review 2012 - lincoln's inn · review2012. the honourable society of lincoln’s inn....

Review 2012

THE HONOURABLE SOCIETY OF LINCOLN’S INN

EDITOR’S NOTEAll of those who helped redesign and produce the Review last year were delighted with its reception.

Around 2,000 members have asked to be sent the Review in hard copy which I take as a great tribute to all who worked so hard to produce last year’s

effort. If anyone has not asked the Inn for a hard copy and wants one, there will be some available from the Treasury Office. Can I encourage anyone who has not previously asked for a hard copy who wants one next year to let the Office know as it may affect the number we print.

The Review now operates more closely with the Inn’s E-newsletter, which is not in fact monthly as originally intended, as there seems little point in sending it when there is nothing pressing to communicate. It will however be sent more frequently than the old Mini-Newsletter and it will continue to be more about events coming up and less about what has happened.

This year’s Review contains much about women coming to the bar ‘in the beginning’ nearly 100 years ago with fascinating articles about a Miss Bebb and Cornelia Sorabji, whose bust is now on display in the Upper Vestibule. There are pictures of many of the Inn’s social events, including an evening with Ruby Wax and the farewell dinner for David Hills. Where the pictures are taken by me I put them on my website, where they can be viewed by you through the link on the Inn’s website; where they are taken by others I sometimes get them onto my website depending on who took them. We have included this year not only articles on Paul Before Felix but also on the Watts Fresco of law givers from history, some of whom were modelled on the artist’s friends. We hope there are many other articles of interest.

Sadly as the years roll on I find I have known many more of those members of the Inn who have died during the year and it is more and more difficult to keep to our policy of no obituaries. However sad though the passing of friends is, I remain certain that for very good reasons this remains the best policy for the Review.

As always this Review could not have been produced without much hard work from many others and I thank them all on your behalf, most particularly Murray Campbell who gathers the articles and does much more and the indefatigable Guy Holborn who proofreads tirelessly.

Nick Easterman

CONTENTSEditor’s Note Inside Cover

Officers of the Inn 2013 1

Judicial & Other Appointments 2

Message from Treasurer 3 - 4

The Fresco 4 - 5

New Benchers 6 - 8

Education 9

Trip to Strasbourg 10

Students’ Black Tie Dinner 11

Contributors’ Dinner 12 - 13

Visit to Mauritius 14 - 15

Ruby Wax at Lincoln’s Inn 16 - 17

MCR 18

Students and Scholarships 19

The Value of Experience 20 - 21

Visit of The Duke of York 22 - 23

Message From the Preacher 24

Chapel Report 24 - 25

Chapel History 25 - 26

Chapel Picnic 27

The Gardens 28 - 29

Beekeeping 30 - 31

Estates 33

Catering 34 - 35

New Dining Tables 36

Summer Gourmet Dinner 37

Garden Party 38 - 39

New Silks’ Dinner 40

November Grand Day 41

Bar Representation Committee 42 - 46

Dates to Note 47

Miss Bebb, Lincoln’s Inn and the Admission of Women to the Bar 48 - 50

90th Birthdays 51

Cornelia Sorabji 52 - 53

Dickens Dinner 54 -56

Tale of Two Prime Ministers 57

Farewell Dinner for David Hills 58 - 59

In the Frame 60 - 61

Chattels 62

Circuit Judges’ Dinner 63

Family Affairs LA Law 64 - 65

Banqueting & Event Hire 66 - 67

Hawking in Lincoln’s Inn 68

Staff List 69

LINCOLN’S INN ANNUAL REVIEW 2012 1

OFFICERS OF THE INN 2013

KEEPER OF THE BLACK BOOK AND DEAN OF CHAPELSir William Blackburne was called to the bar by Inner Temple in 1966 and joined Lincoln’s Inn ad eundem in December 1969. He practised from 13 Old Square

(now Maitland Chambers), took silk in 1984 and was appointed to the High Court, Chancery Division in 1993, from which post he retired in 2009.

Sir William was elected a bencher of Lincoln’s Inn in April 1992. He has been an active member and Chairman of the Buildings Committee and is currently Chairman of the Finance Committee. He is also ex-officio a member of the Treasurer’s and Staff Committees. Between 1987 and 1989 he served as Treasurer of the Bar Council.

TREASURERAnthony Grabiner was called to the bar by this Inn in November 1968 and took silk in 1981. He has a substantial commercial law practice and has been head of chambers at One Essex Court since 1994. He sits as a Deputy High Court Judge and was a

Recorder of the Crown Court for several years. He was created a life peer in 1999 and sits on the Labour benches.

He was elected a bencher in October 1989 and was first a member and then Chairman of the Education Committee for some years. He regularly gave talks at Cumberland Lodge weekends and he started the Inn’s advocacy training courses, which for a long time he ran with His Honour Roger (then Judge) Cooke.

In the early 1990s he became a governor of the London School of Economics, then its Vice-Chairman, and was Chairman for nine years until the beginning of 2008 when his third term of office ended. Although this was an honorary appointment, it was a busy and time-consuming one which prevented him from attending Inn meetings and committees. He rejoined the Inn’s Education Committee in 2009 and was elected Master of the Walks for 2010.

MASTER OF THE WALKSThe Rt Hon Lord Justice GoldringCalled to the bar (Lincoln’s Inn) in 1969 and made a bencher in 1996. Appointed a Queen’s Counsel in 1987. Recorder in the Crown Court from 1987 to 1999, and appointed a Deputy High Court Judge in 1996. On 1 October 1997, appointed

to the High Court of Justice and assigned to the Queen’s Bench Division; he received the customary knighthood the same year. Appointed a Lord Justice of Appeal on 12 January 2009, whereupon he was appointed to the Privy Council. Served as Deputy Senior Presiding Judge from October 2008 until promotion to Senior Presiding Judge for England and Wales on 1 January 2010. His three-year term ends on 31 December 2012. He also served as a deputy senior judge of the Sovereign Base Areas of Cyprus, a deputy High Court judge, and a judge of the Courts of Appeal of Jersey and Guernsey. Appointed as a member of the Judicial Appointments Commission in February 2006, as representative for the judiciary.

MASTER OF THE LIBRARYGeoffrey Jaques was called to the bar by this Inn in November 1963. After a common law pupillage of six months and a Chancery pupillage of twelve months, he became a tenant in a set of Chancery chambers at 17 Old Buildings in April 1966, where

he remained until April 1998, becoming head of chambers in the early 1990s.

He was Chairman of the Bar Representation Committee in 1987-8 and was elected a bencher in July 1991. He was Chairman of the Scholarships Committee for about seven years during the 1990s. He has been a member of the Education Committee since 1993, being Chairman between 2002 and 2005, and a member of the Investment Committee since 1995. He has given talks at both Cumberland Lodge and West Dean weekends.

He was appointed a Registrar in Bankruptcy of the High Court in April 1998 and was a member of the Insolvency Rules Committee for many years. He retired at the end of the Easter Term 2011.

2

Appointed President of the Supreme Court of the United KingdomOct 2012 The Rt Hon Lord Neuberger of

Abbotsbury

Appointed Lord President and Lord Justice General of ScotlandJun 2012 The Rt Hon Lord Gill

Appointed President of the Upper Tribunal (Administrative Appeals Chamber)April 2012 The Hon Mr Justice Charles

Appointed to the High CourtOct 2012 Sarah Jane Asplin QC Jan 2013 Stephen William Cobb QC

Appointed to the Circuit BenchMarch 2012 Christopher Anthony Kinch QC

(South Eastern Circuit)May 2012 Judith Mary Rowe QC

(South Eastern Circuit)June 2012 Nigel Melvin Peters QC

(South Eastern Circuit)Oct 2012 Simon Patrick Drew QC

(Midland Circuit)Nov 2012 Peter John Gower QC

(South Eastern Circuit)Dec 2012 Rebecca Maria Poulet QC

Senior Circuit Judge (South Eastern Circuit)

Retired as Chancellor of the High Court and Vice-President of the Court of ProtectionJan 2013 The Rt Hon Sir Andrew Morritt CVO

Retirements from the Circuit BenchJan 2012 His Honour Judge William George March 2012 His Honour Judge Peter Cowell His Honour Judge Frederick Holloway His Honour Judge William MorrisApril 2012 His Honour Judge David MorrisJune 2012 His Honour Judge The Lord ParmoorJan 2013 His Honour Judge (James) Robert Reid QC

Death in ServiceOct 2012 Her Honour Judge Kershaw QC

Appointed CBE in the 2013 New Year Honours ListHis Honour Judge Beaumont QC, Recorder of LondonCherie Booth QC

Appointed Queen’s CounselCeri Bryant Robert O’Sullivan Chirag KariaEdmund CullenLawrence Akka Paul Gott Katherine Blackwell Nicholas Lumley Adrian Darbishire

Richard Hill Adrian Speck Navjot Sidhu Steven Walker Richard Coleman Rebecca Stubbs Hugh Norbury Anneliese Day Benjamin Elkington

ELECTED TO THE BENCH OF LINCOLN’S INN

Royal BencherDec 2012 His Royal Highness The Duke of York KG

Honorary BenchersJune 2012 Sir Robert Finch, Honorary Colonel, Inns of Court City & Essex YeomanryColonel (Retd) David H Hills MBE, Under Treasurer, Lincoln’s Inn 1997-2012Nov 2012 Judge George Nicolaou, Judge of the European Court of Human RightsDec 2012 Ms Asma Jahangir, President of the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan Professor Harold Koh, Dean of the Law School, Yale University

Ordinary BenchersMay 2012 His Honour Judge Simon Barker QC Miranda Moore QC Timothy Fancourt QC Theodore Huckle QC Caroline HarrisonNov 2012 David Mabb QC Leslie Blohm QC Philippa McAtasney QC Elspeth Talbot Rice QC The Hon Clare Renton Neil Mercer

Deaths of BenchersFeb His Honour Andrew Blackett-Ord CVOMarch Sir Haydn Tudor-EvansApril Benjamin LevyMay Sir Michael Kerry KCB QCDec Sir Humphrey Potts (Arthur) William Stevenson QC

JUDICIAL & OTHER APPOINTMENTS


2012 was a significant year in the life of Lincoln’s Inn, bringing as it did the election of a new Royal Bencher and the retirement of an Under Treasurer. First and foremost, on 11 December His Royal Highness the Duke of York was published a bencher in Hall. The event was quite informal and I hope that that is how His Royal Highness’s relationship with the Inn will continue. He wishes to be involved in the life of the Inn and particularly in its work with students and pupils, which will be warmly welcomed by the many benchers and members involved in the Inn’s educational side.

Colonel David Hills retired at the end of July after fifteen years’ tireless service to the Inn, both its internal administration and in its relationships with the wider profession. We had a very enjoyable and well-attended dinner for him on 16 July and were delighted to be joined by his family, particularly by Joanne who has given up so much of her own time, as well as many evenings and weekends of David’s company, to the Inn.

On 1 August Mary Kerr took over from David Hills as Under Treasurer, joining us from Oxford where she was Bursar of St Hugh’s College for a number of years. She has fitted in with ease into her new role and is evidently relishing the challenge!

In any year there is bound to be the sadness of old friends departing and in 2012 the Chapel bell was tolled for His Honour Andrew (known to all as Jim) Blackett-Ord, Sir Haydn Tudor-Evans, Benjamin Levy, Sir Michael Kerry, His Honour Paul Baker QC, Sir Humphrey Potts and most recently Willie Stevenson QC. There was also a memorial service in June for Stanley Williams, a stalwart of the Chapel Committee as a Hall representative over very many years, who died in December 2011.

The Inn received legacies during the year from Martin Burr, Stanley Williams and Thomas Kelly QC, all of which will be put to very good use. Most will go towards the increasingly essential scholarships and bursaries which the Inn awards, though Stanley’s, in keeping with his wishes, will be used for the benefit of the Chapel.

I told the Duke of York that education is the Inn’s most important function. In the year 2011/12 we had 662 BPTC students (including those on part-time courses) and in 2012/13 we have 794. In the calendar year 2012, we paid out £1.5 million in scholarships. We select on merit and do so with considerable success in that about 90% of our scholars go on to obtain pupillage. At a time when there are so few pupillages available, that is a remarkable statistic and one which does great credit to the Scholarships Committee.

This year we provided advocacy and ethics training for pupils at Highgate House and for students at West Dean and Cumberland Lodge. Unfortunately there are not enough places for everyone to attend a weekend event but everyone has the opportunity for some training. The success of these events is due very largely to the work and enthusiasm of Head of Education Jo Robinson and her team, and the advocacy trainers who put in a great deal of time and energy. Occasionally, this very hard work can be conducted in very congenial surroundings, and we have made two overseas visits this last year, the purpose of which has been to inaugurate Lincoln’s Inn Alumni Associations and also to provide advocacy training. I went with the team to St Lucia; Sir Michael Wright very kindly sacrificed himself and took my place in Mauritius. In the longer term, the aim is to train experienced practitioners in those jurisdictions to train their own younger members. The need is very great, for training in ethics as well as advocacy. I think that this is something for which, in the future, the Inn will have to consider providing significantly more funding and effort. We take the Rule of Law for granted in this country. They cannot do so in many other parts of the world and any contribution we can make to foster the Rule of Law is in my view immensely worthwhile.

One of my great pleasures during the year has been simply spending more time in the Inn than ever before, enjoying the environment, the gardens, the trees and wonderful buildings. And later this year I hope, the refurbished 2 New Square will emerge magnificently from its wrappings.

Chapel is still very much a part of the life of the Inn and gives an underlying rhythm to the year. We are

MESSAGE FROM THE TREASURER 2012The life of the Inn renews itself. During the year, I have called 482 new barristers; we have elected eleven new ordinary benchers and five new honorary benchers, including David Hills. The Rt Hon Dame Janet Smith DBE

JUSTICEA Hemicycle of Lawgivers by G.F Watts, O.M., R.A. Painted in 1859 in True Fresco, that is on the fresh plaster, in

tempera colours with egg mediumTruth

Mercy JusticeServius Numa Solon Draco Minos Moses Ptah Zoroaster Pythagoras Confucius

Lycurgus ManuADruid

Ina Alfred Attila Justinian Theodora Mahomet Two Figures

UnnamedCharlemagne Two Monks representing

the Churches

Edward I.Two Scribes

Two BaronsEarls of Pembroke and

Salisbury with the Magna Charta Stephen

LangtonMr Watts made studies for this Fresco from several friends, as noted below

Servius, King of Early Rome (Valentine Prinsep, R.A.)

Solon (Spencer Stanhope, of Cannon Hall, Yorkshire)

Minos, King of Crete (Lord Tennyson, Poet Laureate)

Zoroaster, Persian Prophet and Philosopher

Numa, King of Early Rome Alfred of England, King of Wessex (Emma Lady Lilford)

Lycurgus, King of Sparta

Ptah, Egyptian God – The Creator

Pythagoras, Greek Sage and Philosopher

Confucius, Chinese Sage

Ina of England and King of Wessex (Holman Hunt, R.A.)

Draco, Compiler of the Laws of Athens

Justinian, Emperor of Eastern Roman Empire (Sir W. Vernon Harcourt)

Manu, mythical author of the Hindoo Code of Manu

Edward I., King of England (Sir Charles Newton, Keeper of Greek Antiquities, British Museum)

Attila, King of the Huns

Charlemagne, King of the Franks, Emperor of the Romans

Theodora, Empress of Justinian (Sophia Lady Dalrymple)

Stephen Langton, 44th

Archbishop of Canterbury and promoter of Magna Charta

Baron holding Magna Charta (Edward Armitage, R.A.)

Second Baron (Lord Lawrence)

4

The work was begun in 1853 and completed in 1859. It was painted onto freshly laid wet plaster, tempera colours with egg medium; and the maintenance and preservation has always been a considerable challenge. The fresco is huge, monumental, 40 feet high and 45 feet wide. The draperies required much study. The style is after the School of Raphael, especially his School of Athens. The work was carried out gratuitously, the Inn supplying the materials. In April 1860 at a dinner presided over by the Lord Chancellor, Lord Campbell, and attended by many judges Watts was congratulated and given a silver cup containing 500 golden sovereigns, equivalent to some £25,000 today. In 1925 Watts’s widow gifted the cup, which she described as delightful in design and workmanship, to Lincoln’s Inn, in gratitude for the Inn making ‘the great wall space’ available for the fresco. In accepting the gift the benchers resolved that the cup be inscribed recording the gift.

