool
- Evidence in Judicial Review
- Hardial Singh update
- Ofsted, inspections and the law
- The legal framework inspections, appeals, consequences
- Completion Notices
- Rateable occupation
- Rateable Occupation
- Who is in paramount control?
- Procedure – VTE and UT (LC) – Role of Experts