Meet the speakers

The Honourable Mrs Justice Kelyn Bacon DBE

Dame Kelyn Bacon DBE was called to the Bar in 1998. She was a pupil and subsequently a tenant at Brick Court Chambers, where she remained throughout her career as a barrister. She specialised in competition and EU law and was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2014. She was elected as a governing bencher of the Inner Temple in 2015. In 2017 she was appointed as a Deputy High Court Judge, and in October 2020 she was appointed as a High Court Judge in the Chancery Division. She hears cases across the whole range of business and property courts work, as well as sitting in the competition appeal tribunal, upper tribunal tax and Chancery chamber and the patents court. From February 2022 to February 2025, she was the President of the Upper Tribunal Tax and Chancery Chamber, and since May 2025 she has been the President of the Competition Appeal Tribunal. 

Dame Kelyn Bacon DBE with be opening the conference with the Welcome address and introduction.

Pedro Caro de Sousa, DPhil Oxon, Legal Service (Competition Team), European Commission 

Pedro Caro de Sousa is an agent at the Legal Service of the European Commission. He advises the Commission and represents it before the courts, with a focus on competition law including private enforcement cases.  

He was a Policy Expert at OECD’s Competition Division between 2015 and 2021, where he worked on the development of collective actions and private competition enforcement frameworks in a number of jurisdictions. Before that, he worked for Linklaters LLP from 2005 to 2008 and again from 2011 to 2014. 

Pedro is a qualified lawyer in both Portugal and in England & Wales. He holds a degree in law from the Universidade Nova de Lisboa (New University of Lisbon) and a DPhil from the University of Oxford. He was an associate researcher at the European University Institute, a visiting fellow of the School of Law at NYU, a lecturer in law at the University of Reading, and a tutorial fellow at King’s College and at the University of Oxford.  

Pedro is speaking on Collective proceedings: overview of the new landscape for mass tort claims in the UK and EU session.

Thomas Funke, Geradin Partners Germany

At Geradin Partners in Germany, Dr Thomas Funke helps corporate clients succeed in antitrust litigation and other business-critical competition law matters. 

His experience of over 20 years includes cartel damages litigation before the European Court of Justice and the German Supreme Court. Representing retail groups, consumer goods manufacturers and claims funders, Thomas helped secure decisions in Akzo v Commission (T-345/12), CDC v Commission (T-437/08) as well as the CJEU Hydrogen Peroxide and BGH Coffee Roaster litigation. He leads one of the largest cartel damages actions against the European trucks cartel. 

As lead counsel in German and EU antitrust investigations, Thomas defended key players from the automotive, energy, banking, travel and technology sectors. The European Commission retained him to defend its merger clearances of the EUR 60 bn E.ON/RWE asset swap against multiple third-party challenges in the European Court of Justice (C-464/23). 

Thomas has been commended as a leading expert for the EU competition framework for the automotive sector.

Thomas is speaking on the A comparative approach: EU group litigation and collective redress in Directive 2020/1828 versus UK Consumer Rights Act 2015 session.

Nicholas Khan KC, Monckton Chambers, London

Nicholas Khan KC resumed private practice at the Bar in London in 2024 after a long career in the Legal Service of the European Commission. He represented the commission in many significant competition cases before the European courts and in interventions before the English courts. Cases include: Courage v. Crehan, the Seamless Tubes,  Gas Insulated Switchgear,  Power Cables and Air Freight cartels, MasterCard in the European courts and the Interchange Fee damages appeals to the UK Supreme Court, the Micula arbitration and State aid proceedings in the English courts, Intel, the three Google cases heard by the European courts to date and the Illumina/Grail merger cases.  

He is currently engaged in several actions before the English courts for damages for breaches of the competition rules. He follows procedural matters particularly closely and is the author of the 6th Edition of Kerse and Khan, EU Anti-Trust Procedure. He was appointed a Queen’s Counsel in 2018. 

Nicholas is speaking on the A comparative approach: EU group litigation and collective redress in Directive 2020/1828 versus UK Consumer Rights Act 2015 session.

Professor Andrea Biondi, Advocate General 

Andrea Biondi studied at the Università degli Studi di Firenze (University of Florence, Italy), where he obtained a master’s degree in law in 1990, followed by a doctorate in comparative law in 1996. 