Topped by the symbolic figures of Justice, Truth and Mercy, there are some thirty figures in the fresco, representing western and eastern traditions, including:

Watts used a number of his contemporaries as models, eg Tennyson for Minos, Sir William Vernon Harcourt for Justinian and Emma, Lady Lilford (sic), for the young Alfred.

The fresco, in the grand style, was one of the best efforts of Watts. Combining the renaissance and Victorian gothic styles he sought to show through his art the fine contribution of the law to civilisation.

Watts’s signature may be seen at the point of the sword of Edward I in the bottom left hand corner.

Alec SamuelsBased on a number of sources suggested by Frances Bellis of Lincoln’s Inn Library who is very well informed and helpful.

THE FRESCO IN THE GREAT HALLThe fresco in the Great Hall of Lincoln’s Inn, Justice: A Hemicycle of Lawgivers, was executed by George Frederic Watts OM, RA, 1817-1904. Watts - his first names derived from Handel, his father being a musician admirer of Handel - was one of the leading portrait and history painters of the nineteenth century, and knew most of the leading personalities of his day.

very lucky in our Preacher, organist and choir, as well as in the building itself. I hope we will continue to celebrate our association with John Donne, just as I hope we will continue from time to time to use the Chapel for concerts. I greatly enjoyed Harry Christopher’s Sixteen, generously supported by an anonymous sponsor.

There have been lots of other fun events and what seems like dozens of dinners. The highlights have been Grand Days – terrific fun for me – David Hills’s retirement and the Dickens bicentenary. All were accompanied by wonderful food, and we are very fortunate in our catering staff. The regulatory environment continues to be a difficult one, and the year has been a particular challenge for those involved with the organisation of disciplinary tribunals under the auspices of the Council of the Inns of Court (COIC), where some unfortunate administrative issues led to a great deal of work and anxiety. The outcome has to be a revamped and more expensive set-up for COIC itself and for the operation of the disciplinary panels. The essential decisions have all been taken, in principle, and I think

are right - but this is an area in which I hand over to my successor with less than total satisfaction. The Advocacy Training Council has also been completely revamped; again there will be increased cost but the Inns agreed that advocacy training is too important to be run on the shoestring basis which prevailed before.

Finally I want to express my thanks to the staff for their support during the past year. We are very fortunate to have so loyal and hardworking a team. I also want to thank the benchers and barristers who serve on our committees. Our committee structure may be unwieldy but it has the huge advantage that it both allows and requires benchers and members to give service to the Inn. It is in need of some revision and I know that Tony Grabiner has that task in his sights, but I believe that that involvement is the Inn’s greatest strength.

JUSTICEA Hemicycle of Lawgivers by G.F Watts, O.M., R.A. Painted in 1859 in True Fresco, that is on the fresh plaster, in

tempera colours with egg mediumTruth

Mercy JusticeServius Numa Solon Draco Minos Moses Ptah Zoroaster Pythagoras Confucius

Lycurgus ManuADruid

Ina Alfred Attila Justinian Theodora Mahomet Two Figures

UnnamedCharlemagne Two Monks representing

the Churches

Edward I.Two Scribes

Two BaronsEarls of Pembroke and

Salisbury with the Magna Charta Stephen

LangtonMr Watts made studies for this Fresco from several friends, as noted below

Servius, King of Early Rome (Valentine Prinsep, R.A.)

Solon (Spencer Stanhope, of Cannon Hall, Yorkshire)

Minos, King of Crete (Lord Tennyson, Poet Laureate)

Zoroaster, Persian Prophet and Philosopher

Numa, King of Early Rome Alfred of England, King of Wessex (Emma Lady Lilford)

Lycurgus, King of Sparta

Ptah, Egyptian God – The Creator

Pythagoras, Greek Sage and Philosopher

Confucius, Chinese Sage

Ina of England and King of Wessex (Holman Hunt, R.A.)

Draco, Compiler of the Laws of Athens

Justinian, Emperor of Eastern Roman Empire (Sir W. Vernon Harcourt)

Manu, mythical author of the Hindoo Code of Manu

Edward I., King of England (Sir Charles Newton, Keeper of Greek Antiquities, British Museum)

Attila, King of the Huns

Charlemagne, King of the Franks, Emperor of the Romans

Theodora, Empress of Justinian (Sophia Lady Dalrymple)

Stephen Langton, 44th

Archbishop of Canterbury and promoter of Magna Charta

Baron holding Magna Charta (Edward Armitage, R.A.)

Second Baron (Lord Lawrence)


6

ASMA JAHANGIRAsma Jilani Jahangir is a leading Pakistani lawyer, advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, President Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan and human rights activist, who works both in Pakistan and internationally to prevent the persecution of religious minorities, women, and exploitation of children. She was the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief from August 2004 to July 2010. Previously she served as the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Arbitrary and Summary Executions. She is also chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.

NEW BENCHERS

SIR ROBERT FINCHBorn Ootacamund, India and educated at Felsted School, Essex. He is married to Patricia and they have two daughters. Articled to his uncle John Ferrar at Monro Pennefather in Cannon Street before qualification and moving to Linklaters in 1969 as a commercial property lawyer; becoming partner in 1974. He became Head of Department in 1998 before retiring in 2005. Elected Alderman of the City of London 1992, Sheriff 1999 and Lord Mayor in 2003/2004. He is a Governor of the Legal Education Foundation, a Trustee of the LSO Foundation and a Director of various corporate entities including the Royal Brompton & Harefield Foundation Trust. He is Hon. Colonel of the Inns of Court & City of London and Essex Yeomanry at 10 Stone Buildings.

DAVID HILLS Colonel (Retd) David H. Hills MBE served as Under Treasurer of Lincoln’s Inn from May 1997 to July 2012 (also serving as Secretary to the Council of the Inns of Court 2007-2009). Shortly before his retirement he became only the second Under Treasurer to be elected an Honorary Bencher of the Society. Educated at Mount St Mary’s College and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, David was commissioned into the Royal Highland Fusiliers and enjoyed a distinguished army career. He was awarded the MBE for service in Berlin as second in command of his battalion. He and Joanne have retired to their home in Whitchurch, Hampshire, where David is hoping to have more time for golf and tennis.

HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE DUKE OF YORK KGThe Duke of York was born on 19 February 1960 at Buckingham Palace, the second son and the third child of The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh.He was the first child to be born to a reigning monarch for 103 years.Named Andrew Albert Christian Edward, he was known as Prince Andrew until his marriage, when he was created The Duke of York, Earl of Inverness and Baron Killyleagh.After serving for twenty-two years in the Royal Navy as a helicopter pilot, The Duke of York became the UK’s Special Representative for International Trade and Investment.

GEORGE NICOLAOUCalled to the bar by Lincoln’s Inn in 1968. Practised at the Cyprus bar in a broad spectrum of matters. Became a member of the Bar Council. Was appointed District Court Judge in 1978 and President District Court in 1989. Justice of the Supreme Court of Cyprus from 1995 to 2008. Judge of the European Court of Human Rights since February 2008.

ROYAL

HONORARY


TIMOTHY FANCOURTTim was called to the bar in 1987, took silk in 2003 and was appointed a Recorder (crime) in 2009. He specialises in property litigation at Falcon Chambers. He has been an elected member of the Bar Council, the vice-chairman of the Standards Committee of the Bar Standards Board and is now the chairman of the Chancery Bar Association.

SIMON BARKERJoined Lincoln’s Inn 1977, called July 1979. Chartered Accountant (ACA 1976, FCA 1981). Practised at the Chancery bar 1981-2010, from 5 New Square (now Hogarth Chambers) 1981-97 and from Maitland Chambers 1997-2010. Appointed Assistant Recorder 1995, Recorder 2000, QC 2008, Senior Circuit Judge 2010.

THEODORE HUCKLETheodore Huckle was called in 1985, and has always lived and practised in Wales. In 2008 he was instrumental in establishing Civitas Law chambers as the first specialist civil law chambers in Wales. He was appointed QC in 2011 and shortly after to the post of Counsel General for Wales. With the agreement of the First Minister of Wales he continues in private practice. He appeared for the claimant in Baker v Quantum Clothing [2011] UKSC 17; and for Welsh Government in Axa v Lord Advocate [2011] UKSC 46 and, most recently, in the first reference of its kind, as principal respondent as well as advocate, in Local Government Byelaws (Wales) Bill Reference [2012] UKSC 53

MIRANDA MOOREMiranda Moore QC has a Business Studies degree and was a Denning Scholar. She practices in criminal law at the Chambers of J. Caplan QC and M. Brompton QC. She took silk in 2003, sits on the Digital Forensics Panel and is a specialist in fraud and Hi Tech crime

HAROLD KOHProfessor Koh is a Korean American lawyer and legal scholar. He served as the Legal Adviser of the Department of State. He was nominated to this position by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2009, and confirmed by the Senate on June 25, 2009. He departed as the State Department’s legal adviser in January 2013, and returned to Yale as a law professor, being named a Sterling Professor of International Law.

ORDINARY

8

PHILIPPA (PIPPA) MCATASNEYBorn in 1962 and called in 1985, Pippa was appointed QC in 2006. She practises in all areas of crime from Furnival Chambers. Married with two grown-up daughters, she is the legal advisor to the television drama Silk. Within the Inn she helps with advocacy training..

ELSPETH TALBOT RICE Elspeth grew up in North Yorkshire, spent three very happy and sporty years at Durham University. She was called to the bar by Lincoln’s Inn in October 1990 and awarded a Wigglesworth scholarship. She was taken on as a tenant on completion of her second six months’ pupillage by XXIV Old Buildings, Lincoln’s Inn from where she has practised ever since, developing a commercial Chancery practice with a specialism in international trust and probate disputes. She took silk in 2008, is married to a soldier and has three young children, some horses and chickens.

NEIL MERCERNeil Mercer read law at Aberystwyth and latterly Theology at St. John’s, Wonersh. He was called to the bar in 1988 by Lincoln’s Inn and has practised at the criminal bar ever since. He sits as a Legal Assessor at the MPTS, NMC and GDC. He is a former member of the Bar Representation Committee (2000-12) and is a past Chairman of it. He has served on many committees and working parties within the Inn. He is married to Helen and has two teenage sons. He lives in Sussex and is Deacon within the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton.

CAROLINE HARRISON Grammar school in Blackburn, then Philosophy and Theology at Oxford. Diploma in law, then later, a Masters in Medical Law & Ethics. Called to the bar in 1986, Caroline specialises in clinical and professional negligence and catastrophic injury claims at 2 Temple Gardens. She has extensive experience of regulating medical research, especially in genetics, at local and national levels. Interests include music, art, running, fishing, food and wine.

LESLIE BLOHMJoint Deputy Head of St John’s Chambers. Call 1982 (Lincoln’s Inn) (QC 2006). MA (Oxon), Hardwicke and Jenkins Scholar of Lincolns Inn (1982)Member of Chancery Bar Association, PEBA, Property Bar Association. Recorder 2003, Deputy High Court Judge (Chancery) 2008.

DAVID MABBJoined Lincoln’s Inn in 1977 and was called to the bar, by Lincoln’s Inn, in 1979. Since 1980 has practised in company law and related areas at Erskine Chambers. Took silk in 2001. Since 2009 has been a member of the Financial Reporting Review Panel.


Scholarships CommitteeThe Scholarships Committee distributes approximately £1.5 million each year to those at various stages of their qualification for the bar. Scholarships are awarded by panels of three representative barristers or judges who are members of the Inn and the predominant criteria are proven intellectual ability together with sufficient commitment to make a successful career at the bar. The amounts of the scholarships are reduced to take account of substantial income directly credited from other sources to the candidate but, subject to that, the amounts of awards made are designed to allow able students to complete their qualification for the bar without too much distraction by lack of means. The great majority of those awarded Lincoln’s Inn scholarships are successful in obtaining pupillage.

University Liaison CommitteeThis committee oversees the provision of opportunities where those who are considering a career at the bar can learn more. It annually invites all those institutions providing a qualifying law degree to come to the Inn to hear from barristers and to dine in the Hall with them. We know from the significant numbers of those who attend these events who go on to become members of the Inn that they are hugely worthwhile.

Admission, Call and Pupillage CommitteeThis committee looks after the mechanisms by which the early stages of the qualification process are regulated. A great deal of its time is spent considering applications for the role of Pupil Supervisor from the Inn’s members.

Student Activities CommitteeThis committee provides an interface between the Inn and its students. The committee aims to enable the students to make the most of their time on the BPTC. Student Representatives from each of the BPTC providers are members, attending its meetings and contributing to its decisions. The committee

aims to create as much educational opportunity as possible for those on the BPTC with a view to this complementing the learning the students receive on the course.

Continuing Education CommitteeThe principal role of the committee is to provide courses for and oversee and give guidance on, the training and continuing professional development of all its members who are practising lawyers, whether they are in private practice as barristers, or in employment, so as to ensure that appropriate standards of professional competence are maintained by them throughout their practising life. The committee presently runs three advocacy courses each year for pupils and three advocacy and ethics training courses each year for new practitioners.

A further role of the committee is to train tutors so that they may teach at such courses and to oversee the standards of teaching, which it does in liaison with the Advocacy Training Council, the Education andTraining committee, and the Bar Standards Board.

Education CommitteeThis committee provides an overseeing function and focuses on policy matters. This year its time has been taken up significantly with work on the LSB’s Legal Education & Training Review (LETR). We await the publication of their recommendations (due early in 2013) with interest.

This Inn is hugely fortunate in that it is the members of the Inn who populate these committees. The members have a genuine interest in each of the areas and empower and facilitate the staff in undertaking the work necessary to get the various projects and programmes off the ground and running effectively.

Joanna RobinsonDeputy Under Treasurer (Education)

EDUCATIONThe work of the Education Department is led and overseen by six committees which have as their members interested benchers and barrister members of the Inn. The committees focus in turn on the main areas of the Department’s work. Through the committees the Education Department receives helpful and informed comment and guidance regarding policy and strategy. I thought it might be of interest to those members not currently involved to see what each of the committees cover.

10

The Inn’s student community is a multi-talented bunch, combining challenging legal studies with various other impressive pursuits. So when our coach failed to start on our arrival at Strasbourg airport – on a boiling hot June day, after two less than fully comfortable flights, and with a local driver who spoke no English – it was with confidence that most of us looked around to locate a fluent French speaker among our small party to sort out the issue.

An energetic, and energising, forty-eight hours followed. After a dash of speed-sightseeing, we headed over to the European Court of Human Rights for a formal drinks reception. Our principal host was Sir Nicholas Bratza, the Court’s then President and a bencher of Lincoln’s Inn. We spoke with the judges from Ireland, Malta, Cyprus and the Netherlands. The latter, Egbert Myjer, an honorary bencher of the Inn, proved to be particularly good company and was the focus of a documentary film crew we had seen around the Court (and, it transpired, the father of a well-known comedian in the Netherlands).

The following morning, we entered the main chamber of the Court to observe a hearing. Seven judges were sitting. The case was about the right of journalists to protect their sources and, in particular, whether the actions of the Dutch national intelligence service had violated the applicants’ rights to freedom of expression and private life. It was interesting to see the advocates in action and their interaction with the

judges, noting the differences in tone and style from English courts. After the hearing, a Scottish solicitor working at the Court gave us an insider’s view into its operations and a welcome opportunity to ask questions.In the afternoon, we had a guided tour of the Council of Europe. With a newly-enhanced understanding of how the various Strasbourg-based institutions fitted together, we participated in a conference with Simon Palmer. Simon has assisted the Council’s work, most particularly the Secretariat of the Committee of Ministers, for well over a decade. He shared his thoughts candidly on a range of salient and complex matters, including the historic and ongoing tensions that can at times limit the Council’s ability to fulfil its own potential.

