Cloisters pupils Marianne Schönle and Fred Holker begin their second six

Image of Marianne Schönle and Fred Holker

Cloisters Chambers is pleased to announce that our pupils, Marianne Schönle and Fred Holker, have completed their first six and are now accepting instructions in their own cases.

Marianne has a broad background spanning employment, public law and social welfare rights. Prior to pupillage, she was a Senior Policy Officer at Maternity Action, where she worked extensively on the employment and social security rights of pregnant women and new parents. She led policy work in response to the Employment Rights Bill and coordinated the Alliance for Maternity Rights, a coalition of trade unions and campaigning organisations.

Previously, Marianne was Senior Legal Officer, and before that Legal and Parliamentary Officer, at the Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association. She has also worked as a paralegal for a partnership of immigration barristers. Alongside her professional work, Marianne has held a number of voluntary roles, including with the Free Representation Unit, the School Exclusion Project and The Unity Project. She is a former Secretary of the Human Rights Lawyers Association and speaks English, French and Russian.

Fred joins Chambers following his role as Judicial Assistant to Lord Justice Coulson in the Court of Appeal, where he worked on complex appellate matters across a range of practice areas. He previously undertook legal research at the Neurorights Foundation in Washington DC, focusing on the human rights implications of emerging neurotechnologies.

During his legal studies, Fred represented claimants in the Employment Tribunal through the Free Representation Unit, handling unfair dismissal and discrimination claims. He also acted as a volunteer advocate for the Cleaners and Allied Independent Workers’ Union in employment disputes and later served as a Director of the School Exclusion Project, representing parents in exclusion appeal hearings.

Before converting to law, Fred obtained a Starred First in German and Farsi from the University of Cambridge, including periods of study at universities in Iran and Tajikistan. He speaks German, Farsi, Dari and Spanish, with working knowledge of several other languages.

To instruct Marianne or Fred, please contact the Clerks on clerks@cloisters.com or +44 (0)20 7827 4000.