Meet the speakers

Bibi Badejo is a practising barrister and an elected Governing Bencher of the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple. An accomplished advocate, she specialises in children’s public law cases, with expertise in forensic preparation, effective witness handling and complex expert evidence in trials involving serious physical and sexual abuse. 
 
A recognised expert in trial advocacy, Bibi founded both The Advocacy Podcast and The Advocacy Coach in 2021. The Advocacy Podcast was launched to help trial lawyers, barristers, and solicitors hone their advocacy skills, and the Advocacy Coach provides advocacy coaching worldwide.   

Alongside her work with The Advocacy Coach, Bibi is an accredited Advocacy Trainer for Inner Temple and a trainer for the South Eastern Circuit Bar Mess Foundation Advanced International Advocacy Course, also known as the Keble Dutton Advocacy Course.  
 
Bibi provides unique and transformative courses for lawyers seeking to elevate their advocacy, and her coaching focuses on technique, creating courses that transcend practice areas and jurisdictions, transforming hardworking, talented lawyers into exceptional advocates.

Professor Lady Sue Black, Baroness Black of Strome LT is an anatomist and forensic anthropologist with over 40 years of experience in her field. In 1999 she led her discipline for the British Forensic Team during the war crimes investigations in Kosovo. In the years that followed she led operations in Grenada, Sierra Leone and Iraq before assisting with the body recovery and identification requirements following the Asian Tsunami.   

Professor of Anatomy and Human Identification at the University of Dundee for 15 years she was awarded both an OBE and a DBE for her services to her profession. In 2018 she took up the role of Pro Vice Chancellor at Lancaster University and was created Baroness Black of Strome on entering the House of Lords as a Crossbench peer. In 2022 she became the 37th President of St John’s College Oxford, and in 2024 was appointed a Lady of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle by His Majesty the King. 

She co-chaired the Westminster Commission on Forensic Science and her latest book ‘An expert witness: forensic science on trial’ was an instant Sunday Times bestseller. 

Kirsty Brimelow KC is Chair of the Bar 2026. Kirsty practises in criminal, international and public law from Doughty Street Chambers, where she is on the management board as head of the criminal law team. Kirsty was appointed Queen’s Counsel (now King’s Counsel) in 2011. Kirsty has the distinction of having led in both Civil and Criminal Courts of Appeal, the Supreme Court, the Privy Council, and the European Court of Human Rights. 

In 2021, Kirsty was appointed a deputy High Court judge in the King’s Bench Division and in 2022 appointed a Recorder. She is an accredited mediator and acts in conflict resolution. Kirsty worked in the Colombia peace process and negotiated an historic apology from the former President of Colombia to a community of farmers, for a massacre. 

Kirsty was a member of the Bar Council Public Affairs Committee and a Bar Council Young Spokesperson from 1998 to 2008. Kirsty was the first female Chair of the Bar Human Rights Committee (2012 to 2018) and served as the Vice Chair and then Chair of the Criminal Bar Association (2021 to 2023). In 2022, she led negotiations with the government of an historic increase in fees for criminal barristers. 

Kirsty is a Bencher of Gray’s Inn and was elected to the management board (2020 to 2023). She is an experienced high-level trainer, facilitator, and conference speaker in international human rights around the world, holding consultancies to the United Nations and OSCE (the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe). She has driven law change including in sexual offences law in Denmark and FGM protection orders in England and Wales.  

In 2018 Kirsty won both the First 100 Years ‘Inspirational Woman in Law Barrister of the Year’ Award and Advocate’s pro bono ‘International Barrister of the Year’ Award. She twice has featured as The Times Lawyer of the week. Kirsty is a trustee and director of the leading global environmental charity WWF UK, visiting professor at Goldsmiths Faculty of Law (2019 to 2025), and founding member of the Alliance for Lawyers at Risk. Kirsty was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts for her service to human rights. 