We stayed in a very comfortable hotel and enjoyed a couple of splendid evening meals together in the old city. Substantial and very genuine thanks are extended to Anthony Dinkin QC, for leading the group and enabling such a pleasant and relaxed atmosphere, and in equal measure to Joanna Robinson, for managing the trip so brilliantly. Thanks also to Philippa Seal from Lamb Chambers and Ed Payne from the Treasury Office. Message to next year’s students: get booked on this trip if you can – it’s well worth it (and a very enjoyable way to take increasingly worried minds off the looming examination results).

Simon Lewis

TRIP TO STRASBOURG


STUDENTS’ BLACK TIE DINNER

12

CONTRIBUTORS’ DINNER

14

ADVOCACY TRAINERSVISIT TO MAURITIUS

14 November 2012. Lincoln’s Inn. The pleasantly warm November sunshine, playing on the Great Hall, did little to prepare the group assembling at the Inn for the warmth they would encounter some eighteen hours later, as they stepped out of the airport into a Mauritian afternoon. Moreover, nothing could have prepared the group for the warmth of the welcome and hospitality that their hosts were to extend over the next four days.

The visit, arranged by Justice Chui Yew Cheong and her staff on behalf of the Institute of Judicial and Legal Studies, was to explain, demonstrate, and train trainers in the Hampel method of advocacy training. The group from Lincoln’s Inn led by Sir Michael Wright, supported by Joanna Robinson, the DUT(E), consisted of Julian Goose QC accompanied by his wife Susan, Jerome Lynch QC, Caroline Harrison and the writer of this piece (Anthony Moore). The programme started in earnest on the Friday morning with a welcome address by Justice Chui Yew Cheong, followed by introductory talks by Sir Michael and Joanna on advocacy, and the role of the Inn in advocacy training. Julian delivered a detailed explanation of the Hampel method. Demonstrations followed by Caroline and Anthony with members of the Mauritian bar bravely volunteering to be ‘Hampled’ in front of their peers. The afternoon sessions involved the whole audience who were split into two mammoth ‘Case Analysis’ sessions.

Readers who have attended an advocacy training weekend organised by the Inn will be aware that training is in groups of six with three trainers; plenary sessions number about thirty. It can be confirmed that, upon arriving at the Grand Bay International Conference Centre to face an audience of nearly two hundred advocates, attorneys, magistrates and High Court judges, at least one trainer did wonder how the event would fare in front of such a ‘packed house’. As it turned out, the day proved to be successful and well appreciated.

The weekend coincided with the launching of the Mauritius Lincoln’s Inn Alumni Association, which was marked by a splendid dinner at Le Maritim Hotel. Alumni and visitors alike were treated to genuinely entertaining speeches, with perhaps the only disappointment being that Chief Justice Yeung Kam John Yeung Sik Yuen did not fulfil his promise to deliver his speech ‘Gangnam Style’.

On Saturday the session dealt with the topic of ethics training, moderated by Jerome. This proved to be the most dynamic session of the IJLS Conference, and appeared to fully engage the delegates. Any lingering reticence to embrace the practical ‘hands-on’ approach of Hampel had seemed to have evaporated overnight.


Sunday, was set aside as a day of much needed rest after four long days of travelling and training. The characteristic hospitality of the hosts ensured, however, that a day of rest did not mean a day of doing nothing. A fishing trip had been organised for 7 am. Julian, Jerome, Caroline and Anthony all managed to hook a dorado a piece, but the catch of the day fell to Joanna who provided lunch by reeling in a tuna fish destined to become the freshest sashimi any of the visitors had tasted. Sir Michael and Mrs Goose selflessly volunteered not to get up at 6 am with the others in order that they could commandeer a suitably shaded table to await the fishermen’s return.

The fourth day dawned with another early start, and a final session at the premises of the IJLS in Port Louis. Twenty-four members of the Mauritian bar and the judiciary, including the DPP, Satyajit Boolell SC, gathered for a ‘training the trainers’ session. It was a chance to put into practice a little of what had been taught over the weekend. The final official function was a luncheon, given by the Attorney General, the Hon Yatindra Nath Varma, in Port Louis. All too soon it was time to catch the flight home.

Tuesday. Morning. Holborn. Raining.

Anthony Moore

16

At the centre of the evening’s event was a performance of the Ruby Wax play Losing It starring Ruby herself in which she talks frankly about her own mental breakdown. After the performance all those in the audience took a few minutes to absorb what they had seen and heard, which was in the most positive of ways rather an onslaught, and were then given an opportunity to explore some of the issues raised with a panel including Ruby, Andrew Guile of Guile Nicholas Solicitors who specialises in mental health law, Laura Davidson of No. 5 Chambers who is a barrister specialising in mental health and capacity law, and Dr Tom Stevens, Consultant Psychiatrist for South London & Maudsley NHS Trust. The evening

was chaired by Her Honour Judge May QC.

Laura Davidson had also suggested the event. She is a founder member of the charity Mental Health Research UK which aims to raise funds to support work in developing effective treatments for those with mental health problems. The programme was developed by the staff in the Inn’s Education Department. Council, unprecedentedly, agreed that the majority of the funds raised by the event would go to the charity. The use of the Great Hall was given for free.

The performance was incredibly funny and very moving. Ruby described her own experiences in great detail and then discussed

with the audience how much work there was still to do in removing the stigma associated with mental health problems. Our panel were able to fill in the gaps in terms of the implications for lawyers and judges.

A hugely enjoyable evening at which those present were given the opportunity of hearing at first hand the impact mental health problems can have; an evening with a very personal story at its heart which was used to inform those for whom mental health issues occur in the work with their clients.

Joanna RobinsonDeputy Under Treasurer (Education)

As you will know the Inn is always looking for new ways of providing interesting and useful educational events for its members. Often it is those events that are the most entertaining which prove to be the most educational but very few of our events are as packed full of entertainment as was our evening focussing on mental health law held at the Inn on 7 June 2012.

RUBY WAX AT LINCOLN’S INN

18

Monday to Friday Opening Times

Bar 10.30 am to 10.30 pm

Afternoon Tea served

3 pm to 4.30 pm

Bar Snacks & Supper Specials Served 6 pm to 8.15 pm

Restaurant Lunch served from

12.30 pm to 2.30 pm

Dinner served from

6 pm to 8.15 pm (On Mondays and Fridays, restaurant closed for formal dining except for Pre-Booked Groups of 8 or more)

To book please ring the MCRon 0207 693 5139

Group Lunch & Dinner Packages are available from £40.00 inc VAT per person

Members’ Common Room

Group Bar Bookings also available.

(closes at 10 pm on Mondays)

Members’ Common Room


Number of Admissions (2012) 999

Number of Students Called to the Bar (2012) – 482

Pupillage Scholarships 2012:

MegarryMatthew AbrahamGervase de WildeJohn McMillanThomas RoystonGideon Shirazi

SunleySonal BarotStephen DuAnna MedvinskaiaHeather SargentRebecca Stripe

WolfsonAndrea BeckerKim Elcoate MaySarah ParkesDavid PeterRachel Scarrott

EasthamZahler BryanRobert GolinSimon LewisLaura SearleAmy Smith

ShelfordAlice CarverGraeme HallNicholas RookeGavin SellarPeter Webster

LevittEdward ColeGeorge HiltonAnthony PavlovichJames SheedyBenjamin Smith

Hubert GreenlandRobert ClarkeRupert CohenMaanas JainMatthew PinnerAsa Tolson

Walter WigglesworthGeorgina BlowerMark HunsleySarah RazaliJaani RiordanPolly Sprenger

Cholmeley StudentshipPeter CollinsCatriona HodgeCharlotte Pope-WilliamsMukhtiar Singh

Major BPTC Scholarships 2012:

MansfieldHelen DennisAndrew DinsmoreRichard GreenbergCharlie HoltHenry HoskinsRichard HoyleJessica JonesAlexander RodneyDaniele SelmiAndrew ShawFelix Wardle

DenningMarianne AltonJonathan BardsleyAdrian Barnett-Thoung-HollandWilliam BeetsonAntonia BenfieldDaniel CashmanRebecca ColemanLiz CopperStuart CribbHugh CumberSean DarlingStephanie DavidKatherine Del MarMadeline DixonGeorgina FerrarRabby FozlayAlex FrancisEmma GatlandKatie Gray Matthieu GregoireGrace HansenTom HarrillKate HarringtonAdam HarrisonThomas InnesSofiya KartolovaElliot KayMatthew KennedyLuka KrsljaninChristopher LeighLucy LimbreySamuel LittlejohnsNatasha Lloyd-OwensPeter LockleyKate LongsonAmy LudlowDanielle MansonJulia MazurZoe McCallumMatthew McGheeGabrielle McNicholasJohn MurphyThomas Orpin-MasseyJulia PetrenkoChristopher PulmanJemma QueenboroughEmily ReedAndrew RoseAdam RossDanielle RyanJosef RybackiZachariah SammourJohn SchmittRachel ShepherdEmmanuel SheppardNatasha ShotundeKyle SquireMadeline StanleyJack SteerSarah WalkerBen WooldridgeHengameh Ziai

Tancred StudentshipRobert MillsThomas Roberts

MarchantHabiba Islam

Mary MacMurray ScholarshipTijen Adem

KennedyChristopher DaviesChristopher FosterJessica PiperHoratio Waller

CasselRupert CullenAdam Farhadian-GriffithsBen Ridlington-MoonSteven Robinson

DroopKerry-Anne EffiomKathryn LaneTimothy Wake

Sir Thomas More BursariesMaira ButtSamuel BuyoyaSharon D’SilvaThomas FreemanDaniel HarrisCharmaine KaparamulaSyed MurshedAoife NevinRajwinder SahotaAlexander Shindler-KellyLeigh SmithClaire Stevenson

CPE Scholarships 2012:

BowenRhoderick ChalmersEdward CronanNicholas DalyLily FriendBeth GrossmanImogen HalsteadRichard HillHenry ManceDarja MerkinaBen MunningsEmma PearceAled Richards-JonesTimothy Sherwin

HaldaneMax ArcherAlice ChristianAnna DannreutherChristopher DunkEmily HusainJean McLeanEdward MeuliCatherine ParkerMichael PatrickCatherine RoseThomas RowsonChristopher VallisLouis Zvesper

BroughamMichelle BennettSian Chester-JonesNicholas ComptonBruno GilAlexander GoreEdward IrvingOliver JonesJames RisleyLucy SweetlandRichard Tydeman

From the Hardwicke Fund during 2012 – 100 awards were made.

Student of the YearSophie Beesley

Joan Denning PrizeLee Sze Han

Buchanan Prize WinnersMatthew AbrahamMichael AshdownSophie BeesleyClara BennAdam BoyleZahler BryanAndrew CampbellKara CannMaia Cohen-LaskLee CoulthardGervase de WildeHenry DicksonNicholas Jack DillonStephen DohertyPeter DonnisonStephen DuLiam DuffyThomas FlavinJack HarrisGeorge Hazel-OwramGeorge HiltonMaanas JainAatifa KhanDanielle LavinLee Sze HanSimon LewisStephen LiddleJohn McMillanMaeve O’RourkeSarah ParkesShawna PasqualeDavid PeterGiles RobertsonThomas RoystonMelissa StockRebecca StripeSarah TulipJack WatsonDerek WhaymanAdam Woolnough

STUDENTS AND SCHOLARSHIPS

20

Diversity and inclusion are rightly recognised as being essential to the bar’s future. The bar should reflect, to some considerable extent, the wider society it serves. The profession can point to substantial recent progress, particularly regarding gender and ethnicity inequalities. But one dimension given less scrutiny is career background – perhaps age diversity generally – and the bar’s ability to attract successful people from other areas of work.

There is little information on the backgrounds of people starting at the bar in their 30s, 40s and beyond. A significant proportion transfer from practice as a solicitor. Others come from fields such as academia, accountancy, journalism

and public service. Many will have had children. Although more data would certainly be helpful, at a time when the bar’s future is under pressure, it is refreshing and encouraging that the profession continues to attract talented individuals moving across from successful first careers.

We spoke to three such members of this Inn, three months into their respective pupillages. All were called by Dame Janet Smith as Treasurer. All were assisted by multiple scholarships and other support from the Inn as they combined their various responsibilities with law conversion courses and the bar exams on their paths to pupillage. All are now determined to use their distinctive

experience to build a strong practice at the bar.

From leading social entrepreneur … to 7 Bedford RowCited by Cranfield University’s management school as one of Britain’s top social entrepreneurs, Dr Gregory Burke founded and established the UK’s largest disability access information service, employing forty people and turning over £2m, before coming to the bar at 39. He’s chaired national conferences on behalf of government departments, made high-profile speeches, and been interviewed on BBC Breakfast News, Radio 4’s Today programme and Radio 5’s Wake-Up to Money.

Dame Janet Smith, who was Treasurer in 2012, is a well-known member of the legal profession. What’s less well known about Dame Janet, though, is that she didn’t start at the bar until she was 32. As a consequence, she provides an extra dose of inspiration to a present generation of pupils bringing substantial prior experience to a second career at the bar .

THE VALUE OF EXPERIENCE


According to Gregory, now a pupil at 7 Bedford Row: ‘Becoming a barrister has been a long-held ambition. Fortunately I found a confident, forward-thinking set which encourages applicants moving from established careers. Running a business successfully in a pressured environment requires focus on customers’ needs, sure-footed delivery, and an ability to work and make decisions at pace and under pressure; and it really hones your negotiation skills. I hope these hard-won experiences benefit and give confidence to people I shall now be serving.’

From award winning campaigner … to Garden Court NorthBefore coming to the bar at 31, Tom Royston worked in Citizens Advice Bureaux and a Law Centre, as a campaigner, researcher and specialist caseworker in employment, discrimination and social security law. In 2009 he was the Sheila McKechnie Foundation’s national Consumer Campaigner of the Year, in recognition of his work in reducing the cost of contacting government offices by telephone. The Foundation stated he had made an ‘outstanding contribution’ to social justice, proving ‘ordinary people can do extraordinary things’. His campaign changed government policy, affecting 35 million phone calls annually.

Tom is now a pupil at Garden Court North in Manchester and comments: ‘I worked for the CAB because of my commitment to protecting the social rights of the poor and socially excluded. Garden Court North has the same values and I feel very privileged to be working alongside such talented and dedicated lawyers. The Inn scholarship scheme has given me vital support in making this career path possible, and I suspect that applies to a lot of late converts to the Bar.’

From marketing one of the world’s largest projects … to Exchange Chambers

Simon Lewis spent a year in one of the Prime Minister’s units before gaining commercial experience as a business consultant at Accenture, the leading management consultancy. He then became the head of UK marketing and communications for a high-profile industry sector within a global professional services firm, which included responsibility for one of the world’s largest business transformation programmes. He also played first class cricket, as an opening batsman, and is a Cambridge Blue. He was called to the bar aged 33 and is a pupil at Exchange Chambers, which spans Leeds, Manchester and Liverpool. ‘I was

determined to find a modern and progressive set which could help me build a strong commercial practice across the North. I’ll look to apply some of the best practices I’ve seen in organisations operating outside the legal environment, such as those relating to client service and change management. My particular experience should enable me to communicate well and manage relationships effectively with a wide range of stakeholders.

You can find more information on these members of the Inn, and join the Inn’s online network, by visiting www.linkedin.com

Simon Lewis

furnival pressLondon Printers since 1861

Printers of the Lincoln’s Inn Review

Digital & Litho Printing, Colour Copying & Scanning,Typesetting & Design, Large Format PrintingBusiness Cards | Stationery | Flyers | Posters | Newsletters & Publications | Labels | PostcardsInvitations | Order of Service | Event Printing | Menus | Pop Up Banners |Signage & more...

t: 020 7924 9398 | e: [email protected]. furnivalpress.co.uk

22

On the day HRH Prince Andrew visited, 11 December 2012, in order to be published as a Royal Bencher, my job was to present two items selected from the Inn’s Archives. Firstly, the Inn’s oldest archival document and root of title, the 1228 Grant from Henry III to the Bishop of Chichester of the land to the west of Chancery Lane, and, secondly, the Golden Book which historically has become the Inn’s VIP visitors’ book and which the Duke would be invited to sign.

