A leading University of Birmingham academic working to improve access to justice for disabled people has been recognised by His Majesty the King.
Rosie Harding KC Honoris Causa, Professor of Law and Society at Birmingham Law School.
His Majesty King Charles III has awarded University of Birmingham Professor of Law Rosie Harding the title of honorary King’s Counsel (KC Honoris Causa), marking her significant contribution to the development of disability and mental capacity law in England and Wales.
Honorary King’s Counsel is an award unique to the legal profession. It is made by royal prerogative and recognises individuals who have made a major contribution to, and impact on, the legal sector and the law of England and Wales outside the courtroom. Professor Harding will be formally appointed by the Lord Chancellor at a ceremony in Westminster Hall on 23 March 2026, alongside seven other honorary KCs.
The appointment reflects Professor Harding’s influential research and leadership in shaping legislation, supporting law reform, and improving access to justice for disabled people. Her work has had a sustained impact on policy, legal practice, and public understanding of mental capacity law.
There is still a long way to go in ensuring access to justice for disabled people, and I sincerely hope that this recognition helps to highlight the importance of making the legal system more accessible to people with learning disabilities.
Professor Harding has made important contributions to the development of mental capacity law in England and Wales. Her work on testamentary capacity, statutory wills and supported will-making was influential in the Law Commission’s recent review and resulting recommendations for modernising wills law. She also worked closely with members of the House of Lords to introduce improvements to the Mental Capacity (Amendment) Act 2019, legislation concerned with safeguarding and protections for vulnerable people deprived of their liberty.
Since 2020, Professor Harding has led a programme of research focused on disability, social justice, and access to justice. This includes the COALITION (Co-Producing Accessible Legal Information) Project, funded by University of Birmingham Quality-Related research funding in 2023-24. The project brought together legal professionals and people with learning disabilities to identify barriers within the legal system and to co-produce practical, accessible solutions. The project produced freely available toolkits with example easy-read resources for legal professionals and researchers, alongside a report identifying priorities for reform.
She also led the CLARITY project, funded by the ESRC Impact Acceleration Account in 2020–21, which aimed to raise awareness of mental capacity law among people with learning disabilities and family carers. The project delivered a series of free online sessions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rosie’s work exemplifies the very best of research‑led engagement, combining scholarly excellence and rigour with a deep commitment to meaningful legal change and social justice.
In addition to her academic work, Professor Harding is a Trustee of the Birmingham-based charity Changing Our Lives, which works alongside people with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities to promote rights, inclusion and social justice.
Speaking about her appointment, Professor Harding said: “I am delighted to receive this award. It is truly humbling to see my work on access to justice for disabled people being recognised in this way. I am extremely grateful to those who nominated me or supported the nomination, and all those who have collaborated in, supported, or participated in the work I have done on disability social justice and mental capacity law. There is still a long way to go in ensuring access to justice for disabled people, and I sincerely hope that this recognition helps to highlight the importance of making the legal system more accessible to people with learning disabilities.”
Professor Rilka Dragneva-Lewers, Dean of Birmingham Law School, added: “I am immensely proud of Professor Rosie Harding and this richly deserved recognition of her outstanding contribution to mental capacity law and access to justice for disabled people. Rosie’s work exemplifies the very best of research‑led engagement, combining scholarly excellence and rigour with a deep commitment to meaningful legal change and social justice. Through her work, she has helped to challenge barriers within the legal system and to re‑imagine how law can better serve people with learning disabilities, reflecting the values and impact we strive for as a school and as a civic university.”
A full list of the new Honorary King’s Counsel members is available on the UK government website.
For media inquiries please contact Ellie Hail, Communications Officer, University of Birmingham on +44 (0)7966 311 409. Out-of-hours, please call +44 (0) 121 414 2772.
Professor of Law and Society
Academic profile of Professor Rosie Harding, Chair in Law and Society at Birmingham Law School, University of Birmingham, UK
Dean of Birmingham Law School
Profile of Professor Rilka Dragneva-Lewers, Dean of Birmingham Law School and Professor of International Legal Studies at the University of Birmingham