Lord Carnwath was a member of the UK Supreme Court from 2012 to 2020, having been a judge since 1994. He began his legal career as a practising barrister from 1968 (1980-85 Junior Counsel to the Inland Revenue; 1985 QC; 1988-94 Attorney General to HRH the Prince of Wales). He became a High Court Judge in 1994, sitting in both the Chancery Division and the Administrative Court. He went to the Court of Appeal in 2002 and to the Supreme Court in 2012. From 1998-2002 he was Chairman of the Law Commission of England and Wales.  

From 2004-2012 he was Senior President of Tribunals, overseeing the implementation of the Leggatt reforms of administrative tribunals.  

He has taken a special interest in environmental law and was a founder-member of the EU Forum of Judges for the Environment (“EUFJE”), and of the Global Judges’ Institute on 1the Environment (“GJIE”).  

Lord Carnwath is currently an Associate Member of Landmark Chambers, an Honorary Professor of UCL, a Visiting Professor of Oxford University, and a Visiting Professor in Practice at the Grantham Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at LSE.  

The Rt Hon. the Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill became Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales on 1 October 2023. As Lady Chief Justice, she is the first female President of the Courts of England and Wales and Head of the Judiciary of England and Wales.  

Her judicial career began in 2009 in crime. She was appointed to the High Court, Queen’s Bench Division in 2013, and became the second female High Court Judge to sit in the Commercial Court and the first female High Court Judge to sit in the Technology and Construction Court in 2014. She was elevated to the Court of Appeal in 2020. She was appointed as the Senior Judicial Commissioner and Vice Chair of the Judicial Appointments Commission shortly thereafter, remaining in that role until January 2023. She was a temporary Investigatory Powers Commissioner during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The Hon. Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb DBE was born in Derby and brought up in Leeds. She attended state school and studied law at King’s College London. She was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1989 by Gray’s Inn. She was in private practice at 2 Hare Court, Temple defending and prosecuting in crime and in public law, taking silk in 2013, until her appointment to the High Court in 2015. She served in the team of Treasury Counsel at the Old Bailey.  

As junior and then senior TC she advised on and prosecuted complex and sensitive cases of homicide, international corruption, war crimes and terrorism. She was an elected member of the Bar Council and chaired the Advocacy Training Council working group that produced the report Raising the Bar: The Handling of Vulnerable Witnesses, Victims and Defendants in Court which led to the introduction of ground rules hearings and issued the first toolkits for complex witness handling.  

She has been a presiding judge on the South Eastern circuit. From 2020 until December 2024, she led for the England and Wales judiciary on international judicial training including the training of Ukrainian judges in Poland on the trial of war crimes to international standards. Since October 2024 she has been responsible for managing terrorism, national security and war crimes cases in England and Wales.  

Amelia Clegg is Chair of the Bar Council’s Young Barristers’ Committee and is a dual-qualified in England and Wales and New York.  Having practised as a self-employed and employed barrister, and on both sides of the Atlantic, Amelia brings an unusually broad span of experience to her practice. Amelia’s exposure to oral and written advocacy in New York and London have honed her skills and make her an exceptionally creative, flexible and robust advocate. Her transatlantic experience also makes her invaluable in cross border cases and in advising professional and lay clients from the United States. 

Amelia is particularly skilled at handling complex and document heavy cases. She brings a composed and logical approach to this work which allows her to distil the salient issues and evidence quickly. Amelia has professional experience of defending cases against federal and state prosecutors in New York (including the SEC), and against major prosecuting authorities in the UK (including the SFO). 

Amelia began her career as a criminal barrister at 23 Essex Street (now 23ES), where she completed her pupillage and took tenancy. She left 23 Essex Street to complete an LLM at an Ivy League law school in the United States, via a general scholarship, and to take the New York Bar exam. 

After she completed her LLM in 2020, Amelia worked as an Associate at Blank Rome LLP, an AM100 law firm, in their New York office for three years. Upon returning to the UK, Amelia worked as an employed barrister at two boutique firms before joining Outer Temple in September 2026.