The Charter struck a note with the Duke when Henry III’s titles were explained as set out at the start of the document: King of England, Lord of Ireland, Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Count of Anjou. The Duke particularly commented on the title Duke of Normandy which he explained is still one of the Queen’s titles. The land which is now the Inn’s, and which the Charter granted to the Bishop of Chichester, had formerly belonged to John Herlizun. As mentioned in the document, Herlizun had forfeited

his lands to the Crown. The Duke asked what offence Herlizun had committed so I pointed out that the Inn’s lands used to belong to someone most likely accused of manslaughter but to whom the King granted ‘life and limb’ as a result of the ‘prayers of the women of the City’ (according to the record of the Mayor’s Court held in the Tower of London where Herlizun was tried).

The Duke was shown the Golden Book and expressed his appreciation of the black morocco binding showing the coat of arms of Charles II. From the many visits recorded in the volume I picked just two occasions as examples: the 1672 visit of Charles II and his entourage to the Old Hall and the opening of the Great Hall in 1845 by Queen Victoria. The origin of the volume as an Admissions book was explained and the Duke was interested in the page signed by Charles II, James Duke of York (later James II) and their cousin Prince Rupert of the Rhine. When shown the following page of several blotted and illegible signatures of the King’s party the Duke agreed that this was certainly convincing evidence for the Inn’s tradition of taking the loyal toast seated.

In contrast, the opening of the Great Hall in 1845 seemed a more sober affair. The Duke was curious about the various signatories on this occasion, which included the Duke of Wellington, former Prime Minister, and the Earl of Aberdeen, Foreign Secretary and later to be Prime Minister. Prince Andrew was absorbed by the contemporary account of the event and read aloud the concluding part with some humour: ‘Prince Albert, on withdrawing after the feast, put on a student’s gown over his Field Marshal’s uniform, and so wore it on returning from the Hall’. The Duke then signed the Golden Book on a page inscribed in preparation for the occasion by Frances Bellis.

Prince Andrew made my job easy by taking a lively and conversational interest in the archival material he was shown and by asking some good questions. He particularly commented on the Golden Book as a treasury of events in the Inn’s history. This rather left me with the impression that, given sufficient time, the Duke would have liked to have seen more of the book’s contents. Perhaps that might even be something for another occasion.

Jo HutchingsArchivist

VISIT OF HRHTHE DUKE OF YORK KG

24 24

MESSAGE FROM THE PREACHER

‘ ... never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.’

The Chapel bell, which tolls whenever a bencher dies, has been immortalized in the words of John Donne, the seventeenth century poet and priest who was Preacher of Lincoln’s Inn before he became Dean of St Paul’s.

The Chapel has had an historic role in the life of the Inn. The present building was consecrated on Ascension Day, 1623, and there are services at 11.30 am on every Sunday in law terms. These usually take the form of a traditional Anglican service of Morning Prayer according to the Book of Common Prayer, but the Eucharist is celebrated several times a term, and there are other special seasonal occasions, including the Warburton Lecture by a distinguished theologian and the Wigs and Mitres Sermon, when the preacher is entitled to wear a wig or a mitre. The Chapel is a popular choice amongst members of the Inn for weddings, baptisms and memorial services. A fine new organ was installed by Kenneth Tickell in 2009 and there is an excellent choir.

Every Wednesday in term there is a short Bible Study in the Chapel from 1.05 to 1.35 pm and all are welcome - judges, barristers, members of staff and visitors from outside.

As a place of Christian worship within an Inn whose members are of all faiths and none, we want to encourage dialogue and better understanding between those from different religious backgrounds.

I am available for discussion and any kind of help and may be contacted through the Treasury Office.

The Very Reverend Derek WatsonThe Preacher

CHAPEL REPORTThe Chapel remains an integral part of the Inn, enjoyed and appreciated both by those who regularly attend the services and the many visitors, churchgoers and non-churchgoers alike. The Preacher’s sermons on Sundays continue to inspire and stimulate. His unique mixture of important messages, unpretentious morality, common sense and humour are always welcome.

The Inaugural Service of Rt Hon Dame Janet Smith DBE inevitably drew a large and supportive congregation. In March a Sunday service was conducted by visiting preacher the Very Revd Nicholas Frayling, Dean of Chichester and was well attended, particularly by the Sussex members. The Warburton Lecture was delivered in June by Dr Paula Gooder, lecturer in biblical studies, Canon Theologian at Birmingham and Guildford Cathedrals, a Lay Canon at Salisbury and a Six Preacher at Canterbury who spoke on the topic ‘What do we owe the Bible’. The Chapel Picnic in July was a resounding success, despite the poor weather, and the children were able to enjoy the normal races together with indoor games and activities.

November was a particularly busy month. There was a particularly moving service on Remembrance Sunday. This began by the War Memorial with an army band, and a large troop of soldiers marching around New Square. As usual, there was standing room only at the back of the Chapel for the service which followed and a rousing and thought-provoking sermon from the retired Inn Preacher, Canon Bill Norman. A service to commemorate John Donne was held later in the month. Professor Peter McCullough, Fellow of Lincoln College Oxford and Lay Canon of St Paul’s Cathedral, General Editor of the Oxford Edition of Donne’s Sermons, preached an exceptionally good sermon. This is the second Donne service, and we hope it will become a regular event in the Chapel calendar. It also drew members of the international organisation, the John Donne Society. Later in November The Rt Revd Tom Butler, lately Bishop of Southwark and formerly Bishop of Leicester, took to the pulpit to present the annual Wigs and Mitres address. In December the two Carol Services proved especially popular with many dining in the Great Hall after the Sunday service. Congregations are steadily increasing, thanks to the efforts of the Preacher, the quality of the choir and interest in the new organ.

2525

Memorial services held during the year were for Stanley Williams in June and His Honour Paul Baker QC in November. All services drew substantial congregations, and were valued by family and friends alike.

Weddings and baptisms are proving increasingly popular at the Inn and there has been another increase in both this year.

The choir goes from strength to strength under Nicholas Shaw’s direction and the excellence of our music is now being widely recognised outside the Inn. The quality of music continues to excel, not only at special events but at the normal Sunday services. The Chapel concert in February by the organist and choir was especially appreciated. The organ is drawing interest nationally and internationally. The variable temperature and humidity of the Chapel has been an on-going cause for concern and the organist has worked closely with experts to find an appropriate solution. The Chapel is also a venue for other music events during the course of the year. There are monthly lunchtime concerts by ensembles from the Royal College of Music often attended by members of the general public. The Brandenburg Choral performed in February and the London Festival of Contemporary Church Music held a concert in May. However, the highlight of the year musically was a concert by the Sixteen, an internationally renowned choral group, who provided an enchanting repertoire to a packed Chapel in May.

I am grateful to the numerous benchers and members who attend the Chapel, and particularly to the Treasurer and Dean who have tirelessly supported it over the past year and, indeed, continue to do so.

The Hon Mrs Justice Proudman DBEChairman Chapel Committee

THE CHAPELExtract from the leaflet guide to the Chapel. A full account of the history of the Chapel will be found in the illustrated booklet The Chapels of Lincoln’s Inn since 1422 by Stella Baker available from the Treasury Office, price £3.

The first mention of a Chapel in the records of the Inn is in 1428. This was situated near the present War Memorial. In the early seventeenth century it became too small and required repair. In 1608 is the first mention of building a new Chapel. Between then and 1620 there was much discussion and the raising of funds by donations, taxes etc. At one point it was going to be built with three sets of double chambers underneath, but this was abandoned in favour of an open crypt where burials could take place. The practice of burials ceased in the mid-nineteenth century.

A model was submitted to Inigo Jones in 1618. This was probably just an outline plan, which was then modified to suit the benchers. Jones played no further part. John Donne, who was Preacher of the Inn at this time, and later became Dean of St. Paul’s, laid the foundation stone in 1620. Before the consecration there was an allocation of seats in strict order of precedence, along with a dire warning to anyone who leant on or placed his hat on the communion table.

The Chapel was consecrated on Ascension Day 1623 by the Bishop of London, the Right Rev George Mountaine. John Donne preached ‘a right rare and learned sermon’. At the service ‘two or three were endangered and taken up for dead for the time, with the extreme press and thronging’.

LINCOLN’S INN ANNUAL REVIEW 2012

26

By 1680 the Chapel had become dangerous and major repairs were required. Again donations were raised and in 1685 Sir Christopher Wren (who was a member of the Inn) was consulted and repairs were undertaken. The services meanwhile were held in the Hall. Towards the end of the nineteenth century the roof was in need of repair and the Chapel was considered to be too small. From 1882 to 1883 the Chapel was re-roofed and enlarged. A new bay was added at the western end of the Chapel, along with the two staircases, vestibule and two vestries. This part is easily recognised as the pews have no doors, unlike the original seventeenth century pews, which were made by ‘Price the Joyner’. In the 1990s further extensive repairs and refurbishment were carried out.

All the pictorial side windows are contemporary with the original building. The south-west window is by Abraham Van Linge and shows buildings of the Inn in the background.

The north-west is by his brother, Bernard Van Linge. The two easterly windows are by Richard Butler. In the bottom right of the window nearest the pulpit on the west side is the memorial to John Donne. (It must be the smallest memorial ever put up to anyone.) Unfortunately two windows were lost in 1915 when a bomb from a Zeppelin fell in Old Square. In the Second World War all the windows were removed and stored safely.

The east window shows the arms of the 228 Treasurers from 1680 to 1908. Later Treasurers are shown in the north-east and south-west windows. On the corbels of the ceiling and on the walls beneath are the diocesan arms of Preachers who were or later became bishops. On the east side of the pulpit there is a small piece of carved stone which is believed to be part of the altar of the original Chapel. At the west end of the Chapel are the colours of the Inns of Court Regiment, whose headquarters are in the Inn. There is also a Book of Remembrance for the members of the Regiment who died in the two World Wars. The first priest is mentioned in 1441 and was called the Chaplain. He conducted the morning and evening services and preached the sermon on Sunday afternoons. He was also in charge of the parochial duties in the Inn. An additional clergyman called the Preacher first appeared in the sixteenth century. This arrangement persisted until the First World War, when the Chaplain joined up. In 1917 it was decided to merge the appointment of Chaplain and Preacher. In 1935 a Chaplain was again appointed but at the beginning of the War it was decided that the office was redundant and no further Chaplain has been appointed. Boards listing the Preachers from 1581

and the Organists since 1852 are in the vestibule.Although offers of an organ had been made previously, no organ was installed until 1820. It was replaced in 1856 with a new instrument, which with numerous expensive repairs managed to last until 2008. The installation of a very fine new organ was completed in October 2009. Before any organ the singing was led by the ‘Psalm Raiser’. Since then there has always been the professional organist and choir. The size of the choir has varied over the years. At the end of the nineteenth century there were six men and twelve boys. Varying arrangements were made in collaboration with the Temple Church to educate the boys. After the First World War the choir was reduced in size and the boys dispensed with. ‘By ancient order no women ought to come into or have a seat in the Chapel’ (quoted in the records of 1680). In 1636 and again in 1638 ‘at this time of infection’ it was ordered that no women, children or mean persons should be admitted to the Chapel. In 1680 ladies caused an upset by entering and sitting in the barristers’ pews. They seem to have won their point however, and later they and their families could be admitted but only in certain pews and after the first lesson, unless they were introduced by a gentleman. (Incidentally, in 1717 it was noted that the pews were not suitable for ladies. This was probably due to the large hooped skirts which were fashionable at this time.) These pews seem to have been screened off because in 1856 curtains around the ladies’ pews were repaired and in 1866 the screen was removed from the ladies’ pews’. However, even up to the 1960s the ladies sat in the north pews while members of the bar sat in the centre. There were other problems in the eighteenth century. The Chancery Lane gate had to be closed during the morning service owing to the noise made by the carriages. There was also trouble from the servants who obtained drink, caused disturbances and did not keep beggars away after the service. The Chapel bell bears the inscription ‘ANTHONY BOND MADE MEE [sic] 1615 T.T.H.” The initials stand for the then Treasurer, Thomas Hitchcock. It is tolled for all services and regularly on two other occasions. Firstly, the curfew is rung every night at nine o’clock. Secondly, when the Inn is informed that a bencher has died, a notice is put up and the bell is tolled at lunchtime. If you do not know who has died you can send your clerk across to read the notice. This is believed to be the origin of John Donne’s famous phrase ‘never send to know for whom the Bell tolls; it tolls for thee’.


CHAPEL PICNIC 2012

28

THE GARDENS In July John Martin QC stepped down as Chairman of the Committee and I was asked to take over.

The driest spring for over a century gave way to the wettest recorded April to June. Although the predicted drought failed to materialise, climate change is likely to bring more frequent droughts in the future. A long drought would necessitate wide-scale and expensive replacement of plant stocks and substantially reduce the enjoyment of the gardens for several years. For this reason, the Committee is considering alternative irrigation and water supply systems, including a borehole. To this end, it has asked the Estates Department to assist in providing some detailed costings for the necessary infrastructure.

The Benchers Border continues to be problematic. The site is not ideal, being east-facing and largely shaded by the plane trees adjacent to the benchers’ lawn. A number of shrubs, several of which pre-date the most recent planting scheme, have outgrown their places in the border and need to be either trimmed back or, in some cases, removed. Concerns have also been expressed that the border provides insufficient colour and variety during the main summer months of June and July. A sub-committee has therefore been

set up in order to implement changes to the planting of the border which will remedy these problems by introducing a larger number of summer-flowering perennials. The Head Gardener has produced a planting scheme and it is hoped that the changes will be noticeable this year.

The unexpectedly wet weather in 2012 affected the garden in several ways. The grass had a good, healthy, tight sward and herbaceous plants grew to about three times their normal size, smothering other less vigorous neighbours. Fungal diseases developed more strongly during the wet weather but these were kept at bay. The formal lawns looked particularly attractive following significant rainfall, establishing the sward and allowing regular striping. The North Lawn was thoroughly worked over with the new John Deere tractor attachment which enabled better scarifying, aerating and slitting than in the past. The Kitchen Garden was renovated in the autumn. Whilst it remained in good order, providing an attractive purple and yellow display in the spring, the lilies began to take over. They were moved further back near the railings. Lower plants were added at the front of the border next to the lawn, fitting in with the purple and black leaved theme and providing some late season interest as well. The West Border has established well though the edging plants thrived in the wet weather and required careful treatment to prevent them swamping the border plants. An Ornithogalum nutans was trialled under the plane


tree in Gatehouse Court. It should cope with the dry, shady conditions, and hopefully will provide a display after the Erythroniums die down in late spring.

The Cherry Tree in New Square was removed in November and the area under it rotovated and re-turfed. The planes were all inspected and dead wooded in June following the discovery of the disease, Massaria platani. Building work was on-going in Hales Court for part of the year and so the tree ferns were wrapped. The tulip tree developed extensive foliage in Old Square this year.

The first honey from our hives was harvested in August producing 120 half pound jars sold to many appreciative customers with proceeds going to the Heritage Fund.

I commend the efforts of our excellent gardening staff, and regularly receive compliments from those who work at the Inn and visitors about our attractive gardens and their contribution to the general ambiance of the Inn.

The Rt Hon Lord Justice PattenChairmanGardens Committee

30

We have been keeping bees at Lincoln’s Inn since May 2011. The garden team, which is made up of myself, Ben Wighton and Sonya Huggins were all novices when we started out so it has been a real learning curve and at times a highly emotional experience.

In 2010 we undertook training sessions with the London Beekeepers’ Association (LBKA), getting kitted-up for the first time in smocks and veils and braving close proximity to the hives. They gave us basic instruction, which included how to handle bees, jobs that would need to be carried out during the year, and pests and diseases to watch out for.