He began his academic career at University College London in 1993, then moved to the University of Birmingham between 1994 and 1997. In 1997, he joined King’s College London, where he became professor of European Union law in 2006, a post he has held ever since. From 2001 to 2024, he was also Director of the Centre for European Law at King’s College London. 

In 2021, he was appointed Vice-Chair of the Board of Appeal of the European Union Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER). 

Mr Biondi was admitted to the Italian Bar in 2001 and worked for two law firms in London as an expert adviser between 2003 and 2024. 

He is the author of numerous books and publications, in particular on EU law. 

Mr Biondi was appointed as an Advocate General at the Court of Justice on 7 October 2024. 

He will be chairing the A comparative approach: EU group litigation and collective redress in Directive 2020/1828 versus UK Consumer Rights Act 2015 session.

Dr Rachael Kent

Dr Rachael Kent is the first female class representative in UK legal history. Her landmark collective action, Kent v Apple, representing 36 million UK consumers, became the first UK competition trial against a major technology platform. The case was successfully won at trial, attaining £1.5 billion in damages for UK consumers. 

Dr Kent is a leading researcher, author, consultant, and podcast host, and a Senior Lecturer in Digital Economy and Society in the Department of Digital Humanities at King’s College London. She is also Co-Director of the Centre for Technology and the Body at King’s Digital Futures Institute. Her work examines how digital technologies shape mental and physical health, behaviour, and everyday life. Her research and commentary feature widely across ITV News, BBC News, Forbes, Women & Home, The Independent, Mixmag, Health & Wellbeing, and Glamour Magazine. 

Rachael will be speaking on the session Class representatives and opt-in versus opt-out claims.

Rhodri Thompson KC

Rhodri Thompson KC is a specialist silk with extensive experience of all aspects of competition law and economic regulation, and has been involved in a series of leading cases involving claims for breaches of competition law, including Trucks, Handsets, Water and Airwave. He has recently been appointed to the expert panel of the Independent Football Regulator, reflecting his extensive experience of sports and media regulation.

Rhodri acts both for and against Government Departments and the main economic regulators, including the CMA, Ofcom, the ORR, DfT and Ofgem, and appears regularly in the Competition Appeal Tribunal, Administrative Court and on appeals to the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court. He was a founder member of Matrix in 2000 and has been recognised as one of the leading competition law and EU law barristers both as a junior and since taking silk in 2002.

Rhodri will be speaking on Class representatives and opt-in versus opt-out claims.

Philip Moser KC, joint Head of Monckton Chambers 

Philip Moser KC is joint Head of Monckton Chambers in London and is listed as a Leader in Competition Law in Chambers UK, Chambers Global and the Legal 500.

He is or was Lead Counsel in numerous damages claims and collective actions before the English Courts and the Competition Appeal Tribunal, including: Emerald Air Cargo litigation (at the time the biggest UK follow-on damages claim); FX ; Trucks; Dieselgate (for Porsche); Gutmann (‘Boundary Fares’);  Interchange (for the SH Umbrella Claimants); Car Parts Cartel (for the Denso Defendants) and claims involving Big Tech firms, including Amazon (“Buy Box”), Apple (“iPhone Batteries”), Which? v Qualcomm and Kelkoo v Google.

Philip Moser KC is a past Chairman of the Bar European Group and of the Bar Council’s European Committee.

Philip will be speaking on How to establish a breach that sounds in damages.

Derek Holt, Partner & Managing Director, AlixPartners 

Derek is an economist with 30 years' experience in competition and regulatory matters. He has acted as a testifying expert witness in matters before the High Court, Competition Appeal Tribunal, the Competition and Markets Authority, various sectoral regulators and arbitration panels, as well as before the Swedish Patent Court, the South African Competition Tribunal, the Hong Kong Competition Tribunal, the Australian Federal Court and the European Commission.  

He has acted on a wide range of competition matters including abuse of dominance, quantification of anti-trust damages and the competitive effects of horizontal and vertical agreements.  

He's a leading economic expert in the collective actions space, acting on behalf of defendants including for Amazon, Visa, a mobile operator, a power cables operator and a musical instrument OEM. He has further acted as the class representative expert in collective claims in markets including rail ticketing and app stores.

Derek will be speaking on the session Theory of harm, causation and quantification.

Michael Davis, Director, AlixPartners 

Michael provides expert witness and dispute advisory services to clients involved in litigation and international arbitration. He is expert in building complex financial and valuation models for use in the assessment of loss or damages, particularly in the oil & gas, power and mining industries, and in class and collective actions.

