The Chair's Report to the Annual Meeting 2024
CHAIR’S REPORT
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
MONDAY, 15 JULY 2024, 5PM BY ZOOM
INTRODUCTION
- The Association has continued to thrive over the past year, thanks to the dedication and enthusiasm of its members.
- The CLIPS scheme has continued to provide at least one volunteer (and sometimes more) to represent litigants in person in the applications court on almost every day during term time, and on many occasions during vacations as well. Building on the success of that scheme, I am delighted that the recently launched Bankruptcy Representation Scheme has been a roaring success, assisting unrepresented parties facing bankruptcy on Mondays before the Insolvency and Companies Court. Moreover, the CLIPS model is now being followed by recently launched schemes in the regions, providing benefits for both litigants and counsel.
- We have continued to promote diversity and fairness at the Chancery Bar with, amongst other things, the launch of the Fairness Charter, the creation of explainer videos aimed at students, and a school mentoring scheme (all referred to in more detail below). We also made two further awards pursuant to the Social Mobility Bursary scheme which we set up and funded last year, in association with the ICCA. I was delighted that, in a recent meeting, representatives from the BSB told me they considered the Chancery Bar to be leading the way in relation to equality and diversity. Although there is much more work to be done, it is a positive sign that, of the 917 prospective barristers who attended the Bar Council Pupillage Fair in October 2023, 51% identified as being from minority ethnic communities. Although it has taken a little longer than we had originally planned to admit student members to the Association, we are on course to do so this autumn, which should further improve our outreach to talented people from all backgrounds.
- As always, the Association has hosted a number of highly successful conferences in the course of the year. The Association’s first trip to Geneva in April 2024 proved to be a triumph, with an excellent turnout from local lawyers and professionals from the arbitration and trusts fields. Our website and branding have also recently been fully refreshed, hopefully bringing our image right up to date.
- We continue to represent our members in meetings with many interested parties, including the judiciary, the Bar Council, the BSB, the KCA, the Chancery Court Users’ Committee and the Central London County Court Users’ Group.
ACADEMIC LIAISON (Chair: Lesley Anderson KC)
- The main activities of this sub-committee this year have been our representation and participation in the Bar Council’s Pupillage Fair; assisting the main committee in drawing up rules for the new category of student members of the Association and assisting with distribution of the new student explainer videos. We also recommended the appointment of two new, distinguished, academic members to the Association: Professor Ying Khai Liew of Melbourne Law School and Dr David Foster at UCL.
- The Bar Council Pupillage Fair took place again this year in two parts. The first was a remote panel session at which the panellists discussed life at the Chancery and commercial Bar. We are very grateful to Tony Singla KC, Georgia Bedworth, Joseph Ollech and Amy Gregg for assisting with this. The discussion was lively and there was a thoroughly animated Q & A from the many students who logged in. The second part of the event was on Saturday 14 October 2023, in person in London. 917 students attended (from various stages of progress to the Bar) of whom 449 expressed a particular interest in Chancery/Commercial work. Once again, the atmosphere at the event was extremely positive and the calibre of attendees very good. We are grateful to Lesley Anderson KC, Richard Dew, Lucy Wilson-Barnes, Eleanor Temple KC, Lara Kuehl, Kavan Gunaratna and Harriet Holmes for their assistance on the day and to the Bar Council for their splendid efforts in hosting the event.
- Our thanks go to the sub-committee members: Joe Ollech, Harriet Holmes, Georgia Bedworth, Rosanna Foskett and our academic member Jamie Lee for all their assistance.
CONSULTATIONS (Chair: Alex Learmonth KC)
- The work of the consultations sub-committee rarely slackens, and this year has seen the Association respond on behalf of its members to a wide variety of consultations: the taxation of non-doms, a variety of questions concerning wills (electronic wills, the revocation of wills by marriage, and the storage of wills), a couple of substantial consultations about digital assets, matters of BSB regulation, the transparency of land ownership, and the assessment of mental capacity. These responses have taken a number of forms, most in writing, but some by way of attendance at round-table events, and one (wills) as a special event for members to meet directly with representatives of the Law Commission.