But it was still a nerve-wracking moment when our first hive, bees and queen arrived from a local farm in Kent in May 2011. Luckily we were assigned a mentor from the LBKA, Angela Woods, an outspoken, no-nonsense lady, who gave us great support for the whole first year. She assured us we would soon be so comfortable that we would hold the frames the bees build comb on with one hand; and told us we would have to accept that sometimes a few bees

get crushed – this unfortunately usually happens when the hive is put back together after inspection.

The first job when you are about to inspect your bees is to get your smoker going – and in the early days even doing this was difficult. As new beekeepers you realise there is so much paraphernalia used for beekeeping - the smoker is one object you soon become familiar with. It helps calm the bees, as anticipating a forest fire they gorge on the honey, needing energy for a mass exodus. Thus they weigh themselves down and become more docile. But inspect for too long a period and they may become agitated. Half an hour is probably the longest you should keep the hive opened up.

We realised we were lucky in having a docile strain of bee, as well as a strong, productive colony. The queen was young and moving around well. She is much longer and thinner than the other bees and is marked with a small dot of paint to make her more noticeable. She lays her eggs in each cell, laying fertilised eggs which produce female worker bees, or unfertilised eggs which become male drones.

The colony is a very matriarchal society. The queen is usually the mother of most, if not all, the bees in the colony. The female workers do all the hard graft, living a maximum of six months because they really exhaust themselves with all the flying, collecting and maintenance of the hive that they have to do. And what of the drones? Their only purpose is to wait until mating season when they fly up to mate with queens in flight!

So we quickly learnt the routine of inspecting the bees. In the spring and the summer this is a weekly duty, because there is the risk that a colony may want to swarm. We

were reassured by the fact that a new colony is unlikely to want to swarm in its first year. But the rate of expansion was incredible to watch. In our first year the colony went from about 200 bees to around 20,000 at a rough estimate.

We would check the colony frame by frame to ensure that the colony remained healthy and the queen was still popular. You can gauge this by watching the bees that surround her as she moves around. If they continue to groom her and react well to her pheromone then she is still a strong leader.

We were not able to harvest honey the first year, as they had not built up huge stores for winter, so we left what they had to get them through. In the autumn the hive is prepared for the winter. We applied a chemical treatment for varroa mite, which is the parasitic pest which most threatens bee health. Once temperatures fell below 13C we no longer opened the hive.

The following March in 2012 we were pleased to find our colony had survived the winter. It soon

BEEKEEPING AT LINCOLN’S INN


began to grow in strength. This time we were much more vigilant about swarm control. We began to see queen cups, which are much bigger and longer than normal cells, and hang down from strategic points. This is the sign that colonies are looking to swarm, which if allowed to happen will mean the old queen will fly off with some of the worker bees to a new location, leaving a virgin queen behind with other worker bees.

Sometimes it may be ‘supersedure’ that is being planned. This may be because the old queen has come to the end her useful life, or has stopped producing the pheromone which binds the colony together. It is the worker bees that decide whether to feed a fertilised egg with royal jelly, thus creating more queens. The sensitive-hearted of you out there may be pleased to know that in this case the old queen may be allowed to live alongside the new queen until she dies of natural causes and the newly mated queen will take over seamlessly.

Our situation was to try and prevent swarming for a while by removing queen cells - there were sometimes up to five at a time, and you are never sure you have seen all of them as they are often covered in bees. But it reaches the point when the colony needs to feel it has swarmed - after all they do this to promote the health of bees as a whole, creating bigger pools of genetic diversity.

So we undertook a process known as the ‘artificial swarm’, which involves taking a frame with a few queen cells and placing it into a new hive, as well as some flying bees and stores to keep the new colony going. Therefore the old hive breathes a sigh of relief at having much more space, and the desire to swarm lessens.

So at one point we had two hives operational, and both began producing large amounts of honey, despite the terribly rainy season

we had from April to July. By August we had plenty of honey to harvest, and undertook extraction for the first time. This involved hiring an electric extractor, which is loaded with frames. They are then spun and the honey is flung out by centrifugal force against the cylinder walls. It then runs down to a tap, from which it is filtered through a sieve into a bucket. This sticky process took a whole day, but it was worth it when we found we had filled 250 1/2 lb jars. The only difficulty then was cleaning up all the equipment and finding the right jar and label to best display the bee’s produce.And now for the sad part. Having deliberated about the best way forward the garden team decided that two colonies, especially when more swarming might occur, were not viable. So we took the decision to reunite our colonies, which meant one of our queens had to go, otherwise they would fight perhaps to the death of both. While the old queen was not yet that old we felt that the new one had to be given a chance and the old queen was killed. Her hard work was celebrated in a small ceremony and she was given a modest burial, marked by a small cairn of stones.

Our bees and their new queen are now tucked up warmly for the winter. We gave them Ambrosia fondant (basically fondant icing) in January to get them through in case stores ran out and we will start to see them fly again as the temperatures rise in February and March. It will not be until early spring that we open the hive and see how our new colony is faring. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Miranda KimberleyHead Gardener

32

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

GARDEN PARTY Thursday 4 July 2013 5.30 pm to 7.30 pm North Lawn

WINTER GOURMET DINNER

Friday 6 December 2013 7 for 7.45 pm Great Hall

Further details and booking information will be available nearer the time.


ESTATES During 2012 the Estates Department saw two new staff join the team – in January David Bates started as Assistant to John Newson, the Facilities Manager, and in September Tom Picking started as Estates Building Surveyor. Both were plunged in the deep end with a backlog of work for them to attack.

Several tenants have moved out of their flats within the Inn and so refurbishments have been undertaken to bring them up to the standard which tenants have become used to. General maintenance and cleaning of collegiate buildings, together with polishing of tables and chairs within the Great Hall took place during the summer vacation, together with servicing of the catering equipment ready for the Inn’s return in September.

Due to the Olympics and Paralympics taking place, and the difficulties anticipated with deliveries to London during the period, the Estates Department concentrated its efforts mainly on the single project of a complete multi-million pound remodelling and refurbishment of 2 New Square, which had become vacant. This included the installation of heating and cooling, a new lift and disabled lift, together with repair of cast iron beams within the building.

The work is on programme and due to complete at the end of March 2013. The new tenants, 4 New Square Chambers, have worked closely with the Inn to ensure that their fit-out works are undertaken at the same time as the refurbishment works to ensure that everything is completed at the same time.

Cyclical maintenance works were planned to take place during the summer of 2012, but had to be postponed until 2013 when external redecorations will take place around New Square. Tenders will be sent out shortly.Starting in 2013 the falcon is due to return to the Inn to keep away the nesting sea gulls which have proved such a problem attacking people within the Inn, while protecting their territory. The falcon will visit regularly and dissuade the gulls from returning.

Richard WildDirector of Estates

34

CATERING 2012 was a much better year in terms of private function revenue as we exceeded our budget by £250,000. Even though the Inn was closed for the duration of the Olympics we still managed to obtain some Olympic-associated events, for example the FIFA Host Dinner and a lecture by the Team GB sailing and surfing participants, which helped boost our private function revenue. We kept the Barristers’ Accommodation open for two weeks in August which proved highly successful as we achieved maximum occupancy.

As well as Olympic-related events, we also accommodated some large and unusual functions in 2012; one commercial client’s dinner proved so popular that we had to divide the guests between our two halls and provide a live feed link so each hall could enjoy the speeches. The heir to the Dutch C&A fortune held his wedding reception in the Great Hall in June with catering provided by the society caterer, Admirable Crichton, under the direction of Johnny Roxburgh. As he was marrying an English lady the Upper Vestibule was transformed into an English country garden bower with fronds of ivy, moss and white scented roses climbing up the pillars.

For our members we hosted a variety of different events. The largest was our annual Garden Party which this year took its theme from ‘Best of British’ as we were having such a patriotic summer. The classics were rolled out: cockles, mini-Yorkshire puddings and roast beef, hog roast, red, white and blue cupcakes, and of course strawberries, all washed down with plenty of champagne. The weather was kind to us despite 2012 being the wettest year on record, with just enough of a cool breeze to make sure the ice sculpture of the Queen didn’t melt.

As recently agreed by the Bar Rep Committee, the Gourmet Dinner is now held every eighteen months, rather than annually in December, so this year was the first time we put on the dinner in July. It provided us with a chance to showcase different seasonal produce so English lamb and a Pimm’s sorbet made an appearance. The retirement dinner for David Hills fell in the same week, so numbers were slightly lower than anticipated, but live entertainment (from the Inn’s IT Manager’s highly professional band) ensured that dancing continued into the wee hours. 2012 was the bicentenary of the birth of Charles Dickens, so the Old Hall became the setting for our dinner to celebrate this great author. A special committee was put together, chaired by the Treasurer, and we were tasked with coming up with a Dickensian menu fit for the occasion. We kicked off the night with Garden Pea and Ham Form, followed by Roast Capon for the main course and rounded off with coffee and sweetmeats. Appropriate wines were sourced by our trusted adviser, Derek Smedley MW. The dinner was interspersed with speeches and readings and a fabulous evening was had by all, even some attendees making that special effort with fancy dress.We have managed to keep members’ dining prices static for four years but due to rises in

food and staff costs we had to increase dining prices by 3% from Michaelmas term 2012. In October the Kitchen Committee also agreed to reduce the number of main course choices for daily lunch in Hall to three on a trial basis with a view to tackling wastage. Your feedback and suggestions on lunch are always very much appreciated so please do take the time to fill in the comment book at the cashier’s desk or email the catering department.

Wayne Baptiste was employed in July as our new Sous Chef and due to his extensive experience in the sous vide method of cooking, a project was approved by the Finance Committee in December and the equipment is due to arrive imminently. This will offer another string to our bow in terms of cooking styles and keeping up to date with modern competition, and is also a proven technique for reducing wastage, shrinkage and energy consumption.

Our most successful project was the replacement of the Great Hall dining tables, a project that started in February and has finally come to fruition. After receiving four quotes from various suppliers, the Kitchen Committee chose the most competitive quote from a small family-run business in Yorkshire called Old Mill Furniture. The tables were delivered over the Christmas 2012 closure and are now installed in the Great Hall for your dining


pleasure. I think you’ll agree they are a fine example of craftsmanship and we hope they will last for years to come. The purchase of these new tables did mean we had to get rid of the old tables. The Committee decided to see if the members would be interested in buying a piece of Lincoln’s Inn history dating back to late sixties or early seventies. To our delight we had an overwhelming response, so much so we had a long waiting list. The tables have now all been sold and collected and we raised £3,340 for the Heritage Fund.

The Members’ Common Room had a poor year in 2012, mainly due to the great British weather letting us down. While lunch always proves popular, we struggle for dinner numbers. As a result, the Kitchen Committee proposed to set up an MCR Working Party, made up of benchers and Bar Rep members and the relevant Inn’s staff, to come up with a strategy to revitalise the MCR. It is still in its early stages so the plan for the next few months is to assess what members want out of the MCR by carrying out a survey to see how we can best achieve this. It has been budgeted that the MCR will break even for 2013 so we hope to introduce new concepts and offers to attract more of you to try it out. There is a lot of enthusiasm to make the MCR a success and we appreciate your comments during this process and your help in supporting this members’ facility.

As you can see 2012 was a busy year for us as we both completed and started some very exciting projects. We hope 2013 will continue in the same vein and we look forward to the challenges this year will bring us and an opportunity to open up the services we offer at the Inn to more and more members.

Antonella SantosDirector of Catering

36

By 2011 the Great Hall tables, in particular their tops, had become very tatty. Due to numerous previous resurfacings over their twenty-five-year life, however, it was deemed impracticable to refurbish the existing tops any further. The existing table tops were constructed of plywood with a 4mm oak veneer. The Inn initially investigated replacing the tops as in their existing construction, but considering their life expectancy this proved not to be a cost-effective option.

In the autumn of 2011 the Catering and Estates Departments worked together on a design for entirely new tables to be manufactured of solid European oak for durability and longevity and to be in keeping with the ambience of the Great Hall. Apart from aesthetic considerations, the key design factors were logistical, with the main requirement being to be able to dismantle and move the tables easily in order to set up the Great Hall quickly for different styles of function. Bespoke trollies to carry the tops without damage were also an integral part of the design.

Following approval by the Kitchen Committee of the initial design, tenders were sought from suitable manufacturers countrywide. A total of four submissions were returned and reviewed from manufacturers in London, Suffolk, Norfolk and Thirsk. A small working group was formed to interview the four manufacturers and the working group’s findings were presented to the Kitchen

and Finance Committees in early 2012. After this a Kitchen Committee Working Party, chaired by Elizabeth Appleby, was formed to refine the design and implement the project; it considered further details as to the materials and their origins, the tender submissions and each company’s ability to deliver the project to the Inn’s timescales. One particular feature suggested by the Working Party, which has proved necessary and practicable, was the addition of the barley twist steel bar to hold the two pedestals together before the table top is put into position. In May 2012 the Finance Committee approved the project in principle, accepting the recommendation to choose the family-run firm of Old Mill Furniture of Sheffield as manufacturer. A sample table was then manufactured for final approval by the Kitchen and Finance Committees. The go-ahead was then given for the manufacture of some thirty-three tables. The tables were delivered on time just before Christmas, ready to be put into use in the New Year. The same manufacturers are now making ten waiter stations likewise in solid oak to complement the tables.

It is hoped that this major project has produced results which will be both practical for the staff who run the Hall and pleasing to members and others who use it for many years to come.

John NewsonFacilities Manager, Estates Department

NEW DINING TABLESManufactured for the Great Hall


SUMMER GOURMET DINNER

38

GARDEN PARTY 2012

40

NEW SILKS’ DINNER


NOVEMBER GRAND DAY

42

BARREPRESENTATIONCOMMITTEEWho we areThe Bar Representation Committee (the Bar Rep) comprises thirty members of the Inn. The majority of these members serve on the Committee as elected members for a four-year term, and the remainder are co-opted members who serve for two years. Elections to the Bar Rep are held annually starting with nominations in September, and the Inn is the first and only Inn to ballot its members electronically. Those who serve on the Bar Rep come from a wide variety of backgrounds, and are either self-employed or employed barristers or judges.

The chairperson of the Bar Rep for 2013-15 is Frank Feehan QC. Frank is a family practitioner based at 42 Bedford Row. He was elected chairperson by the members of the Bar Rep following eight years of service on the Committee and is a strong advocate for ensuring that the Bar Rep is consulted in all of the Inn’s key decision-making processes.

The other family practitioners on the Bar Rep are Fayyaz Afzal who is based at No. 5 Chambers in Birmingham and Linda Turnbull at 1 Gray’s Inn Square. Fayyaz who, despite being blind, has a successful practice, sits as a Deputy District Judge in the County Court, and is the recipient of a number of prestigious awards at the bar. In 2008, Fayyaz was awarded an OBE for services to the judiciary and voluntary services to disabled people.

Criminal practitioners are well represented on the Bar Rep. Benjamin Aina QC is Joint Head of Chambers at Old Bailey Chambers. Emily Culverhouse practises on the South-Eastern Circuit, and is also a legal advisor to television dramas including Holby City, Judge John Deed, The Bill and Belle du Jour. In her spare time, Emily runs Chesham Street Market which promotes youth enterprise and town regeneration.

Timothy Devlin is a criminal practitioner at Furnival Chambers specialising in ‘sex and death in London’. Notably, in 1987, Tim became the youngest ever Conservative MP at the age of 28, a record that he held for two years! Margia Mostafa and Laureen Husain practise at 2 Pump Court. Last year, Margia was appointed a Recorder on the North-Eastern Circuit and Lauren is a representative of the Essex Bar on the South-Eastern Circuit Committee.

Mark McDonald specialises in criminal defence at Tooks Chambers. Mark was founder of the London Innocence Project and one of the founders of the charity Amicus. Julie Whitby practises at Castle Chambers specialising in sex crimes. Michael Cousens specialises in police law and surveillance and is based at Carmelite Chambers.

The breadth of practices amongst civil practitioners on the Bar Rep is wide. Daniel Barnett specialises in employment law and associated commercial disputes at Outer Temple Chambers, and also presents a legal phone-in radio show on LBC 97.3.

