Review 2020 THE HONOURABLE SOCIETY OF LINCOLN’S INN ANNUAL REVIEW 2020 Contents Officers of the Inn 2021 1 Annual Report from the Bar Representation Committee 46-47 Message from the Treasurer 2-3 2020 – a Qualified Success 48 From the Under Treasurer 3 The Bar Representation Committee 49-51 Editor’s Note 4 Chapel: A Year of the Unexpected 52-53 Judicial and Other Appointments 5 The Bicentenary of the First Chapel Organ 54-57 Great Hall, Library and Ostler’s Hut External Work 6-11 Catering for a Pandemic 58-59 The Work of the Estates Department 12-14 Deck The Halls 61 Dates to Note 15 The History of Tony Payne: A Butler 62-63 2020 in Numbers 16 Tony Payne – A Tribute 65 Reorganisation of the Treasury Office 17 The Black Books Society 67 Membership and Education 18-19 Chattels Committee Report 68-71 Student Law Journal 2020 and Debating Shield 20 The Library in 2020 72-73 A Model of Modern Marshalling 21 ‘Come to London, The Pandemic and International Practice 21 to plaguey London’ surviving plague at the Inn 74-77 The ICCA Bar Course 22-23 Early Printed Law Books From the Nicolas Bratza Scholar at the European Court Holy Roman Empire 1484-1534 78-82 Of Human Rights 25-27 Extra Mural 83-85 Call to the Bar 2020 28-29 A Year in the Garden 86-89 Scholars and Prize Winners 2020 30-31 Wildlife at the Inn 90-93 All the Law’s a Stage! Shakespearean Our International Community 94-95 Insights and Their Resonance Today 32-33 Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity in 2020 34-35 Wellbeing at the Bar 37 New Ordinary Benchers 38-40 New Honorary Benchers 41 Masters and Representatives on the Circuits 43 Remembering Justice Ginsburg 44-45 Front cover: Three figures present at the signing of Magna Carta: The Earls of Salisbury and Pembroke and Archbishop Stephen Langton, from the Watts Fresco in the Great Hall. (Photograph: Sam Whittaker / Opus Conservation). Inside back cover: The portrait of Lord Neuberger by Keith Breeden in the Ashworth Centre (Photograph: Mark Leonard). Officers of the Inn 2021 Treasurer Master of the Library The Rt Hon Lord Justice Jonathan Crow QC David Richards Lord Justice David Richards was Called to the Bar in 1974 by Inner Jonathan Crow QC was Called to the Bar by this Inn in 1981. He was Temple and joined Lincoln’s Inn, ad eundem in 1977. He was in Treasury Counsel (Chancery) from 1994 until 1998, and then First practice at the Bar from 1975 to 2003. He was Junior Counsel to the Treasury Counsel (Chancery) from 1998 until 2006, when he took Silk. Department of Trade and Industry (Chancery) 1989 to 1992 and was He was appointed as a Deputy High Court judge in 2001, as Attorney appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1992. He was appointed a High Court General to HRH the Prince of Wales in 2006, as a Court of Appeal Judge (Chancery Division) in 2003 and a chair of the Competition judge in Guernsey and in Jersey in 2011, and as a Deputy Deemster in Appeal Tribunal in 2004. He was the Chancery Supervising Judge for the the Isle of Man in 2017. He was elected a Bencher in 1998, since when Northern and North Eastern Circuits and Vice-Chancellor of the County he has served on the Treasurer’s Committee and the University Liaison Palatine of Lancaster from 2008 to 2011. He was Chair of the Insolvency Executive Committee (2000-2004) and the Estates Committee and Rules Committee from 2005 to 2015 and was, until 2018, Building Executive Committee (2007-2013). He is a member of the co-chair of the Judicial Committee of the International Insolvency Institute. Finance and General Purposes Committee and of the Planning and On 16 November 2015 he was appointed a Lord Justice of Appeal. Development Group. He has been on the Committee of the Denning Society since its formation, taking on the Chair in 2016. He was elected a Bencher of Lincoln’s Inn in 2000. He was a longstanding member of the Finance and General Purposes Committee and was Chair from 2014 - 2018. He is a Director of the Inn’s Corporate Trust and a Trustee of the Heritage Fund. He is a member of the Planning and Development Group. He has served on the Chattels Committee, the Investment Committee and the Staff Committee, and has been a member of the Wine Committee since 2002. Keeper of the Black Book Master of the Walks The Rt Hon Sir Geoffrey Vos and Dean of Chapel The Rt Hon Lord Briggs of Westbourne The Rt Hon Sir Geoffrey Vos was Called to the Bar by Inner Temple in The Rt Hon Lord Briggs of Westbourne was Called to the Bar by this Inn 1977 and joined Lincoln’s Inn, ad eundem in 1979. He was appointed in 1978 and elected a Bencher in 2001. He is a longstanding member of Chancellor of the High Court of England and Wales on 24 October the Chapel Committee and has been its Chair since 2019. 