- As always we are hugely grateful to the many members of the Association who give up their valuable time and share their expertise with us, to ensure that our responses are always well informed, are taken seriously by the consulting body, and can play a real and positive role in shaping the law, procedure and regulation in our areas of practice. Particular thanks go to Alex Learmonth KC and Sophia Hurst for their tireless work on this sub-committee.
EDUCATION AND TRAINING (Chair: James Pickering KC)
- As ever, the highlight of the calendar was the Annual Lecture. This year the theme was “A View from The Law Commission” with characteristically insightful talks from outgoing chair, Nicholas Green LJ and new chair, Fraser J. Also taking place last autumn was a seminar on “How to Present to International Audiences”, a Wills consultation event and, together with Oxford University, a compelling talk on “Equity Today” to celebrate 150 years of the Judicature Act 1873.
- In the new year, we were excited to host a back-to-basics seminar on presenting and resisting bankruptcy petitions as part of the ChBA’s promotion of its latest pro-bono project, the Bankruptcy Representation Scheme. They keynote speaker was Chief ICC Judge Briggs whose continued support has been a critical part of the project’s success. In the spring we then held our second Advocacy Masterclass seminar, this time with a focus on advocacy in non-court situations including mediation and arbitration. As ever, the star of the show was Lord Hoffmann with his practical (and at times humorous) advice to members of the Chancery Bar.
- Coming soon in the autumn will be a talk on “Success fees in the context of Inheritance Act Claims” (arising out of the anticipated Supreme Court judgment in Hirachand v Hirachand), followed by a further talk (including, we hope, from a Justice of the Supreme Court) on directors’ duties in the context of nature and climate risks following the decision in Client Earth v Shell.
- We are grateful to James Pickering KC, the Chair of the sub-committee, and his team of Kavan Gunaratna, Robyn Cunningham, Cameron Stocks and Laura Inglis for their continued support and assistance throughout the year.
EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY (Chair: Yasmin Yasseri)
- The Equality and Diversity Subcommittee has engaged in many exciting projects this year, including the formal launch of the Fairness Charter. The Fairness Charter contains 12 practical suggestions which we believe will assist Chambers in seeking to achieve fairness in work allocation, career development, marketing and earnings for female barristers in a meaningful way. As of now, eight Chambers have adopted the principles and are proudly displaying the Charter mark on their websites. Further details relating to the Fairness Charter and how to go about adopting its principles can be found online: ChBA Charter for Fairness — Chancery Bar Association.
- The Association continues to lead the way in menopause awareness at the Bar. In February 2024, we were proud to host our first menopause café at Gatehouse Chambers. This was a wonderful opportunity for those interested or impacted to get together in an informal and welcoming environment. A further menopause café is planned for the autumn.
- In April 2024 the Association organised a webinar aimed at those in practice at the Bar with additional caring responsibilities, whether that be children with additional or complex needs, parents with dementia or other age-related challenges, or something else altogether. Chaired by Marcia Shekerdemian KC who was joined by Wendy Showell Nicholas, a Psychotherapist and Wellbeing Practitioner, the event was an online opportunity to come together and discuss work / life balance and share tips. The webinar can be viewed online: Additional Caring Responsibilities Webinar — Chancery Bar Association (chba.org.uk).
- One of the recommendations of the Black inclusion Group’s [“BIG”] Report in 2022 in respect of outreach was to develop online content directed at attracting school pupils and undergraduates to the Chancery Bar. In adopting that recommendation, the Association has created 10 short videos aimed at school-aged children to (a) demonstrate the possibility of a career at the Chancery Bar and (b) de-mystify the areas that make up Chancery practice. The videos were launched in July 2024 and can be found online on the Association’s LinkedIn account and website: Chancery Barristers Explainer Videos.
- The members of the sub-committee this year were Yasmin Yasseri (Chair), Gary Pryce, Ruth Hughes, Sam O’Leary, Faith Julian, Carly Sandbach and Cameron Stocks.
