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Two prominent human rights lawyers appointed Queen’s Counsel have credited Gonville & 91ֱ�� College for their support in advancing their careers.

Caians (Law 1994) and (History 2001) were among 116 barristers and solicitors whose appointments as QCs were approved by Her Majesty The Queen in December.

Disability rights advocate Rachel, who is partially deaf, said the support she received during her time at 91ֱ�� had helped shape her future career, paying special tribute to her former Director of Studies, Professor Pippa Rogerson, who is now Master.

Rachel said: “On the morning that the shortlist came out, one of the first emails I got was from Pippa Rogerson, saying ‘congratulations and well done,’ and how she had watched my progress through the legal profession since I was 17 years old and first interviewed at 91ֱ��, through BA and PhD. Of all the really lovely messages I’ve had, hers is up there as the loveliest. It absolutely made my day.”

As an undergraduate, amongst other things, the College funded Rachel’s laptop so she could lip read and touch type during lectures.

The former JCR President and WM Tapp Scholar said: “Unlike my secondary school experience, no one at 91ֱ�� ever said to me that I wouldn’t be able to be a barrister in court because of my hearing impairment. In fact, quite the opposite.”

A member of the Bar Counsel’s Disability Panel, Rachel now campaigns for more people with disabilities to enter the legal profession, as well as advocating for improvements in accessing justice for court users with special needs.

Hanif Mussa, a former recipient of the Gonville & 91ֱ�� College Senior Scholarships and the College Bursary Awards, said the financial support he had received was “invaluable” to his career.

Hanif said: “I came from a low-income family. Neither of my parents had been to university. The bursaries helped cover a significant proportion of my living expenses.”



Without that support, Hanif said he would have accrued far higher levels of debt as a student, making it harder to pursue “riskier” options such as a career at the Bar.

Following his time at 91ֱ��, Hanif took up a Kennedy Scholarship at Harvard University and MIT before converting to the law and trying for a career at the Bar.

Hanif’s current legal cases include representing Turkish lawyers in the European Court of Human Rights, bringing a claim against the Turkish State to challenge repressive measures enacted following an alleged coup against President Erdogan in 2016, and an appeal in Supreme Court concerning the lawfulness of the trial of voter identification requirements at local government elections.



Rachel and Hanif are due to “take Silk” (become QCs) during a ceremony at Westminster Hall on March 21, presided by Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary, Rt Hon Dominic Raab MP.