The Rt Hon Lord Justice Stephen Cobb was called to the Bar, Inner Temple, in 1985 and took Silk in 2003. He started his judicial career as a Recorder in 2004 and was authorised to hear cases under section 9(1) of the Senior Courts Act 1981 in 2009. He was appointed as a High Court Judge in 2013 and was assigned to the Family Division; he also sat in the Administrative Court of the Kings Bench Division and was a nominated judge of the Court of Protection. He was appointed to the Court of Appeal in June 2024, and took his place in 2025. He served as a Family Presiding Judge (North Eastern Circuit) between 2015 and 2021. 

Estelle Dehon OBE KC is a leading public law barrister at Cornerstone Barristers. According to The Lawyer’s Hot 100 list in 2025, she is “the Bar’s answer to David Attenborough” and has a broad practice encompassing environment and planning, information law and human rights, with particular expertise in just transition, net zero and energy infrastructure.  

Estelle is at the forefront of climate litigation in the UK, having acted for the successful appellant in the Supreme Court in Finch, the leading case on scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions. She also advises central and local government on climate matters, including upgrading the grid and implementing policies to support energy efficient buildings.  

In 2023 Estelle founded the cross-disciplinary centre of excellence for climate litigation and advice, Cornerstone Climate. She is co-Chair of the Bar Council’s Climate and Nature Panel where she is leading work on the impact of the climate crisis on legal ethics and on supporting climate and nature competence across the Bar. 

Prof Jo Delahunty KC, MICarb is a family law silk specialising in extreme child abuse and medically complex cases.  She is known not just for her work in court but for her preparedness over the years to speak out about toxic issues that have blighted the Bar whether that be sexual abuse, judicial bullying, its lack of diversity and the health and wealth divide between the privately funded and legal aid Bar. 

In 2025 Jo won the Family Silk of the Year award and was voted the ‘Advocate you Most want to be.’ And in 2026 published two books “We set the Bar- Fighting for Equality, Empowerment and Change’ and “Domestic Abuse in the Family Justice System. 

Jo is ranked as a ‘Star Individual’ by Chambers & Partners and a Tier 1 Leading Silk by Legal 500. She was made a Freeman of City of London for her contribution to the law , is a Recorder, a Bencher of Middle Temple and a Reader for the Queen Elizabeth II Prize for Education. 

Geeta Guru-Murthy has covered some of the biggest stories globally and in the UK as a presenter and correspondent, from the Clinton-Lewinsky affair in Washington to the Good Friday agreement in Belfast. She has anchored during the 9/11 aftermath, wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the global financial crash, the Trump presidency, Covid, and the Ukraine war and she has also extensively tracked Brexit and UK politics.  

Geeta has presented BBC Radio 5 Live, Radio 4’s Today programme, BBC One news bulletins and sparred with her brother in Celebrity Antiques Road Trip! 

She is now also studying at Cambridge University for a Masters in AI Ethics. 

Saara Idelbi is ranked as a leading junior by the Legal 500 and practises from 39 Essex Chambers. Her work spans judicial review, data protection and information rights, procurement, health and social care, Court of Protection proceedings, inquests and inquiries, giving her a cross-cutting view of how AI interacts with public decision-making and regulatory frameworks.  

Over the past year she has trained students, professional deputies and lawyers on the use of AI, and delivered a talk to circuit judges on AI in proceedings. She writes and lectures regularly on AI in legal practice, and is co-founder of Advocatr, an AI advocacy-training platform for aspiring and junior lawyers, which gives her hands-on experience of building with the technology as well as advising on it.

Venetia is Counsel in Dentons' London office, practising as an employed barrister. She is an expert in financial services regulation, with insights and experience drawing on nine years in the FCA's General Counsel's Division and before that several years in the Government Legal Department including time at HM Treasury. Venetia's practice focuses on consumer finance, insurance regulation, redress issues and the application of the Consumer Duty and draws on significant drafting experience whilst at the FCA, including on the Consumer Duty. 

When not practising in financial services regulation, Venetia sits as a fee paid judge.  She was originally appointed to the First Tier Tribunal, Social Entitlement Chamber in 2019 and was subsequently appointed as a Recorder in the Family Court in 2023.