INTERNATIONAL (Chair: Iain Quirk KC)
- The International Committee organised a conference in Geneva in April of this year. It was a great success. We had 20 members join us, and a fantastic turn out from the local Geneva bar. The speakers were excellent and we have had very positive feedback both from our guests and members who attended. This was the first time we had been to Geneva and was an experiment to see if it would work. The resounding answer to that is ‘yes’. There was significant interest from trust companies in particular (and next time we should broaden our reach to the arbitration market more widely). Being in Switzerland, we had lots of melted cheese over a relaxed and enjoyable dinner. I am sure we will be back!
- Plans are in full swing for the Cayman conference in November. Venue (with incredible sea view, naturally) is booked, programme is fixed and we have a great set of speakers for what promises to be a fun and interesting conference. We were inundated with expressions of interest to speak – so thank you to everyone who put their name forward, and apologies to those who we couldn’t quite fit in this year. Cayman is a fruitful destination for us – English barristers are frequently instructed there, and there is plenty of work. The local judiciary and court facilities are good, and the process for being called (on an ad hoc basis per case) is not too onerous once you have done it once and worked out the procedure. We look forward to seeing you there.
- Our thanks go to the Chair of the sub-committee, Iain Quirk KC, and his team of Michael Gibbon KC, Rose Fetherstonhaugh, Sparsh Garg, Nicole Langlois and Matthew Morrison.
JUNIOR CHANCERY BAR (Chair: Albert Sampson)
- It has been another busy year for the Junior Chancery Bar. In October 2023, we held the first instalment in our Anatomy of Litigation series, with a session on statements of case. The series has gone from strength to strength throughout 2024, with events on interim applications and Case Management Conferences, and has been tremendously supported by our members, both as attendees and as speakers. We were also delighted to collaborate with the International sub-committee in a seminar on presenting to international audiences and it is fantastic to see more and more speakers from amongst the JCB’s members at the ChBA’s international conferences.
- The sub-committee has been refreshed, with Philippe Kuhn, Karl Anderson, Scarlet Taylor-Waller and Niamh Davis joining us. Tim Sherwin has retired from the sub-committee, and we are grateful for his many years of service.
- Albert Sampson is this year retiring as Chair of the sub-committee (and also from the Main Committee). We are extremely grateful to him for his superb chairmanship over a number of years. He (and I) would like to express his gratitude to JCB members for their support of our activities, to the speakers who have made brilliant contributions to our events, past and present members of the sub-committee for their help in making events happen and the Main Committee for its support of the ChBA’s junior membership. Philippe Kuhn will take over chairing the sub-committee and we wish him all the best for the role.
MENTORING (Chair: David Grant KC)
- As was noted in the 2023 Annual Review, Janet Bignell KC stepped down from her role of Chair of the mentoring sub-committee after several years’ sterling service in 2023. It is only appropriate to repeat our thanks to Janet for her warm and enthusiastic commitment to this role. It is tribute to her that the ChBA was approached last year by the Administrative Law Bar Association who were wishing to set up their own mentoring scheme and wanted to know how to make it work. To similar effect, the Association of Pension Lawyers (which has over a thousand members) is setting up its own scheme and has also tapped into the ChBA’s experience and knowledge. The words “imitation” and “flattery” remain as apt as ever.
- Mentoring remains a vital part of the ChBA’s work and ethos. It enables people of different calls, locations and background to make contact with others and seek confidential guidance. We had a recent drop in sandwich lunch in Lincoln’s Inn which was an opportunity for potential mentors and mentees to find out about the scheme and share experiences. The event was a salient reminder of the benefits of a mentor programme whereby members, junior or not, can meet others they otherwise would not and benefit from shared experience as to how to cope with the demands of practice.
- A successful mentoring programme relies on three aspects – mentees with the honesty to identify the areas in relation to which they seek counsel, helpful and willing mentors and an organised system for matching mentees and mentors. In that regard, our sincere thanks are due to the committee members Justin Higgo KC, Carly Sandbach and Timothy Sherwin for proposing, vetting and persuading people to act as mentors.