Keith Gordon is a chartered accountant and tax adviser and practises at Atlas Tax Chambers. In 1993, Keith had an audience with Pope John Paul II! Stephen Murch practises at 42 Bedford Row specialising in land law, and volunteers for Crisis At Christmas, the charity for homeless people, each Christmas time.

Robert McCracken QC and Douglas Edwards QC practise at Francis Taylor Building specialising in public, planning and environment law. Robert is also the Chair of Friends of Lincoln’s Inn Fields, reviewer for the Bar Pro Bono Unit, and visiting Lecturer at King’s College, London, teaching on the LLM in European Law.

Ian Clarke, Zoe Barton and Stuart Hornett practise at Selborne Chambers in commercial and Chancery law. Ian is Frank’s predecessor as chairperson of the Bar Rep and is still very much relied upon by the Committee, where he frequently seems to find himself nominated as the Bar Rep’s drafter of various documents!

Benjamin Wood practises at 4 New Square specialising in professional negligence and property litigation and also serves on the BSB’s Education and Training Committee. Edward Hewitt has a traditional Chancery practice at 9 Stone Buildings specialising in private client work.

Alan Gourgey QC specialises in commercial litigation, IT and commercial fraud at 11 Stone Buildings, and in his spare time is a keen footballer. Keith Morton QC practises at Temple Garden Chambers where he specialises in health, safety and regulatory law.

There are a number of employed barristers on the Bar Rep. Melissa Coutinho and Kate Means are barristers in the Government Legal Service. Melissa works for the Department for Work and Pensions and is co-chairperson of the Employed Barristers’ Committee of the Bar Council. Kate works for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs in personal tax litigation, although is currently enjoying maternity leave following the birth of her first child.


Amelie Smith is a commercial lawyer who, before pupillage, worked as an Associate in the Chancery courts. Habibur Rahman is a litigator for Keoghs Nicholls, Lindsell & Harris Solicitors specialising in landlord and tenant and community care disputes, and, in particular, works with tenants with disabilities and children who suffer from autism. David Jai-Persad works for the University of Greenwich in the Business Development Department.

There are two full time judges who serve on the Bar Rep. William Glossop is a Judge of the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) who, whilst in practice, appeared in serious criminal cases and the occasional Chancery trial.

HHJ Karen Walden-Smith was appointed a Circuit Judge in 2010, following a predominantly property/Chancery practice at 5 Stone Buildings. She now sits six months of the year hearing criminal cases in the Crown Court in Chelmsford, and the other six months hearing Chancery/civil cases with some time sitting in the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) in Central London.

What we doThe Bar Rep meets about eight times a year to discuss and consider pertinent issues affecting the bar at large as well as matters within the Inn. Re-occurring issues which were considered by the Bar Rep last year included the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates, the Advocacy Training Council, the COIC Tribunal Service (the Council of the Inns of Court service which administers disciplinary tribunals against barristers) and the Inn’s subventions.

In addition to attending Bar Rep meetings, members also sit on two to three benchers’ committees. The governance of Lincoln’s Inn is currently carried out by twenty-nine of these benchers’ committees which range from the Treasurer’s Committee, to the Finance Committee, to the Education Committee, to the Chattels Committee to the Car Parks Committee. Usually, three to four members of the Bar Rep sit on these committees and their role is to represent the views of members of the Inn to these committees when decisions are made. Representations from members of the Bar Rep are valued by the committees, and only very occasionally are the views of the Bar Rep rejected. One such occasion occurred recently when the Bar Rep made representations to the Scholarship Committee that, whilst the current ranking of the Inn’s scholarships based on merit should remain, the Inn should make more effort to direct scholarship funds to those in most financial need by applying stricter means testing to the awards process.

Finally, there is also a sub-committee of the Bar Rep which considers various bar consultations, as well as two working groups in the Inn upon which members of the Bar Rep serve. The first working group is reviewing the utilisation of the Members’ Common Room (MCR) and the second working group is considering the retention of barristers at the bar. Both of these two working groups will each shortly be sending out a questionnaire to members of the Inn to seek their views on the MCR and the retention of barristers at the bar. These groups very much look forward to receiving as many responses as possible to inform their future discussion about the issues involved so that progress can be made.If you have any issues that you would like to raise with the Bar Rep, please do not hesitate to do so. You can contact any of the members of the Bar Rep directly and their contact details can be found on the Inn’s website in the Members’ Area. Alternatively, you can contact the Assistant Under Treasurer and secretary to the Bar Rep, Murray Campbell. All correspondence will be dealt with confidentially.

Frank Feehan QC and Kate Means

44

FAYYAZ AFZAALNo. 5 Chambers, Fountain Court, Steelhouse Lane, Birmingham B4 6DR

0121 606 0500

BENJAMIN AINA QCOld Bailey Chambers, 15 Old Bailey, London EC4M 7EF

020 3008 6404

DANIEL BARNETTOuter Temple Chambers, Outer Temple222 Strand,London WC2R 1BA

020 7353 6381

ZOE BARTONSelborne Chambers, 10 Essex Street, London WC2R 3AA

020 7420 9500

IAN CLARKESelborne Chambers, 10 Essex Street, London WC2R 3AA

020 7420 9500

MICHAEL COUSENSCarmelite Chambers,9 Carmelite Street,London EC4Y ODR

020 7936 6300

MELISSA COUTINHOMHRA, Nutrition + EU Divn.D H Legal ServicesDWP 2nd Floor Caxton HouseTothill St, London SW1H 9NA

020 7449 7564

TIMOTHY DEVLINFurnival Chambers, 32 Furnival Street, London EC4A 1JQ

020 7405 3232

DOUGLAS EDWARDS QCFrancis Taylor Building, Inner Temple, London EC4Y 7BY

020 7353 8415

EMILY CULVERHOUSEPlease contact the AssistantUnder Treasurer if required

020 7405 1393


ALAN GOURGEY QC11 Stone Buildings, Lincoln’s Inn, London WC2A 3TG

020 7831 6381

MARK MCDONALD Tooks Chambers, 81 Farringdon Street, London EC4A 4BL

020 7842 7575

DAVID JAI-PERSADUniversity of Greenwich, Old Royal Naval College, Queen Mary Building, Park Row, London SE10 9LS

020 8331 9795

KEITH GORDONAtlas Chambers, 3 Field Court, Gray’s Inn London WC1R 5EP

020 7269 7980

EDWARD HEWITT9 Stone Buildings, Lincoln’s Inn, London WC2A 3NN

020 7404 5055

ROBERT MCCRACKEN QCFrancis Taylor Building,Inner Temple, London EC4Y 7BY

020 7353 8415

LAUREEN HUSAIN2 Pump Court1st Floor, TempleLondonEC4Y 7AH

020 7353 5597

STUART HORNETTSelborne Chambers,10 Essex Street,LondonWC2R 3AA

020 7420 9500

WILLIAM GLOSSOP IAC, HMCTSTaylor House88 Roseberry AvenueLondonEC1R 4QU

020 7332 5400

FRANK FEEHAN QC42 Bedford Row,LondonWC1R 4LL

020 7831 0222

46

AMELIE SMITHPlease contact the Assistant Under Treasurer if required

020 7405 1393

LINDA TURNBULL1 Gray’s Inn Square, Ground Floor, London WC1R 5AA

020 7405 0001

HHJ KAREN WALDEN-SMITHChelmsford Crown Court, PO Box 9, New Street, Chelmsford, Essex CM1 1EL

01245 603000

JULIE WHITBY Castle Chambers, The Old Fire Station, 90 High Street, Harrow-on-the Hill HA1 3LP

020 8423 6579

BENJAMIN WOODFour New Square, Lincoln’s Inn, London WC2A 3RJ

020 7822 2000

KATE MEANSHM Revenue & Customs, 2nd Floor South West Wing, Bus, Strand, London WC2B 4RD

020 7438 6609

KEITH MORTON QCTemple Garden Chambers, 1 Harcourt Buildings, Temple, London EC4Y 9DA

020 7583 1315

MARGIA MOSTAFA 2 Pump Court, 1st Floor, Temple, London EC4Y 7AH

020 7353 5597

STEPHEN MURCH42 Bedford Row, London WC1R 4LL

020 7831 0222

HABIBUR RAHMANKeoghs and Nicholls, Lindsell & Harris, First Floor, Archway House, Bridge Street, Oldham OL1 1ED

0161 456 8125


Call Days14 March25 July30 July10 October15 October28 November3 December

Easter Dining Term22 April – 2 May

Trinity Dining Term8 July - 17 July

Michaelmas Dining Term21 October - 7 November

Domus and Sponsorhip Nights15 May Sponsorship Night11 July Domus Dinner5 October Domus Dinner6 October Domus Dinner24 October Domus Dinner29 October Sponsorship Night6 November Sponsorship Night

Diary

28 February Third Universities’ Day and Dinner1-3 March Compulsory Pupils’ Advocacy

Training Weekend (Highgate House)6 March Sponsorship Night12 March Domus Dinner15-17 March Compulsory Pupils’ Advocacy

Training Weekend (Highgate House)21 March Fourth Universities’ Day and Dinner28 March Hall closes after lunch, Treasury

Office closes at 3 pm 8 April Treasury Office and Hall reopen17 April New Practitioners’ Programme:

Advocacy Training (Lincoln’s Inn)24 April Grand Day27 April New Practitioners’ Programme:

Advocacy Training (Lincoln’s Inn)30 April New Practitioners’ Programme:

Ethics Training (Lincoln’s Inn)17 May Lincoln’s Inn Circuit Judges’ Dinner11 June Employed Barristers’ Forum and

Dinner14-16 June New Practitioners’ Programme:

Combined Residential Advocacy and Ethics Training

23 June Warburton Lecture27 June Bench Summer Dinner4 July Lincoln’s Inn Garden Party7 July Family Chapel Service and Picnic8 July Domus Dinner31 July Hall closes after lunch until

2 September

24 September London BPTC Students’ Introductory Talks and Reception

4 October Domus Dinner part of introductory weekend for outside London students

4 October Introductory Weekend for Outside London BPTC Students

5 October Domus Dinner part of introductory weekend for outside London students

11-13 October New Practitioners’ Programme: Combined Residential Advocacy and Ethics Training

22 October Compulsory Practice Management for Pupils including Ethics (Lincoln’s Inn)

23 October Compulsory Practice Management for Pupils including Ethics (Lincoln’s Inn)

23 October Domus Dinner25 October Students’ Weekend at Cumberland

Lodge28 October Sponsorship Night31 October Sir Thomas More Lecture5 November Sponsorship Night7 November Grand Day10 November Remembrance Sunday Service 15 November Students’ Weekend at Highgate

House22-24 November Compulsory Pupils’ Advocacy

Training Weekend (Highgate House)

24 November Wigs and Mitres Sermon10 December Midweek Carol Service15 December Family Carol Service and Christmas

Luncheon20 December Hall closes until 6 January

DATES TO NOTE IN 2013Please consult e-newsletters for additional news of events

48

MISS BEBB, LINCOLN’S INN AND THE ADMISSION OF WOMEN TO THE BARA talk given in the Great Hall before lunch on Sunday, 15 July 2012 by Guy Holborn, Librarian

This is not the first outing for the story I am going to tell today – much of it appeared originally in volume 6 of the printed Black Books, published in 2001, and more recently in outline in A Portrait of Lincoln’s Inn.But I think it is worth re-telling to a fresh audience, particularly one where at least 50% of the student component of the audience is likely to comprise women – a fact that serves as a self-evident moral for the story. Furthermore, some most valuable research by Professor Rosemary Auchmuty, only published in 2011, allows me to add some newly discovered and significant details. But – if the truth be told – just as barristers and judges very much like talking about their own cases, librarians very much like talking about their own discoveries in the archives.

The campaign for the admission of women to the legal profession started in the last quarter of the nineteenth century and culminated in the eventual passing of the splendidly entitled Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919, one destination of today’s talk.

The first signs of agitation from women as far as Lincoln’s Inn is concerned was in 1873 when a petition was received by Council from ninety-two ‘ladies’, not requesting admission as such, but asking to be allowed to attend the lectures at the Council of Legal Education. This was refused as ‘not expedient’.

Then the campaign moved to Gray’s Inn to which Bertha Cave applied in 1903. On being refused admission, her appeal was heard as a test case by a specially convened panel, sitting as Visitors to the Inns of Court, presided over by the Lord Chancellor and with the Lord Chief Justice and five other High Court judges. The hearing, which took place in the House of Lords, lasted only five minutes.Notwithstanding this result, Christobel Pankhurst, from the famous suffragette family, had another go, petitioning to be admitted to Lincoln’s Inn in 1904. It was not at random that she chose Lincoln’s Inn since her father Richard Pankhurst, husband of Emmeline, was himself a barrister member of the Inn. This petition was also refused.

By this time, much of the attention was devoted to the admission of women as solicitors, the Inns of Court perhaps being regarded as a lost cause. The Law Society, although firmly opposed, resigned itself to the matter being tested in the courts. Four women, all having read Jurisprudence at Oxford, were carefully selected to bring an action, and in December 1912 applied to the Law Society to sit

the preliminary exams, and were duly refused. The lead plaintiff was Miss Bebb – she was indeed a ‘Miss’ since the law report that was to ensue found it necessary to describe the plaintiff as ‘a spinster’. So the case of Bebb v The Law Society came on in the Chancery Division before Mr Justice Joyce, a member of Lincoln’s Inn, on 1 July 1913. A declaration was sought that a woman was indeed ‘a person’ within the meaning of the Solicitors Act 1843. Miss Bebb had formidable support. Her solicitor was John James Withers founder of the well-known city firm, a marked liberal and supporter of the cause, and later an MP. Her counsel was Stanley Buckmaster QC, not long afterwards Lord Buckmaster and Lord Chancellor, described by Heuston as a social and legal reformer of a distinctly radical cast of mind. Buckmaster, a member of the Inn (and later a Treasurer), had only recently been made a bencher. Mr Justice Joyce, by then aged 74, had been a bencher since 1886; furthermore he had been on the panel of Visitors which had so peremptorily dismissed Bertha Cave’s appeal in 1903. So it was not a particularly auspicious court before which Buckmaster appeared. One point that catches the judge’s attention is that the plaintiff’s application was not to be admitted to the roll of solicitors as such, but merely to sit the Law Society’s preliminary exams, from which technically, having an Oxford first, she was exempt. The judge to counsel: ‘This is perfectly absurd. Here she is exempt from the examinations, and you still want the Law Society to examine her.’

The plaintiff’s case was based on s. 48 of the 1843 Act, which provides that ‘every word imputing the masculine gender only shall extend and be applied to a Female as well as a Male’, which might have been thought an unanswerable argument that ‘a person’ in s. 2 should be construed as to include a woman – were it not for the fact that s. 48 continues ‘unless it be otherwise provided or there is something in the subject or context repugnant to such a construction’. Unfortunately the judge readily found there to be such repugnancy, as did the Court of Appeal in due course.

The case attracted great press attention with much sympathy for the women applicants, but their lack of success was not unexpected, and a further appeal to the House of Lords was not pursued. It was apparent that only legislation could reverse the position, so the campaign turned its attention to Parliament. An opportunity arose when Buckmaster was appointed


Lord Chancellor in 1915 and was able to take up the cudgels again. He introduced three bills in the House of Lords in successive sessions. The first two bills, which were obstructed in the Commons, concerned only the admission of women as solicitors. As Buckmaster explained when introducing his third bill he had thought the Inns themselves might have taken a different view:

It was my belief if the measure passed as far as solicitors were concerned, no further difficulty would be raised by the Inns in the way of women entering as students … I thought it possible that the Inns might take what I regarded as the courageous course of saying that in the exercise of their unlimited and undoubted discretion they would admit women to the Inns without further delay. But the Inn of which I have the honour to be a Bencher, Lincoln’s Inn, took another view … they thought they ought not to exercise such a power until Parliament had given them some indication that Parliament regarded it as in the national interest that women should be admitted.

The Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act duly received Royal Assent and came into force on 23 December 1919.