Internationally celebrated British mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnston is the winner of multiple awards including the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Singer of the Year and is a former BBC New Generation Artist.  

She has a successful cultural and artistic strategy consultancy, working with global organisations across the cultural sector to foster dialogue and partnerships through culture and the arts.  

She is Patron of Streetwise Opera, Destination Opera and the Southport Bach Choir, Trustee of the Harrison Parrott Foundation, Debate Chair & Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and commentator for The Guardian, Opera Now, The Stage, BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 4, Classic FM and Times Radio.  

A former barrister (1 Crown Office Row), she holds an MBA from the Global Leaders Institute, is an alumnus of the Oxford Cultural Leaders programme, and received the Royal Philharmonic Society's Enterprise Award, supporting her participation in Harvard University's Women in Leadership Program. 

Tristan Kirk is Courts Editor for PA Media, the UK and Ireland’s national news agency.  

He has been a dedicated court reporter for more than a decade, winning the Paul Foot award and being named Journalist of the Year for his investigation into the impacts of the Single Justice Procedure. Tristan was instrumental in rule changes to the behind-closed-doors process, which allowed magistrates to hand out convictions for low-level crimes behind closed doors, while freed from the usual scrutiny that comes with open court proceedings.  

He was The London Standard’s courts correspondent for 10 years, with previous experience at court agency Central News. As well as covering major court cases himself, Tristan supports PA reporters across the UK and contributes to the news agency’s broader legal coverage.  

John Hyde is one of the foremost legal journalists in the UK, with more than 15 years’ experience in reporting on the legal industry. He was a leading commentator on the Post Office scandal and live blogged daily from the inquiry. He started his journalism career in local news and is a regular speaker on radio, podcasts and at conferences.

Susanna recently retired as Treasury Solicitor and Permanent Secretary of the Government Legal Department (GLD) after serving 5 years in that role and concluding over 33 years in the Government Legal Profession.  

Called to the Bar by Lincoln’s Inn in 1990, Susanna completed pupillage in Chambers and joined the Civil Service in 1993.  She served in various departments including the Foreign Office, the Ministry of Defence and the Cabinet Office before becoming a Legal Director in the then Department for Trade and Industry followed by the Department of Communities and Local Government.  She spent 5 Years leading the Government Legal Department’s Litigation Group handling most government public law and private law litigation and Public Inquiries.  On promotion to Director General in GLD and the Department of Work and Pensions her responsibilities included leading the cross government legal issues in support of the response to the COVID pandemic. 

Susanna was the second woman to be appointed as Treasury Solicitor and took up post on 8 March 2021 – International Women’s Day!   

As an active and prominent leader in the wider legal profession, Susanna is recognised for her commitment to the improving opportunities for women and under represented groups. She is a Patron of the Next Hundred Years of Women in Law project.  As a Bencher and elected officer of Lincoln’s Inn Susanna continues to contribute to the education and development of students and junior lawyers and the life of the Inn generally; this year serving as Dean of the Chapel and Keeper of the Black Book (the written history of the Inn). 
 

Hugh Mercer is a distinguished barrister and judge with an extensive career spanning the UK and Europe. Called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1985 and appointed King’s Counsel in 2008, he has held numerous senior roles, including Attorney General A Panel Counsel and Deputy High Court Judge. 

A specialist in international and European law, Hugh has been an active member of multiple Bars including England and Wales, Belgium and Northern Ireland, and has long represented the UK within the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe. He also chaired the International Committee of the Bar of England and Wales from 2022 to 2025. 

In September 2025, he was appointed as a Judge of the European Court of Human Rights.

The Rt Hon Dame Maria Miller DBE is nationally recognised as a leader on equality matters, through the award of her damehood in 2022. A long serving, senior politician, Dame Maria held ministerial posts in the coalition government, including in the Cabinet as Culture Secretary. Known for her effective, collaborative working style, Dame Maria also chaired the Women and Equalities Select Committee, producing evidence-based inquiry reports on issues, including tackling sexual harassment and bullying.

