Rosie Fox is Paralegal at Public Interest Law Centre and has previously worked in the advocacy and casework team at Friends, Families and Travellers. She is an all-round good egg, and one of the most passionate and outright brilliant people in the legal sector. Here, Rosie writes about the Gypsy Traveller Law Network (GTLN) which launch in February at Garden Court Chambers.
On Thursday 26 February 2026 we were delighted to launch the ‘Gypsy and Traveller Law Network’ (GTLN). The launch event was co-organised by Public Interest Law Centre (PILC) and Friends, Families and Travellers (FFT).
We launched the network at a packed room in Garden Court Chambers (GCC), with a full panel of speakers, including clients represented in possession proceedings. Speakers talked passionately about the importance of the work and representing these communities, and the necessity for more legal professionals in this field.
A core of the Network was formed in September 2025 by legal professionals dedicated to representing Gypsy and Traveller clients, particularly around accommodation and site matters. This Network will now expand to encompass practitioners who wish to develop their practice in this area, with support and assistance on offer from the Core group of practitioners in the Network to do so.
The GTLN has an accompanying logo designed by Elijah Vardo. The logo is a monogram of Gypsy and Traveller (the use of G and T are used to form the shape of the scales), and uses a traditional bargeware pattern, additionally the white road markings and the water encompass the work we do with nomadic communities both on land and on water.
The GTLN is a collective response to challenging injustice, rooted in a moral, legal and social compulsion to better support Gypsy and Traveller clients, acknowledging previous partnerships within this field such as Dale Farm work and the Lisa Smith case. This work is life-changing for clients, and extremely interesting, giving practitioners the chance to work across legal areas and all the way up to the Supreme Court.
The urgency for the GTLN stems from the persistent inequalities and systemic racism that continue to be experienced by Gypsy and Traveller people.
The Network will include training, further events, mentoring, meetings for solidarity and question and answer sessions, and legal briefings.
Attendees said of the launch:
‘A brilliant launch with lots of enthusiasm in the room’
‘Couldn’t agree more with what Rosie said yesterday about the moral and social imperative behind standing up for Gypsies and Travellers, and I’m looking forward to doing so.’
‘A vitalizing and inspirational evening’.
There is a collective imperative to engage with this work and we look forward to legal practitioners standing side by side with communities and NGOs to do so.
This is an initiative for Gypsy and Traveller clients and communities, individuals who are inspired to represent these communities and who can do so without conflict with their other work are encouraged to contact Rosie Fox, Paralegal at Public Interest Law Centre, on [email protected].
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About Public Interest Law Centre (PILC)
The Public Interest Law Centre exists to challenge systemic injustice through legal representation, strategic litigation, research and legal education, and hold government and public bodies to account, challenging unlawful policies and practices.
About Friends, Families and Travellers (FFT)
Friends, Families and Travellers is a leading national charity that works to end racism and discrimination against Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people and to protect the right to pursue a nomadic way of life.