Michael has been instructed as an expert witness in a case before the Supreme Court of New South Wales (NSW). His work in support of other matters has been used in cases heard by the High Court, the Competition Appeal Tribunal, in various international arbitration centres, the Federal Court of Australia and the Supreme Courts of NSW, Victoria and Queensland.

A graduate of the University of Exeter, Michael is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a member of the Association of International Energy (formerly: Petroleum) Negotiators. 

Michael will be speaking on the session Theory of harm, causation and quantification.

Stefan Hunt, Partner & Managing Director, AlixPartners 

Stefan Hunt leads AlixPartners’ Behavioural Economics & Technology Evidence team and is a seasoned expert. Prior to joining the firm, Stefan was Chief Data and Technology Insight Officer at the CMA, where he created a world-leading data and technology function, and most recently, Head of Advanced Technology Services for Europe and a Partner at another expert firm. He also founded and led the behavioural economics and data science capabilities at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).   

Stefan has a track record of applying his expertise in contentious and non-contentious environments, including litigation. His work spans markets from AI and other digital products to financial services, ticketing, news and publishing and more.  

He holds a PhD in Economics from Harvard University, an MSc in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a BA in Experimental Psychology and Mathematics from Cambridge University. He is an Honorary Professor at the University of Nottingham.

Stefan will be speaking on the session Theory of harm, causation and quantification.

Sarah Houghton, Head of Competition Group, Mishcon de Reya LLP 

Sarah is a highly renowned litigator, specialising in competition litigation, with particular experience acting for claimants in complex, high profile cases involving competition law based claims or defences.  Sarah has represented clients in leading competition damages claims in the English courts and in arbitrations.  

Stand out cases include advising several leading retailers bringing claims against the European Trucks Cartelists, advising Justin Le Patourel in his £1.3b opt-out collective action against BT alleging an abuse of BT's dominant position in landline services markets, and advising Sainsbury's in its successful claim against MasterCard on interchange fees, resulting in the highest ever competition damages award in Europe. 

Sarah ranked Tier 1 for Competition Litigation in Chambers & Partners and recognised as a recommended individual by Best Lawyers and Legal 500. Sarah is a member of the Law Society Competition Section, ABA Antitrust Law Section and Competition Law Association. 

Sarah will be speaking on the session Case management "bake off": handling complex multiparty litigation.

Sonia Nolen KC

Sonia is a commercial practitioner specialising in product liability, catastrophic property damage incidents and insurance (particularly the insurance of third-party risks relating to defective products and property damage). She has significant experience in the collective redress sphere. As a junior she advised on and acted in numerous group actions arising out of among other things “toxic sofas”, breast implants and batteries for domestic appliances. Since taking silk in 2023, Sonia has acted for the Ford Motor Company in the so-called “Dieselgate II” litigation, which has spearheaded innovative new case management structures and solutions to facilitate common management of multiple group actions. 

Sonia will be speaking on the session Case management "bake off": handling complex multiparty litigation.

The Rt Hon the Baroness Harman KC 

Harriet Harman KC was MP for the diverse inner-city constituency of Camberwell and Peckham from 1982 to 2024. Joining a House of Commons which was 97% male, she has been politics’ most prominent champion for women’s rights, in a parliamentary career which spanned more than four decades. She had three children while an MP.   

Harriet was the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2015 and was the Shadow Deputy Prime Minister in 2010 to 2015. She has twice served as Interim Leader of the Labour Party in 2010 and 2015. She was the first woman Labour politician to answer Prime Minister’s Questions.  

In 2017, Harriet became the Mother of the House of Commons, the UK’s longest serving woman MP.  

Harriet chaired the House of Commons Privileges Committee inquiry which found in 2023 that the former Prime Minister Boris Johnson misled Parliament over “party gate”. 

In 2024 she was appointed to the House of Lords as a life Peer.  

She is Chair of The Fawcett Society, the UK's leading charity campaigning for women's rights. 

In 2024, Harriet was appointed by the Chair of the Bar to lead the independent review of bullying, harassment and sexual harassment in the barristers’ profession. 

The Rt Hon. the Baroness Harman KC is speaking at All change please: evolving the culture at the Bar 

James Hines KC, Three Raymond Buildings

James Hines KC acts in major international fraud, crime and extradition cases, both prosecuting and defending. James has acted in numerous SFO, FCA, and CMA cases. He is Chair of the Fraud Lawyers’ Association. He is currently defending in  SFO v London Mining Plc (bribery of government officials in Sierra Leone) due to be heard in spring 2026, and, on the prosecution side, he is instructed by the SFO in the Axiom Ince trial, he is also instructed in the Libor appeal in the Supreme Court. 