Before being elected to Parliament, Maria’s business career spanned 20 years, including company director posts in two UK communication agencies. Since leaving Parliament in 2024, Maria has been appointed to Chair the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, LHC Procurement Group and the UK charity SafeLives, dedicated to eradicating domestic abuse. Maria was appointed Commissioner for Conduct at the Bar Council in January 2026.

Alex Norris was appointed Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice on 20 July 2026. He was previously Minister of State at the Home Office between 6 September 2025 and 20 July 2026.

He was previously Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government between 9 July 2024 and 6 September 2025.

He has been the MP for Nottingham North and Kimberley (and its predecessor Nottingham North) since June 2017.

Konstantina Nouka is a barrister at Nexus Chambers, specialising in criminal defence and family law. Konstantina has been diagnosed with a rare and progressive muscle-wasting condition known as Ulrich Congenital Muscular Dystrophy.

She is the Founder of Bringing [Dis]Ability to the Bar (BDABar), an organisation that supports disabled individuals who wish to pursue a career at the Bar. Through her work, Konstantina aims to dismantle the stereotypes and prejudices that affect disabled people and raise awareness of disabilities and accessibility.

Deshpal Panesar KC is a leading employment silk, specialising in complex employment disputes and high‑stakes investigations, with a particularly strong and successful appellate practice. He is widely recognised for his incisive cross‑examination, exceptional work ethic, and calm, authoritative handling of the most challenging cases. 

Deshpal is instructed across the full spectrum of employment law, acting for major corporates, trade unions, and local authorities, as well as representing claimants in matters ranging from large‑scale, multi‑claimant actions to individual cases of significant personal and legal importance. 

Beyond his practice, Deshpal plays a prominent role in the profession. He is a member of the Bar Council, former Chair of the Employment Law Bar Association (ELBA), Chair of the EAT Users Group, and a member of both the Industrial Law Society and the Employment Lawyers Association. He also writes and speaks thoughtfully on the wider realities of life at the Bar. In Counsel Magazine, Deshpal has addressed the impact of barristers’ work on physical health, advocating for practical, profession‑wide steps to support wellbeing and to help barristers build long, sustainable, and healthy careers.

Charlotte is a leading and award-winning barrister, called to the Bar in England and Wales, and in St Vincent and the Grenadines, with a diverse practice spanning commercial and chancery litigation and international arbitration.  Charlotte’s varied practice has involved acting for a range of parties from corporates to high-net-worth individuals.   

She particularly specialises in financial services disputes, acting for banks, pension funds, asset managers and insurers in commercial litigation and in both contentious and non-contentious regulatory matters involving regulators such as the Bank of England, the Prudential Regulation Authority ("PRA"), the Financial Conduct Authority, the Financial Ombudsman Service, the Pensions Ombudsman and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. She is ranked as a Leading Junior in Banking and Financial Services (including consumer credit) in Legal 500 2025 and 2026. 

Charlotte regularly acts as sole counsel and as part of large, multi-disciplinary teams, drawing on her experience as an employed barrister at the Bank of England, the UK's central bank, and at Pinsent Masons LLP, a multinational, award-winning law firm. 

She is proud of her Vincentian heritage, often working on matters arising from the Caribbean, particularly the Bahamas, Bermuda, Antigua, the Cayman Islands and St Vincent and the Grenadines, notably her Appellate practice before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council and she is keen to continue developing her practice in this area. 

Rob Rinder MBE is a barrister turned broadcaster and Sunday Times No.1 bestselling author. His broadcast career began with ITV’s huge daytime hit Judge Rinder, which he presided over for an amazing seven series. Rob’s episode of the BBC’s Who Do You Think You Are won a BAFTA and his subsequent documentary series My Family, the Holocaust and Me and The Holy Land and Us aired to critical acclaim.   

In 2020 Rob was awarded an MBE for his services to Holocaust education and an honorary doctorate for his legal work. In 2024 he received a Doctor of Literature from University College London for writing, teaching and advocacy in social equality and Holocaust education.   