2016. Sir Geoffrey holds responsibility for the conduct of business in the Business and Property Courts. Prior to this role, he was appointed Lord Briggs grew up around Portsmouth and Plymouth, following his a Lord Justice of Appeal in 2013 and acted as President of the European naval officer father between ships, before spending his later childhood Network of Councils for the Judiciary from June 2014 to June 2016. He in West Sussex. He attended Charterhouse and Magdalen College, was appointed a Justice of the High Court in October 2009. He sat as Oxford. A keen sailor and the first lawyer in his family, he practised a judge internationally, in the Courts of Appeal of Jersey and Guernsey in commercial and chancery work before being appointed to the High between 2005 and 2009, and in the Court of Appeal of the Cayman Court in 2006. He was the judge in charge of the extensive Lehman Islands between 2008 and 2009, having begun his judicial career as a insolvency litigation from 2009 to 2013. deputy High Court Judge in 1999. Lord Briggs was appointed as a Lord Justice of Appeal in 2013. He was He was the Chair of the Chancery Bar Association from 1999 to 2001 the judge in charge of the Chancery Modernisation Review in 2013, and and of the Bar Council in 2007, having taken Silk in 1993 after a career led the Civil Courts Structure Review from 2015-2016. In January 2016 practising at the Chancery-Commercial Bar, both domestically and he was appointed Deputy Head of Civil Justice, and in October 2017 he internationally. He is Editor in Chief of the White Book. became a Justice of the Supreme Court. LINCOLN’S INN ANNUAL REVIEW 2020 1 Message from the Treasurer The Rt Hon other since our early days together at the Library meant that the Library staff Lord Justice the Chancery Bar and I knew he would were fully occupied, working remotely David Richards be a great Treasurer, and so it proved for much of the time. to be. The Inn was in a strong position in every way when he handed over and There followed a flowering of thank goodness for that in view of the online activity. Qualifying and other pressures to come. education sessions re-started and a Throughout 2020, the Inn full programme has been provided continued to offer a wide range of The new Treasurer’s year got off to a since May. Committees were soon services to its members, students wonderful start, culminating in supper meeting via Zoom or Starleaf. Chapel and practitioners alike. Qualifying in Hall for Benchers and their partners. services were held, at first pre-recorded Sessions and many other It was a hugely enjoyable occasion, and later live online. I was particularly educational and member events – made more memorable still by the pleased that we were able to hold, 115 in all – have been held. fact that it was our twin daughters’ outside in front of the Inn’s War The Library has been as busy as birthday, which was celebrated by Memorial, a simple but moving service ever, perhaps busier. There have a surprise cake and a spontaneous on Remembrance Sunday, one of the been regular chapel services, rendering of Happy Birthday by the most important events of the Inn’s year. with a great range of fine music. assembled Benchers. There is a deep warmth and fellowship in the Inn which From June, Council has been holding All of the above is entirely true, underpins all we do. its regular monthly meetings on a but it is, of course, far from the remote basis. I have chaired these, in whole truth. In January and February, there were the splendid isolation, from the Council expected events, including dinners in Room. Joining Council meetings No one reading this will need Hall, a Call Day and two educational remotely has led to higher attendance reminding that on 23 March 2020 the weekends which I attended, the first among Benchers than would normally whole country went into lockdown as for students at West Dean and the be the case. The number attending has a defence against the rapid spread second for pupils at Highgate House. never been below 70. We must learn of the Covid-19 virus. Tragedy was to These weekends were very enjoyable from this for the future. follow, with deaths attributable to the but also very impressive in the quality virus now estimated at over 120,000 of the sessions.