What did the Act mean for the four applicants in Bebb v The Law Society? One, Maud Crofts, indeed became one of the first practising solicitors. But during the six intervening years two of the others had had to get on with their lives, one entering medicine and the other becoming a director of her father’s firm.

But what about Miss Bebb? Although the case is well known and in the 1980s and 1990s there was a burgeoning of literature on the history of women in the legal profession no one seems to have thought to ask.

In 1998 I was helping His Honour Paul Baker in his work on preparing for print volume 6 of the Black Books, and its introduction. As its period of coverage was 1914 to 1965, the topic of women clearly needed to be treated. We had seen one reference to an application to join from ‘a lady’ in November 1918 and we knew that the first women to be called, on 26 January 1923, were Mithan Tata and Mercy Ashworth. There was also an entry in the Black Books for 16 December 1919: ‘Read a communication from Mrs G.M. Thomson relative to her application for Admission as a Student. Ordered that the application stand over until the Act is passed’. From there it was but a short step to the admission registers, which show that on 27 January 1920 there was admitted one Gywneth Marjory Thomson, aged 29, of St Hugh’s College, Oxford and of Sherford House, Tewkesbury, daughter of Llewellyn J.M. Bebb.

The Black Books themselves were of little further help, so did any other material in the Archives shed any further light? First, there are her admission papers, which series is only extant from 1914. In addition to routine material her file includes three letters to the Under Treasurer dated 27 December 1919, 2 January and 19 January 1920, and an earlier petition to the bench dated 27 November 1918. The latter shows that Gywneth Thomson was indeed the anonymous ‘lady’ whose petition for admission been previously refused. The petition sets out in detail her career since coming down from Oxford. She had worked in the legal department of the Ministry of Food in the Midlands, latterly prosecuting black marketeers. The three letters concern arrangements for attending at the Inn in order to complete the formalities for admission. The first clearly indicates that it was the Inn’s intention that she should be the first woman to be admitted. In the event she was pipped to the post since Helena Normanton, later to be the first woman QC, was admitted to Middle Temple on the 24 December – I doubt Middle Temple’s Treasury Office opening hours would be so accommodating today. The second letter explains that she has to postpone her attendance planned for 7 January since she had just been admitted as a patient in a nursing home. She also thanks the Under Treasurer for withholding her address from the press and continues, ‘I very much dislike press intrusion and advertisement and am very glad to be entirely inaccessible at the moment’. When she is admitted on 27 January her admission bond is signed by none other than J.J. Withers and Lord Buckmaster.

After admission, the next record is an application to Council in 1921 for a partial exemption from the Bar Exams, in respect of subjects she had been examined on at Oxford. Here again there is a fortunate archival survival since the papers include a letter to Lord Buckmaster asking for his support in her application. She cites ‘the demands made by a family and a necessary whole-time job’, and continues:

50

I want to concentrate now as far as possible on my final or I fear I shall disgrace myself and my Inn. However I am not going to shirk, or complain (aloud) that I could have done it all easily in my stride when I came down from Oxford - and if they cannot exempt me I shall do my utmost to qualify to be called. But if you could help me over these fences it would add years to my life!

Council reluctantly refused the application.The next record to be expected of course was her call to the bar, but the great puzzle was that there was none. This eventually took me to a very mundane archival source which it is seldom worth consulting, namely the Personal Account Ledgers, which record payments of termly dues for dining. At the time you had to keep eight terms before call. She paid dues for four terms in 1920 and for the first three terms of 1921. But then her entry is simply crossed through and marked ‘Died 10 October 1921’. She would have been 31.

That is as far as my researches back in 1998 went. Professor Auchmuty in her paper, ‘Whatever happened to Miss Bebb? Bebb v The Law Society and women’s legal history’ (2011) 31 Legal Studies 199-230, has now gone much further. I cannot begin to

cover the ground she covers, but two of her findings are particularly pertinent. Gwyneth had married Thomas Thomson, a 44-year-old solicitor in 1917. And in due course their first daughter, Diana, was born. By extraordinary coincidence the date of birth was 23 December 1919, the very date the Act was passed. It is also quite extraordinary – or perhaps not – that in her letter to the Under Treasurer she should have been so coy as to the reason why she had been admitted to a nursing home. And then, secondly, there is the sad confirmation of the circumstances that might be surmised from our archival records. On 10 August 1921, a second daughter was born, but was two months premature and only survived two days. Gywneth herself suffered post-partum haemorrhage, thrombosis of the pelvic veins, and a cardiac arrest – she limped on for two months, before finally succumbing.

And there is a further tragic postscript - her husband died eight years later in a hunting accident, leaving the 10-year-old Diana an orphan.

So a rather sad story. We have no memorial to Gwyneth, but when you are next passing his portrait – on the west wall of the Hall, next to that of Thomas More – I think a little bow to Lord Buckmaster is in order.


90th BIRTHDAYDINNER FORSIR SYDNEY KENTRIDGE AND

PROFESSOR EDWARD BURN

52

CORNELIA SORABJI 1866-1954

A bust of Cornelia Sorabji, presented to the Inn by Dr Kusoom Vadgama, was unveiled by the Rt Hon Baroness Hale of Richmond at a ceremony in the Great Hall on 21 May 2012.

Social reformer and barrister Cornelia Sorabji holds a very special and prominent position in the history of pioneering women of India as well as one of the group of outstanding women of her time whose dedication to public service sustained them throughout their lives. Their efforts and achievements gave them a celebrity status and their courageous actions gave them an honoured place in history. Cornelia described this period of reforms as ‘The age of the individual’. A prolific writer, defender and reformer of legal

status of women and children in India, the 233 volumes of her diaries, letters and articles in the British Library give an account of virtually every day of her remarkable life from the age of 13 to 79.

Born in Nasik, Bombay Presidency, Cornelia was the first and only female to enter Deccan College, Poona in 1884 and the first girl-graduate of western India. In spite of being a brilliant student she was denied a scholarship to a British University, a privilege reserved for men only. An alternative scholarship funded by her well-wishers in Britain, including Florence Nightingale, enabled her to go to Somerville Hall (later College) Oxford in 1889. She was the first ever woman to study law there, had to be chaperoned to her lectures and had to have special permission to take the Bachelor of Civil Law examination in 1892. Cornelia was the first female to use the Codrington Library at All Souls.

At Oxford, Cornelia had the good fortune of meeting Benjamin Jowett, Master of Balliol College who ‘adopted’ her and introduced her to many eminent personalities including Gladstone, Balfour, Asquith, Max Muller and Shaw. After Oxford she took on a legal training job with Lee & Pembertons, Solicitors, London. She returned to India in 1894 and made a place for herself working for the purdahnishins-women in purdah-who suffered injustice regarding their inheritance in the absence of female advisors. Cornelia of course could not register as a lawyer. She took LLB and pleaders examinations to help these women and minors under the Court of Wards with property cases, the first woman to do so. Her pioneer work brought her to prominence and it is estimated that she helped more than 600 women and children annually.

As the legal profession was not open to women until 1919, Cornelia was 57 before she was called to the bar by Lincoln’s Inn in 1923 and only then awarded her degree for the Bachelor of Civil Law examination she took thirty years earlier. In 1924 she was enrolled as an Advocate of the Calcutta High Court and joined the Northern Circuit in England. She organised the National Council of Women in India and became Hon. Member, Labour Commission (India), appointed by the Government in 1929. Cornelia became the President and Secretary of the Federation of University Women in India and carried out a survey of food products and worked among street children which led to the Children’s Court Administration Act (Bengal) and the establishment of a Juvenile Court.

Over the years Cornelia made many influential friends, among them Arnold Toynbee, T.S. Eliot, Dr Elizabeth Garrett Anderson and members of the Royal Family.

Princess Louise invited Cornelia to write a book for the library of Queen Mary’s Doll’s House (1924) and Queen Mary gave a Foreword to her book, a compilation of tributes paid to the Indian soldiers in the Second War by distinguished politicians, writers and poets, including Winston Churchill. The sale proceeds of the book, Queen Mary’s Book for India were for the Indian Comfort Fund Cornelia had established (1942). For her knowledge of India, she was often consulted by the Secretary of State for India. She worked for the Citizens Advice Bureau in Battersea and later transferred to the legal work concerned with the Unemployment Act.


For all her eminence, Cornelia attracted controversy outside her legal profession. She was an Indian whose loyalty to the British Raj never wavered. Politically she favoured Dominion Status for India, as did the Moderates in India. She was opposed to Gandhi’s demand for full independence and spoke at the Institute of Politics Williamstown in America on the British rule in India. Cornelia condemned Gandhi’s campaign of civil disobedience. She believed in upholding the law of the land.

Cornelia interviewed Gandhi when he was in London for the Round Table Conference in 1931 in order to ‘understand’ him. The meeting amounted to nothing less than an interrogation although both, as lawyers, spoke their mind. Cornelia was also criticised for her friendship with Katherine Mayo and her favourable review of her very controversial book Mother India. Although a supporter of women’s rights, Cornelia was also out of favour with the suffragettes. She believed that the true impetus behind social change was education and until the majority of illiterate women had access to it, the movement would be a failure.

Cornelia’s long and fulfilling life was complex and paradoxical. It is difficult to define her as a feminist or as an imperialist. She was both very English and very Indian and her life spanned both the cultures. In any event, no other Indian, male of female has represented their mother country in Britain as a student, as a friend, as a lawyer and as an intellectual as Cornelia did. With her intellect and knowledge she could have opted for an easy life in India. Instead she chose to fight justice with enormous courage and integrity the hard way. She fulfilled her family motto: We are in this world to serve others.

Kusoom Vadgama

Pictures Copyright: Marta Demartini | HM-Digiart

54

It was a year of national celebration of anniversaries and events: sixty years since the accession of the Queen, 116 years since the first modern summer Olympic Games, 100 years since the Titanic disaster and 200 years since the birth of Charles Dickens. Council decided to celebrate the latter especially because of the associations of the novel Bleak House with Lincoln’s Inn.

The opening chapter of the novel is set in the Old Hall, so this seemed the most appropriate location for a dinner with Bleak House as its theme, a Victorian menu and appropriate wine, and benchers reading excerpts from the novel. Two guests accepted invitations to speak, Claire Tomalin, Dickens’s most recent and widely praised biographer, and Marian Lloyd Dickens, his great-great-niece.

The Old Hall was packed, with many diners wearing Victorian waistcoats or jewellery. The Treasurer

opened proceedings by reading from the first chapter of the book.

‘In Chancery.London, Michaelmas Term lately over and the Lord Chancellor sitting in Lincoln’s Inn Hall….’

This set the scene for Claire Tomalin’s skilful and riveting account of Dickens’s life, concentrating on his links with the legal profession of his day, his work as a court reporter and as a plaintiff in various Chancery actions to protect his copyright. She reminded the diners of the importance of Lincoln’s Inn and its neighbourhood as the setting for much of the novel, and many of the places mentioned can still be identified. This was supported by a slide show created by Hannah Ball, Library Assistant, which operated throughout the evening, showing the various locations mentioned in the novel, based on David Ainger’s knowledge of nineteenth-century local maps of London.

After another delicious course, Crispian Cartwright read the extract in which the heroine, Esther Summerson, describes Miss Flite, an elderly spinster who never missed a Chancery sitting when the case of Jarndyce v Jarndyce was being heard, an early example of a tragic ‘bag-lady’ who had a hopeless expectation of being a beneficiary of the resolution of the issues in the case.

Lord Justice Rimer’s stimulating and original contribution discussed the historical and intellectual context of Bleak House and English law in the nineteenth century. Many diners have since suggested that this elegant statement should be printed for the benefit of a wider audience, and also perhaps in the Black Books.

David Ainger read a passage from Bleak House where Dickens concentrates on the materials and methods of the law writers of his day, a laborious craft, and this reminded older diners of the pre-computer days of typewriters and Green Ferret Tape to bind affidavits.

Dickens places the inquest into the death of the mysterious ‘Nemo’ (who, we later discover, is the heroine’s unknown father) in an upper room of ‘the Sol’s Arms’, Chichester Rents, off Chancery Lane. The mixture of comedy and seriousness in this excerpt was given at full throttle by Sir Michael Wright, and one could imagine oneself listening to one of Dickens famous readings to packed houses here and in America. A most intimate account of the Dickens family was given by Marian Lloyd Dickens. Her original insights into the impact such a famous ancestor (her great-grandfather’s brother) had upon the

THE CHARLES DICKENS BICENTENARY DINNER4 December 2012


lives of generations of Dickenses, especially her father, was extremely moving.

The Treasurer’s reading of the conclusion of Jarndyce v Jarndyce brought the disastrous outcome of the case home to all present. The entire value of the disputed legacy had been eaten up by costs. This serious message from 159 years ago was given in an appropriately sombre style.

Our thanks are due to the Treasurer, and to the working party (David Ainger, Stephen Collier, Edward Cousins, Andrew Francis, Hannah Ball) over which she presided, which planned the event, to the Assistant Under Treasurer, Murray Campbell, who worked hard on the details and to all who constructed the menu and chose the wine, as well as those produced and served the delectable dinner.

I am sure proceedings will soon be in hand to celebrate the 800th anniversary in 2015 of the signing of Magna Carta!

John Carrier

56

Cre

ated

and

des

igne

d by

Han

nah

Ball,

Lib

rary

Ass

ista

nt

A TALE OF TWO PRIME MINISTERSIn the Council Room each side of the window hang the portraits of two of the sixteen Prime Ministers that the Inn can boast as members. They are Sir William Orpen’s portrait of Lord Asquith (1908) and Baroness Thatcher by June Mendoza (1989). Just over seventy years separate their premierships but they are a world apart in many ways. On the right hand side Margaret Thatcher’s picture was commissioned to celebrate her tenth anniversary as this country’s leader. It shows her in front of the fireplace in this room holding a copy of Pitt’s speeches, although she actually sat for the picture at Downing Street and Chequers. The artist chose the background and the book to add weight and history to the picture. Indeed Mrs Thatcher, as she was then, did make history by becoming the first woman Prime Minister, despite not even believing it possible herself, saying, in a 1973 BBC interview, that ‘no woman in my time will be Prime Minister’. In fact she became the longest serving Prime Minister in a continuous term of office taking the record from Asquith himself.

What would have Asquith made of his neighbour here? He too would have thought her premiership impossible as he was actively against female enfranchisement for over thirty-five years, believing that women did not really want the vote and more importantly it was something for Parliament alone

to decide. This led to a ‘Votes for Women’ poster being glued to the glass of the picture, which had been commissioned to mark his accession as Prime Minister, when it was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1909. He is pictured here very formally, wearing a black robe with brocade and lace, which echoes the portraits of the judges around him, reminding us that he was both a lawyer and a politician. Margaret Thatcher, on the other hand, in her formal but everyday suit wants us to remember her as a leader of people - the politician and not the lawyer. Whether standing or sitting they both exude authority despite being physically relatively average. The biographer and literary reviewer Lytton Strachey, having met Asquith in 1914, described him as being ‘decidedly donnish – small and sleek and not too well made in the details – his hands were different, small and plump they were too but there was a masterfulness in them and a mobility which made him remarkable’. The bulky robe helps the illusion of him being larger than life although his hands appear even smaller lying in his lap.

Both look at ease with and in command of their position but Asquith was just beginning to take his place in political history while Thatcher, unknowingly then, was nearing the end. Although they were from different backgrounds and political affiliations they were to share one final thing - they were both outmanoeuvred by men in their own party which led to their being forced to resign. Perhaps in deference to their differences they now reside either side of the window overlooking their one main common link – Lincoln’s Inn.

Frances BellisAssistant Librarian


58

FAREWELL DINNER FOR DAVID HILLS

60

Designs for picture frames rarely survive and it is exceptional to have one both in the hand of the artist together with a direct attribution to the frame maker. The Inn’s Archives include a significant example. Research interest in Hogarth’s painting Paul Before Felix, which hangs in the Old Hall, has largely concentrated on the artist himself and only very recent research has established the precise identity of the maker of the original picture frame.