Rob is president of Orion Orchestra, a role which combines his passion for music with nurturing the next generation of the UK’s best young musicians.  

Rob is a regular host on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, co-hosted Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby and Rob and Rylan’s Grand Tour for the BBC. In 2024 Rob presented Channel 4’s Britain Behind Bars: A Secret History and The Princes in The Tower: The New Evidence.   

Rob’s Sunday Times No.1 bestselling novel The Trial and the subsequent The Suspect, The Protest and The Defence are inspired by his experiences as a barrister.   

2025 saw another Rob & Rylan: A Passage To India for the BBC as well Rob co-hosting a new series Rich Lives Poor Lives alongside historian Ruth Goodman for Channel Five. Rob also authored Victoria's Secret for Channel 4.   

This year will bring another series of Rob & Rylan and Rich Lives Poor Lives, C+I series The Case I Can't Forget looking back at one of Rob's most memorable cases as a criminal barrister, as well as publication of the fourth book in Rob's bestselling novel series: The Defence and a yet to be announced, exciting new project for Channel 4. 

Tanya Steele leads the UK office of WWF, the world’s largest independent conservation organisation. Since joining WWF-UK in 2017, as its first female chief executive, she has worked across the UK and internationally to address the drivers of wildlife loss and ecosystem decline and help secure the recovery of nature. In 2022, Tanya was awarded a CBE for services to wildlife and the environment. 

Before joining WWF-UK, Tanya spent nearly 15 years in senior commercial and leadership roles in the telecommunications sector. She later joined Save the Children UK, where she served as executive director and subsequently as interim chief executive. 

Tanya serves on the UK Government’s Net Zero Council and Food Strategy Advisory Board. She is also a trustee of the Disasters Emergency Committee and the Circular Bioeconomy Alliance, founded by HM The King. 

Originally from Macclesfield, Tanya holds an undergraduate degree from Lancaster University and now lives in London. 

The immediate past Chair of the Bar of England and Wales, Samuel is an enormously respected Silk with a heavy practice across the spread of Chambers’ work, domestic and international.  

Along with mainstream construction, international arbitration, energy and professional negligence work, he specialises in offshore construction and marine engineering including dredging, together with infrastructure and utilities. In all he is cited as a Leading Silk in eight categories across the two main legal directories.  

Samuel regularly acts for clients in the courts of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and he has a thriving practice in international and domestic arbitration (recently acting in arbitrations to final hearing in Australia, Singapore, Paris, the IDRC and, most recently, a fully remote ICC arbitration), along with all forms of alternative dispute resolution. Samuel is also one of only a few international lawyers to be on the list of international arbitrators for the Indian International Arbitration Centre. 

Samuel is an Accredited Mediator, Adjudicator and Dispute Resolution Board panellist, he has acted as Mediator in domestic, international and remote mediations, and as Arbitrator. He also regularly acts as mediation and negotiation advocate.

Lady Justice Philippa Whipple originally qualified as a solicitor in the tax department of a city firm before requalifying as a barrister. As a barrister, she practised from chambers in London as a junior and then a Queen’s Counsel specialising in public law, medical law and tax. 

Her judicial career started in 2005 when she was appointed a Recorder on the Western Circuit, sitting in crime and latterly in civil. In 2013, she became a Deputy High Court Judge. In 2015 she was appointed to the High Court bench as a judge of the Queen’s Bench Division. 

She was a Judicial Commissioner of the Judicial Appointments Commission (from 2016 to 2019) and a Presiding Judge of the South Eastern Circuit (from 2018 to 2021). 

In 2021 she was appointed to the Court of Appeal. Since 2023 she has been the Lead Judge for Diversity and Inclusion, Leadership Development and Wellbeing, and in that capacity she sits on the Judicial Executive Board. 

She is a bencher and trustee of Middle Temple where she is a member of the Appointments Committee and the Talent Retention Steering Group. She is an honorary fellow of Merton College, Oxford and a former President of the College’s alumni association.