In crime he has acted in all areas. Recent cases include a number of murder cases including Operation Rockrose, a contract killing, an EncroChat case. 

Notable clients include Silvio Berlusconi, a suspect in the 1MDB trial in Malaysia, Glenn Mulcaire (News of the World phone hacking) and ‘the Nat West Three’. 

Called 1982, Silk 2015. James is Co-Chair of the Ethics Committee and is a visiting professor at BPP University Law School. 

James is speaking at Navigating ethical dilemmas at the Bar 

Elizabeth Isaacs KC, Head of St Ives Chambers

Elizabeth is the Head of St Ives Chambers, a specialist child law silk and sits as a Family Division Deputy High Court Judge.  She has an established national reputation for a compassionate, pragmatic and strategic approach, excellent advocacy and forensic preparation in complex public law cases.  Elizabeth has substantial expertise in acting for all parties in complex care, adoption and wardship proceedings and has a detailed knowledge of the legal and social care issues relating to local authority planning and decision making for children. 

Elizabeth is speaking at the future of family law – lessons learned and next steps for a more effective system

Dame Nicole Jacobs, Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales  

Since her appointment to the role of Domestic Abuse Commissioner in September 2019, Nicole has begun energetically putting her 30 plus years of experience in domestic abuse policy and intervention to work, driving improvements to transform the response to domestic abuse in England and Wales. She is committed to championing victims and survivors of all ages, status, and backgrounds, and to shining a light on practices that fail them.  

Nicole is speaking at the future of family law – lessons learned and next steps for a more effective system

Suzanne Jacobs, Co-founder and a partner of Balint Legal

Suzanne is co-founder and a partner of Balint Legal, which brings Balint groups (facilitated reflective practice peer support groups), long-established across the medical profession, to the legal sector. Suzanne qualified and practised as a lawyer at Herbert Smith Freehills, spending 25 years at the firm in commercial litigation, and subsequently as director of the executive office focusing on strategic planning, implementation and practice management.  

Suzanne went on to take up major leadership roles including as CEO of a not-for-profit organisation, trustee of several charities and consultancy work. She now specialises in Balint group work across the legal profession. 

Suzanne is speaking at Reflective practice: a powerful tool for barrister wellbeing

Leon Kazakos KC, Former Leader of the South Eastern Circuit

Leon Kazakos KC is a barrister in practice at 2 Hare Court, Chambers of Jonathan Laidlaw KC. Called in 1999 at Lincoln’s Inn he took silk in 2020. He has a wide ranging and diverse defence practice; representing individuals and companies across England and Wales who face serious criminal and regulatory allegations.  

In 2022 he was elected Leader of the South Eastern Circuit, serving until the end of last year. He is committed to the efforts across the Bar to improve diversity and inclusion and to achieve equality in the profession.  He is an advocacy tutor, a trainer of pupillage supervisors and mentors both within the profession and to aspiring barristers through a variety of Bar related organisations.  

In 2024 he was appointed Vice Chair of the Kalisher Trust, a charity that has, over the last three decades transformed lives by encouraging and inspiring young people of ability, commitment and ambition to achieve their potential through the development of advocacy skills and participation in other programmes and thus develop a career at the criminal bar. He is a contributing author in corporate crime to LexisNexis and a contributor to Banks on Sentence. 

Leon is speaking at All change please: evolving the culture at the Bar 

Richard Kimblin KC 

Abid Mahmood, Judge of the Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) 

Abid also sits as a Recorder in the Crown Court, Family Court and Civil Court which he has been doing since 2008. He is also a Nominated Judge of the Court of Protection. Before being appointed a salaried judge, Abid Mahmood was a barrister at No5 Chambers, Birmingham and London when he had appeared on numerous occasions at the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal. He was also one of the Attorney General’s Special Advocates undertaking national security work.  

Abid is speaking at Career pathways – taking silk and joining the judiciary 

Marc Mason, Counsellor and Senior Lecturer in Law and Psychology 

Marc Mason brings experience of practice as a family barrister and humanistic counsellor, with insights from over two decades of academic research into law and legal professions, and qualifications and training in counselling, psychotherapy and group facilitation. His current practices are as a counsellor with a special interest in supporting lawyers and as an academic teaching and researching across disciplines of psychology, law and social sciences. 