The origin of the Hogarth commission lies in the bequest of £200 made by Thomas Wyndham, Baron Wyndham (1681-1745), Lord Chancellor of Ireland, for the decoration of the Chapel or the Hall. The painting was commissioned with the bequest and on 28 June 1748 Hogarth wrote a letter, presumably to John Wood the Treasurer for that year, in which he makes

suggestions for the hanging of the picture. Hogarth also mentions that he has, ‘enquired of Mr Gosset a frame maker in Barwick [sic] Street about the price of one some what in the manner of the sketch below, he believes it may come to about 30 pound guilt [ie gilded] … and about five pounds less if my Lord Windham’s [sic] arms are omitted’.

The Treasurer’s Accounts for 1748 include a payment of £200 to Hogarth for Paul Before Felix and Hogarth’s autograph receipt for the sum, dated 8 July 1748, also survives. Subsequently, the Black Book shows several references to the matter of what should be done with ‘the Picture’ and a decision on framing was deferred repeatedly. Eventually, at a Council meeting held on 24 April 1751 it was recorded that, ‘Mr Johnson, the Chief Butler, is to pay Mr Gossett [sic] £25 for the picture frame’.

‘Mr Gosset’ was one of the Huguenot family of Gosset who were carvers and gilders but it was unknown which member of the family was responsible for the Inn’s frame. A search of the Treasurer’s Accounts for 1751 came up with the answer and the following payment appears on 26 April 1751: ‘Paid Isaac Gossett [sic] for the Picture frame in the [Old] Hall by Order of Council the 24th Instant £25’. Isaac Gosset went on to be appointed the King’s frame maker in 1774 and created frames for Allan Ramsay’s state portraits of George III and companion pictures of Queen Charlotte.

In 1819 Hogarth’s picture was restored and the frame re-gilded but by 1845 the decision was made to replace the original frame, nearly a century old, with an oak frame and the picture was moved to the ‘New Hall’ but only for a short period. In 1877, when it was again moved to the Great Hall complex, a replica frame was made in accordance with Hogarth’s sketch but instead of Lord Wyndham’s arms it bears the date and initials of the Treasurer for the year, Allan McLean Skinner. The picture was returned to the Old Hall in 1908.

Since documentary evidence regarding historic frame design and manufacture is very rare it is somewhat ironic that so much archival material has been preserved about an original picture frame that no longer exists.

Jo HutchingsArchivist

IN THE FRAME:HOGARTH’S PAUL BEFORE FELIX

62

CHATTELSThe Chattels Committee meets twice a year to consider the safe-keeping of the chattels of the Inn and to review any restoration requirements or suggestions for acquisition of new items. Following the annual Silver Muster led by Stephen Hunt, the Committee discovered the addition of silver cutlery, bought in 1997, which had not previously been valued or listed. The silver displays in the Upper Vestibule have been changed and will be regularly swapped with other items of interest in the vault. Discussion will be taking place about whether the Inn should sell off silver items which are not being used by the Inn. There is about £30,000 worth of silver kept permanently in bags and never used which could be auctioned.

The Committee has discussed the introduction of online access to photographs of the Inn’s pictures and engravings. The Weissmann catalogue of sculptures and paintings could go online for members of the Inn to consult. Some members of the Committee felt that there were security issues involved with information being available online, and pointed out that there have been several thefts of paintings and other items in the past. Other members felt that it was better to have information concerning the Inn’s works of art in the public domain, as these items would then be harder to dispose of. Many livery companies have their art works listed online, as do Middle and Inner Temple. One possible solution is to only make the information available in the benchers’ secure area on the website.

Medieval pottery and glass fragments discovered when major works were undertaken on the Chapel in 1882 have been found in the Library store room. Experts from the Museum of London are providing advice and guidance on these items.

The Committee are keenly anticipating three Treasurers’ portraits: Sir Gavin Lightman, Miss Elizabeth Appleby QC and Lord Walker of Gestingthorpe. The portrait for His Honour Judge Reid QC has been hung at 33 Chancery Lane.

Over the course of the year the Inn has been in receipt of a bust of Cornelia Sorabji and a small statue of Sir James Bacon. Cornelia Sorabji was an Indian lawyer and one of the first women to be admitted as a barrister by Lincoln’s Inn. She had a very distinguished international career and is highly regarded in India. An unveiling ceremony of the Sorabji bust took place in the Great Hall in May. The Bacon statue is the actual bronze cast of the terracotta mould formerly located in the Upper Vestibule.

The Committee is looking forward to developing a new range of attractive Christmas cards featuring the Inn under snow.

A prioritised list of those coats of arms needing repair has been drawn up and a rolling programme instituted over the next five years to ensure a more uniform quality. New panels have been painted on aluminium by the Inn’s heraldic artist and are much less prone to decay than the older ones which were painted on canvas and glued directly onto the wood.

Damage to the Earl Bathurst portrait during the long vacation was the subject of an insurance claim of about £7,000 and is anticipated to be returned soon. The Inn has some very fine paintings and portraits which are not always seen to their best advantage. The Committee will be advised at its next meeting by Dr Bendor Grosvenor about developing a strategic plan for the general improvement of the Inn’s pictures. This will cover restoration, rehanging, frames and lighting and is perhaps long overdue.

Michael KingChairmanChattels Committee


CIRCUIT JUDGES’ DINNER

64

FAMILY AFFAIRS, LA LAW & BEYOND

As soon as I finished my law degree in 2004, I applied to do the Bar Vocational Course (BVC). Before I had completed my BVC, I had already been offered a pupillage at 14 Grays Inn Square. Based in the centre of London, this was a set with a strong reputation in all aspects of family law. As I knew how difficult it was – and still is – to obtain a pupillage, the assurance that I had already obtained a pupillage gave me an incentive to work even harder during the BVC.

Though I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of working in London, I soon began to realise how increasingly expensive the city was. I decided to return to my hometown of Manchester and continue my career as a barrister there. I joined Kenworthy’s Chambers, one of the most sought after barristers’ chambers in the North of England and a leading set in immigration and asylum law. I soon developed a keen interest in international law and that is how my journey to LA began.

Life at the barIt was a gloomy afternoon in 2007 when I received a letter that really changed everything for me. I had

just finished in court in Manchester and it began to pour down with rain. I tried to put my umbrella up immediately but due to the harsh strong winds it turned inside out. I went to put my umbrella back in my bag only to find my phone vibrating from a missed call from a solicitor asking for the day’s Attendance Note. It had been a typical, long day and I wanted to get home.

As soon as I got home I did my usual ritual of checking my emails and checking the post. Amongst the pile of bank statements and bills, I was surprised to see an envelope from Los Angeles. I remembered applying to a very impressive firm in Los Angeles called Howarth and Smith but there were several reasons why I thought I would not be offered the job. Firstly, their website stated that they only hired lawyers from England who had graduated from Oxford or Cambridge University - I had graduated from the University of Manchester. Secondly, the partners in the firm regularly lecture at Oxford University. While they were in England, they asked to interview me. However, I was in court on a finding of fact case at the time so I wrote to them informing them that I would

not be able to attend Oxford on those dates. However, I did send the partners a detailed CV and references from various solicitors and barristers that I had worked with instead.

The offerThe letter stated that the partners in the firm were sorry that they were not able to meet me in Oxford but that they felt that I had ‘a very impressive record, both academically and as a practising barrister’. The letter stated that the partners were formally offering me a position with the firm. The letter described how the firm would allow me to stay in a beach house in Malibu rent-free. It read: ‘This is a two-bedroom, two-bathroom, two-floor unit, with kitchen, living room, balcony overlooking the beach, garage space for two cars and a key to a private beach only accessible to residents in that area.’

Though this offer was very tempting for me, I did not want my practice at the bar to suffer in any way. Having been at the bar for only two years at the time, I was still very junior and I wanted all the cases that had been assigned to me to remain assigned to me.


I had a great relationship with my instructing solicitors and I was afraid of losing their regular instructions. Therefore, I decided to decline the offer from the LA firm. However, a week later I received another letter from the firm. It was a further offer offering me a position in the firm for the year 2009. I was so delighted at their persistence and faith in me that I accepted.

LA lawIn 2009, I moved to LA. Amongst many of the surreal things I experienced, directly outside the beach house in which I stayed was a huge sign stating: ‘Warning

to Paparazzi: Point Dume Village Malibu is a private property and ownership does not allow anyone to enter on these premises for the purpose of taking photographs of persons without their permission’ Another surreal experience was when I went to the local grocery store. I was on the phone to my father in England and half way through the phone call conversation I said to him, ‘Oh my God, James Bond is right in front of me now buying a pint a of milk!’ He replied, ‘You mean Sean Connery! Sean Connery is there at the grocery store?’ I said to him, ‘No, the other one! The younger one! Pierce Brosnan!’ And there he was. Right in front of me. Pierce Brosnan just casually buying a pint of milk. There came to be many more experiences like this in Malibu and I came to realise that the district in which I lived was also home to many celebrities.

The partners in the firm lived just fifteen minutes away from me. They also lived in a private area in Malibu called Serra Retreat. I soon came to find that residents of this

area included Mel Gibson, Britney Spears, James Cameron (director of the film Titanic) and members of the band U2. Residents in the area in which I lived included Julia Roberts, Sean Penn, Pamela Anderson, Bob Dylan, Barbra Streisand and many others.Working in the law firm consisted of working on many high profile cases, conducting legal research for the Partners in the firm, preparing various legal documents, including pleadings and legal memoranda, and preparing attorneys for appearances in court and at depositions. One of the most interesting cases I worked on was a case against the Iranian Government for $28 million. It took time to grasp the American legal system, but, as in London, LA did not wait for anyone and so this often meant researching the law after work in order to keep up with work at the law firm.

The biggest and best surpriseOnce the sabbatical year was over, I returned to Kenworthy’s Chambers in England. However, during the time in which I lived in America, I not only experienced major changes in my work life but also in my personal life. I met my husband, Dr Elias Hanosh, in America. Kenworthy’s Chambers were so good to me that they gave me time off to go and visit America as often as I could to go and visit my husband. Eventually, my husband and I decided that America was the best place for us to settle since his practice is in America.

Attorney-at-LawLiving in America, I continue to pursue my interest in international law. I have taken the bar exam in the States. I continue to keep close ties with England. I am a member of Gerard McDermott QC’s International Chambers in Stalybridge, England. In 2011, I was one of the two barristers who were offered a grant of £2,500 by the Bar Council in England to attend

the International Bar Association Conference in Dubai. This year, I also attended the American Bar Association (ABA) Conference in New York. The key speaker was the Hollywood actor Michael Douglas who is a Messenger of Peace for the United Nations.

Though my life is nothing like the surreal experience I had whilst living in Malibu, nor like the hustle and bustle and fast pace of London city life, I am happier now than I have ever been. I did not plan any of these changes but I took chances in order to experience new things. I feel that my education opened doors for me that I could never have imagined had I not studied hard. I have made many friends along the way and I continue to stay in touch with the barristers and the clerks at 14 Grays Inn Square, Kenworthy’s Chambers and the attorneys at Howarth and Smith. Every day I feel like I am creating more ways to follow my dream.

Yasmin Chawdhery


BANQUETING& EVENT HIREFor further information please contact the Events Team on020 7405 [email protected]/banqueting

Lincoln’s Inn Members’ Discounts available

68

Following on from the bird control procedures put in place over the course of the 2012 breeding season it is clear that the application of a live response has made a dramatic improvement in the sea gull infestation, reducing the colony to two problem pairs and reducing the incidents of aggression from the gulls. Virtually no gulls were allowed to breed and fledge young. Falconswift technicians working on site have identified the access routes and effective processes to reduce the infestation during 2012.

Large sea birds will have a lifespan of up to thirty years and the current resident pairs are likely to return in 2013 and following seasons. On-going controls will be required to reduce aggression and prevent young from fledging and returning year on year to breed.

Improvements to the programme will include access and proofing in respect of two pairs of gulls which proved inaccessible during 2012; this extra step will ensure better control of the colony and keep the disturbance at the Inn to a minimum.

Falconswift will implement a five-year programme combining live response with egg management without the need for lethal controls of the adult birds.

For the initial visits it is essential that any controls that are put in place are started before any pair-bonding and breeding activity at the beginning of the season; the earliest signs are normally in March depending on the weather conditions that year. Waiting until the laying cycle has started will severely hold back the efficacy of other controls. An intensive period of bird control will be initiated early in each season to control the initial breeding attempts followed by maintenance visits throughout the breeding season.

The law covering culling of gulls covers lesser black backed gulls on the Falconswift general licence without requiring additional provision; if there are herring gulls on site an application through Natural

England must be made on public health grounds. This is normally issued easily but is a pre-requisite to any direct controls on site.

The available control measures to prevent the birds from nesting and rearing young are:

• Live response (hawks and falcons) Introducing hawks into the area in which the

gulls normally breed on a regular basis makes the nest site less attractive and encourages the gulls to nest elsewhere. The ‘5, 4, 3, 2, 1’ principle is introduced with a period of intensive hawk-flying at the beginning of the season on the roof-tops where the gulls breed. The longer the falconer is on site at the beginning of the programme the more successful the project will be (a minimum of fourteen consecutive days is recommended). Visits should be timed to end in darkness so as to force the gulls to roost elsewhere and therefore establish alternative nest sites.

Following the intensive period regular visits can be gradually reduced in accordance with gull behaviour.

Falconswift employ this technique with great effect across many high profile UK sites as it meets the legal requirement for direct control as a last resort. This technique proved effective in 2012.

• Nest removal Throughout the treatment some gulls will inevitably

lay in inaccessible areas; these eggs/nests will be managed with egg oiling/piercing to prevent hatching of young gulls.

• Direct Controls Employed as a last resort for specific individual

gulls this can be provided and is a useful tool for completing the works.

John Newson, Facilities Manager and Jackie O’Sullivan, Property Management AssistantEstates Department

HAWKING WITHIN LINCOLN’S INN


STAFF LISTTreasury OfficeLincoln’s Inn, LondonWC2A 3TLTel 020 7405 1393Fax 020 7831 [email protected] www.lincolnsinn.org.uk

Under Treasurer (Chief Executive):Mary [email protected]

Executive Assistant to the Under TreasurerEve [email protected]

Assistant Under TreasurerMurray [email protected]

PA to Assistant Under TreasurerCharlotte de [email protected]

Education Department020 7405 1393

Deputy Under Treasurer (Education)Joanna [email protected]

Students’ AdministratorJudith Fox [email protected] 7405 0138

Barristers’ Education AdministratorChris [email protected]

Education OfficerFaye [email protected]

Assistant Students’ AdministratorJune [email protected] 7405 0138

Dining OfficerRani [email protected]

Admin Assistant (Pre Call)Charlie [email protected]

Admin Assistant (Post Call)Amy [email protected]

Library and Archives020 7242 4371

LibrarianGuy [email protected]

Deputy LibrarianCatherine [email protected]

ArchivistJosephine Hutchings [email protected]

Catering Department

Director of Catering (Steward) Antonella [email protected] 020 7831 3534

Head ChefGary [email protected]

Events and Marketing ManagerLiz [email protected] 7405 5969

Booking SecretaryJenny [email protected] 7693 5138

Members’ Common Room ManagerJoaquim [email protected]

Accounts Department020 7405 1393

Deputy Director of FinanceKatie [email protected]

Assistant to Director of FinanceNorman Wint, for rent ledger [email protected]

PA to Director of FinanceHazel [email protected]

Ledger SupervisorAli Kermali, for sales ledger [email protected]

Finance AssistantBrian Heil, for purchase ledger [email protected]

Estates DepartmentESTATES HELPDESK(office hours)020 7242 2954(Gatehouse at other times)

Director of EstatesRichard [email protected] 7693 5127

PA to Director of Estates Pamela Morgan [email protected] 7693 5122

Chief Porter’s OfficeGATEHOUSE (24 hours)020 7693 5190

Chief PorterNicholas [email protected] 7693 5108

Deputy Chief PorterStefan [email protected] 7693 5182

GardensHead Gardener Miranda [email protected] 7693 5181

review 2012 - lincoln's inn · review2012. the honourable society of lincoln’s inn....

Documents