- To date, all requests for a mentor have been met speedily and with what we hope will be a good match. All those who would like to mentor but are not yet on the system are asked to contact our administrator, Francesca Compton. One is never too senior, nor too junior, to mentor the right person. As we reassured a well-known deputy High Court Judge recently, aspiring judges need mentors too. Thank you to everyone who makes the scheme function. It is a tribute to the Association’s approachability and generosity of spirit and time.
PRO-BONO (Chair: Andrew de Mestre KC)
- CLIPS, the Association's flagship pro bono scheme, has entered its second decade in rude health. Between the schemes in the High Court and Central London County Court, more than 100 volunteers from more than 40 chambers and firms provide some 240 volunteering days a year, including in the long vacation after a successful pilot of vacation volunteering in August and September 2023. The Association continues to receive messages from LIPS and Judges alike attesting to the hugely valuable work the schemes do. The success of the schemes in London can also be seen from the recent launches of similar schemes in various regional centres in which Association members from outside of London have played a leading role.
- 2024 has also seen the launch of the Bankruptcy Representation Scheme in collaboration with Advocate. The BRS, which was the brainchild of Association member Faith Julian, is a new scheme which provides two volunteers a week for litigants facing bankruptcy petitions and, in its first six months alone, has assisted more than 70 LIPs.
- The Pro bono sub-committee has worked to ensure that all three schemes have volunteers for each of the slots offered, including through a well-received CLIPs workshop as the Association's contribution to National Pro Bono Week in November 2023. It is gratifying to be able to report that 2024 has seen more very strong volunteering - virtually every single day so far as had a volunteer with a number volunteering three times or more and being well-deserved recipients of the Pro Bono Champion Award.
- We encourage all of those who have not yet volunteered to give the schemes a go.
- Beyond CLIPs and the BRS, the sub-committee has worked with Advocate to merge the Association's ground-breaking pro bono mediation scheme into a broader scheme available for all cases accepted for pro bono assistance. The sub-committee would very much like to see more suitable cases being considered for mediation and therefore, if members are involved in cases where there is a litigant in person, we would ask them to consider taking advantage of the offer of free mediation assistance.
- The members of the sub-committee are Andrew de Mestre KC (Chair), Zachary Bredemear, Matthew Morrison, Rahul Varma, Eleanor Holland and Faith Julian.
PUBLICATIONS AND WEBSITE (Chair: Oliver Marre)
- The publications sub-committee had a busy year, working on the rebranding of the ChBA and the associated redesign and relaunch of the website. The old website, while much used, was out of date in terms of both design and functionality. The new one seeks to redress these issues, allowing easier access to online resources and bookings for our members, and providing a smarter public face of the ChBA to the wider world.
- Over the course of the year, the sub-committee continued its usual work on other periodical publications, including the Annual Review, produced for the Winter Conference.
- The decision was also taken this year to move the ChBA’s social media presence away from X (as Twitter has become) and to launch a page on the more professionally focussed LinkedIn social network.
- Many thanks to the members of the sub-committee: Oliver Marre (chair), Marie-Claire Bleasdale, Harriet Holmes and Lara Kuehl.
WELLBEING AND CSR (Chair: Gary Blaker KC)
- In September 2023 we launched the updated Wellbeing Best Practice Policy together with the Institute of Barristers Clerks, with particular emphasis on the post-pandemic landscape. We put on a panel event at 3VB chambers to launch the new policy. Gary Blaker KC chaired the panel and was joined by Charlotte May KC and Will East from the association and Lucy Burrows and Joe Wilson from the IBC. This was a successful event and we hope that all attendees found it useful to explore ways to achieve a better work/life balance for both barristers and clerks.
- In January 2024 we hosted an event entitled “The Art and Science of Sleep” at 5 Stone Buildings. This was chaired by Eliza Eagling and featured a fascinating talk by Professor Guy Leschziner, consultant neurologist at Guys & St Thomas’. The aim of the event was to discuss and promote better sleeping patterns.