His research has examined the changing landscape of regulation at the Bar, as well as the experiences of LGBTQ+ barristers. His most recently published research was an examination of the ways that solicitors have used clinical supervision to support their practices, their professional development and their well-being. 

More information about Marc and his work can be found at www.lawyertherapy.co.uk 

Marc is speaking at Reflective practice: a powerful tool for barrister wellbeing

Charlotte May KC, 8 New Square

Charlotte is a specialist practitioner in intellectual property and media an entertainment. She was called to the Bar in 1995 and was the first female to be appointed as IP Treasury Junior in 2008. She took silk in 2014 and was appointed a Deputy High Court Judge in 2021. Charlotte was one of the original members of the Bar Council Wellbeing Working Group, playing a key role in the design and content of the Wellbeing at the Bar website when it was first launched in 2014. She only left the group in 2024 to take up the new challenge of assisting Barbara Mills KC with her vision of making wellbeing a more important part of daily practice. Charlotte also sits on the Chancery Bar Wellbeing Committee and is the head of the Equality, Diversity and Wellbeing Committee in her chambers. 

Charlotte is speaking at Reflective practice: a powerful tool for barrister wellbeing

The Right Honourable Sir Andrew McFarlane, President of the Family Division, Courts and Tribunal Judiciary 

Andrew McFarlane was called to the Bar in 1977 and practised in chambers in Birmingham until 1993 when he moved to specialist family law chambers in London. He appeared at all levels of court including the House of Lords and the European Court of Human Rights. He was appointed as a QC in 1998. 

In April 2005 he was appointed to the High Court, Family Division and was, for five years, the Family Division Liaison Judge for the Midland Circuit. He was the legal member of the Government ‘Family Justice Review’ Panel. 

In July 2011 he was appointed to be a Lord Justice of Appeal sitting full time in the Court of Appeal in London. On 28 July 2018 Sir Andrew succeeded Sir James Munby as President of the Family Division and Head of Family Justice. 

Together with the late David Hershman he is the co-author of a loose-leaf legal text book entitled “Children: Law and Practice”. In addition, he has contributed to other publications and lectured throughout the UK and abroad. 

Sir Andrew has been a trustee of YoungMinds (the national young person’s mental health charity) and is Patron of HOPE Family Centre (Bromyard). 

In addition to being Chancellor of the Diocese of Exeter, Sir Andrew was Chair of the Church of England Clergy Discipline Commission and President of Clergy Discipline Tribunals for five years until 2019. 

Sir Andrew will have a recording presented at The future of family law – lessons learned and next steps for a more effective system

Dr Tom McNeil, CEO of The JABBS Foundation

Tom makes strategic grants to prevent women from being caught in the criminal justice system. He sits on the MoJ Women’s Justice Board and is a Criminal Justice Alliance trustee. 

Tom started his career as a commercial lawyer and became a charity specialist. Later, as the West Midlands’ Assistant Police and Crime Commissioner, he initiated and supported innovative projects including one of the UK’s first women’s problem-solving courts. 

He has a social policy and criminology PhD from the University of Birmingham and policy fellowships at the University of Cambridge and York University. 

Tom is speaking at Justice under review: challenges, reform and renewal in the system

Sam Mercer, Head of Policy: Equality & Diversity and Corporate Social Responsibility, Bar Council

Sam joined the Bar Council in June 2013 and is responsible for the design and delivery of equality, diversity, and inclusion support for the profession. This includes equality and diversity training and good practice guidance, as well as the provision of direct advice and support to chambers and individuals.  

Sam has been responsible for high-profile programmes, such as Wellbeing at the Bar, the Bar Council’s work on Bullying and Harassment (Talk to Spot) and Earnings Inequality. She co-authored the first Race Report (2021) and latest Report (2024). Sam has a keen interest in modernising working practices at the Bar.  

With a team of 4, her remit extents to wider CSR issues including education and careers outreach; sustainability and pro bono/volunteering, the young and employed Bars. 

Prior to joining the Bar Council, Sam set-up and ran the leading diversity and inclusion charity on age and employment and led the workplace division in Business in the Community. She is an award-winning communicator on diversity and inclusion issues and has worked on this agenda across a wide range of private and public sector organisations and charities (both in the UK and overseas). Sam has a Masters in Corporate Social Responsibility. 