- The committee has just launched a new school mentoring scheme through the Promise Foundation. This project aims to mentor young people at 5 different schools in North West London during the 2024/25 academic year. We are excited about this new opportunity and there has been a great deal of interest from members of the association who have signed up to be mentors.
- We continue to sit on and work with the Bar Council's wellbeing at the bar committee and to work with the Bar Council's Sustainability Network.
- The members of the sub-committee during 2023/4 were Gary Blaker KC (Chair), Charlotte May KC, Will East, Alison Meacher, Eliza Eagling, Laurie Scher, Timothy Sherwin, Elizabeth Dwomoh, Eleanor Temple and Timothy Cowen and we extend our sincere thanks to them all.
WINTER CONFERENCE 2024 (Chair: Penelope Reed KC)
- The winter conference this year was superbly chaired by Penelope Reed KC, assisted by Tracey Angus KC, Joseph Curl KC, Kavan Gunaratna and Charles Raffin. The theme was dealing with issues which crop up time and time again in practice and would have relevance to the diverse practices we have at the Chancery Bar. Consequently, the workshops (into which an enormous amount of hard work had gone) not only covered specialist subjects but privilege and limitation.
- On the main stage we heard from the Treasury Solicitor, Susanna McGibbon, about her work, about proprietary estoppel from academic member Professor Macfarlane and a talk on witnesses from our former Chair, Mr. Justice Rajah. We also had experts on disclosure (emerging rather more knowledgeable on AI) and leading practitioners from the offshore world. All were excellent; but perhaps the slot everyone wanted to go on forever was the interview by Bobby Friedman of Baron Neuberger.
SUMMER CONFERENCE (Chair: Gary Pryce)
- The 2024 summer conference was expertly chaired by Gary Pryce, assisted by Lara Kuehl. It was held on a sunny summer’s day in June. The title this year was “Future Chancery.” The conference aimed to provide stimulating current material on both substantive law and practice-related issues which will also be salient in the future to Chancery practitioners.
- We enjoyed a thought-provoking speech from Mr Justice Zacaroli on proprietary claims in insolvency, and an illuminating address from the Right Honourable Sir Geoffrey Vos, Master of the Rolls on recent developments in non-court-based dispute resolution. There weretwo tremendous workshops, both inspired by 2024 Court of Appeal decisions. The contentious probate workshop explored undue influence in the context of inter vivos gifts and wills and was expertly led by Brie Stevens-Hoare KC. Dan McCourt Fritz KC dynamically led the Company workshop, examining statutory limitation periods for unfair prejudice petitions.
- Laura Durrant, CEO of the Black Talent Charter (BTC) spoke inspiringly on opportunities for Chancery barristers and chambers to take further steps to tackle the under-representation of black African, black African Caribbean and mixed heritage counsel practising at the Chancery Bar by joining with the BTC and participating in their development programmes. Yasmin Yasseri, Chair of the ChBA Equality and Diversity sub-committee gave an update on current and future initiatives by the ChBA across the whole field of equality and diversity, including giving a preview of our brand new online ChBA practice area student explainer videos. The conference closed with an excellent multi-disciplinary professional services panel of speakers, enlightening us all on what next for Crypto assets disputes, expertly chaired by Sophia Hurst. An enjoyable conference was followed by an excellent outdoor champagne and pizza reception.
THANKS
- It has been an honour and a pleasure to Chair the Association for the past two years. The job is made easy by the tireless dedication of so many of our members who give up their time for our benefit, and we owe them huge thanks.
- I particularly want to thank the Officers of the Association, the members of our main committee and all the chairs and members of our sub-committees over the past two years. I am simply amazed by how much they have been able to achieve. Ian Clarke KC has provided me with invaluable advice and support as the Vice-Chair and I know that his dynamic leadership will propel the Association to ever greater success.
- The Chair of each and every sub-committee who contributed to this report has expressed the view that nothing would be possible without the knowledge, management skills and organisational abilities of our administrator, Francesca Compton. I have now served on the main committee for eleven years and I know this to be true! She has throughout provided invaluable advice, support and friendship for which I am extremely grateful.
ANDREW TWIGGER KC
CHAIR
15 July 2024