Sam is chairing Reflective practice: a powerful tool for barrister wellbeing

Barbara Mills KC, Chair of the Bar of England and Wales

Barbara Mills KC is Chair of the Bar 2025. She is joint head of chambers at 4PB and practises in family law specialising in difficult, complex and sensitive cases concerning children, often with an international element. Barbara is an arbitrator and a mediator committed to non-court resolutions, sits as a deputy High Court judge, and has been a recorder on the South Eastern Circuit for over 10 years. Barbara is also a governing bencher at Inner Temple. 

Earlier this year Barbara set out her priorities for 2025 in an inaugural address: raising the profile of the family Bar (including in relation to tackling violence against women and girls), enhancing the wellbeing of the profession, making further strides on equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI), and continuing to press for the resources needed to restore the justice system. 

Barbara is delivering the Welcome address, chairing All change please: evolving the culture at the Bar and chairing the keynote address by the Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales

Fenner Moeran KC, Co-Chair, Bar Council Ethics Committee

Fenner Moeran KC was called in 1996 and took silk in 2014. He is one of the two co-chairs of the Bar Council’s Ethics Committee since 2023, having joined the committee over 20 years ago.  Within the Ethics Committee, he has specialisations in civil issues relating to disclosure, confidentiality and conflicts of duty.  At the Bar he has a wide-ranging commercial Chancery practice, with specialisms in trusts, civil fraud, pensions and financial services.  

Fenner is speaking at Navigating ethical dilemmas at the Bar 

Rob Mundy KC, St. Philips Chambers

Robert Mundy KC has a wide-ranging commercial practice and has particular expertise in contract, company, insolvency and commercial fraud disputes. He was appointed as a recorder in 2022 and appointed as a silk in 2025. 

Rob is speaking at Career pathways – taking silk and joining the judiciary 

Lord Norton of Louth (Philip Norton), Professor of Government, Director of the Centre for Legislative Studies, University of Hull, and Chair, House of Lords Select Committee on Statutory Inquiries

When Lord Norton was appointed to his chair in 1986 he was, at 35, the youngest professor of politics in the country. 

He is Chair of the History of Parliament Trust, President of the Study of Parliament Group, and editor – and founder – of The Journal of Legislative Studies. He is also Chair of the Higher Education Commission. His publications include 36 books (50 if new editions are included), including Governing Britain and his most recent, The 1922 Committee: Power Behind the Scenes, and over 200 scholarly articles, including in journals such as Public Law. He is the recipient of the 2022 PSA Sir Isaiah Berlin Prize. 

He was elevated to the peerage in 1998 and was the first Chair of the House of Lords Constitution Committee. In 2024, he chaired the House of Lords Select Committee on Statutory Inquiries. 

He has been described in The House Magazine – the journal of both Houses of Parliament – as ‘our greatest living expert on Parliament’.  

Lord Norton of Louth is speaking at Public Inquiries: truth seeking or time wasting?

Ash Patel, Programme Head for Justice at the Nuffield Foundation

For nearly 25 years Ash has conducted and commissioned empirical social research within the socio-legal and related fields. He brings specialist expertise in complex and mixed methods research and evaluation focusing on low income and disadvantaged groups, and has been privileged to be involved in leading access to justice and legal needs research.  

In his current role, he is responsible for developing the Foundation’s justice portfolio to strengthen access to justice and advice sector related research and support the operational effectiveness of the justice system. Prior to joining Nuffield Foundation, he held senior analytical and research positions at the Learning and Work Institute (L&W), Ministry of Justice and Legal Services Research Centre. 

Ash is speaking at Justice under review: challenges, reform and renewal in the system

Laurie-Anne Power KC, 25 Bedford Row

Laurie-Anne Power KC is a criminal barrister at 25 Bedford Row. Her practice includes serious criminal offences such as murder, sexual offences, terrorism and complex fraud. She has appeared before both domestic and international courts and worked on the International Criminal Trials in Sierra Leone. She is a Bencher at Middle Temple, Co-Chair of the Bar Council’s Race Panel and Chair of Women in Criminal Law’s Race Equality Committee.  

Laurie-Anne won the 2019 UK Diversity Legal Awards Lawyer of the Year and acts as a mentor and volunteer for various charities and schools that are committed to improving the career development and social mobility of young people from diverse and marginalised backgrounds. 

Laurie-Anne is speaking at Career pathways – taking silk and joining the judiciary