COMBAR Constitution

The Constitution was last updated in July 2025. Please click here to download a copy.

Young Barristers’ Committees’ International Grant Programme 

The scheme is open for applications.  Details may be found at the International professional and legal development grant programme (barcouncil.org.uk) page.

If you have any questions please email ybc@barcouncil.org.uk

Combar supports the Bar Council’s Young Barristers’ Committees’ International Grant Programme. This is a programme that supports junior barristers (of 7 years’ practice or less), who are in employed or self-employed practice, to participate in international events or conferences of their choice by providing them with financial support. Candidates can make only one application for the grant each year.

IMPORTANT: Combar Application Criteria

Applicants must have been a Combar member for at least 18 months before they can apply for the grant.  This includes pupillage to allow those in their first year of membership, post pupillage, to apply. Successful applicants are asked to write a report about the international event for which they received funding and to attend at least one university law fair on behalf of Combar later in the year.

Although in principle the Bar Council may be prepared to make International Grants available for conferences taking place in the UK (as its Guidance says), Combar’s approach to the exercise of its discretion whether to make a contribution towards an International Grant is that we will not normally do so where the conference is due to take place in a location that does not involve any long distance travel or an overnight stay. Generally, successful applicants will receive grants from Combar of no more than £850.

If you intend to apply for support to attend the COMBAR North American Meeting 2026, which will be held in Rome, a paper detailing the benefits to Juniors is available to download from the North America page.

Please click here to visit the Bar Council website for further details.

Examples of previous reports by previous beneficiaries of the grant can be made available on request to the Combar Administrator (admin@combar.com).

North America

COMBAR North American and Offshore Meeting – Rome – 27-29 May 2026

The Programme may be downloaded here.

Registration is now closed but late registrations will be considered, please email admin@combar.com

Rome is wonderful in May. The weather is warm, but not too hot, the light is golden, and city life spills out onto the streets late into the evenings.

This conference is the highlight of COMBAR’s year, bringing together commercial barristers of all seniorities with our guest Judges, top North American and offshore lawyers and legal leaders from Rome. This year we will be joined by Lord Leggatt of the UK Supreme Court and Mr Justice Henshaw, Judge in Charge of the Commercial Court in London as our UK guests of honour.

The conference will be based at The Westin Excelsior, a historic grand hotel near the Villa Borghese Gardens, a short walk from some of Rome’s finest historical attractions and restaurants. We have already filled the group rate allocation (although rooms at this rate may be available following cancellations), but the Westin is offering us a preferential rate of 20% off their best available rate for those booking from now. Please secure your accommodation as soon as possible and email the Westin reservations team for availability information or to extend your stay (00070.eventsales@westin.com and quote “COMBAR”).

The conference will be packed with sessions on recent commercial topics, debates, Q&As, interactive talks and lots of networking time and fun. The programme will include an exclusive evening reception on the rooftop terrace of the Hassler Hotel (featured on the BBC) overlooking the Spanish Steps and the skyline of Rome. Friday will include an optional visit to the Italian Supreme Court of Cassation in the historic Palazzo di Giustizia on the banks of the Tiber to meet some of the Justices and leaders of the Rome Bar. We conclude with a gala dinner in the spectacular 16th century Chiostro del Bramante Rome, surrounded by modern art and with live music. The conference is designed for partners and families to join us for evening events and enjoy a special day out exploring the delights of Rome.

Private Tour of the Sistine Chapel – morning of Friday 29 May – Members and guests

This optional tour is currently fully subscribed at 100 guests, but a reserve list is running, if you would like to add your name to the reserve list, please register here.

Visit to the Italian Supreme Court of Cassation – afternoon of Friday 29 May – Members only

A special tour of the Court and meeting with Justices and members of the Rome Bar followed by drinks overlooking the Court.  Departing after lunch on Friday; places are limited to 50 and will be offered on a first come basis to delegates only. A reserve list will run to ensure that all spaces are filled. Please register here.

Walking Tour followed by lunch for families and accompanying persons/guests – Thursday 28 May – Register for the tour and lunch here.

Explore the Eternal City on a private tour with a professional Roman archaeologist!

Your tour guide will be Valentina, who is a licensed Tour Guide and loves to share her knowledge and passion for Ancient Rome. Since 2003, she has worked as field director on several scientific and emergency excavations downtown and in the province of Rome. She has a deep knowledge of the Roman archaeological sites and museums.

The tour will start by meeting in the lobby of the Westin hotel at 10:00. We will walk from the hotel. Many of the sites that you will see may be familiar to those of you who are regular visitors to Rome, and we hope that you will learn more about these famous landmarks, enjoy soaking up the atmosphere with the group and meeting others during the course of this tour. If you are interested in booking some of the other tours available, the details are on the website which may be found here.

The tour will start with a short walk from the hotel to the Spanish steps, where you will have the opportunity to learn more about the popular location, (which we will be returning to for Thursday’s rooftop cocktail reception).  The tour will continue to the Trevi Fountain, made famous in popular culture by films such as Roman Holiday and La Dolce Vita.  The tour will then take you through to the Pantheon with its famous rotunda, entrance is not included and this may be somewhere to visit again during your stay.  The tour then takes you on to the Largo Argentina, understood to be where Julius Ceasar was assassinated.  Finally, you will arrive at Piazza Venezia where you can view the Vittoriano monument and Column of Trajan.

This is where the tour ends.  Tables have been booked for lunch at a restaurant which has been recommended by the guide. Osteria Al Vicolo 9 offers typical Roman cuisine and we hope won’t disappoint.  When lunch is finished, you are free to wander the streets of Rome and explore further into this charming cultural city.

It is anticipated that the tour will cost approximately £25 and the lunch approximately £30.  If a greater number of people sign up for the tour this will decrease the cost.

Please register for the tour and lunch here where you will be asked to pay a small deposit to secure your place.

Junior COMBAR

Junior COMBAR members are particularly encouraged to join us with significantly reduced conference attendance fees and a private breakfast organised between the Judge in Charge of the Commercial Court and junior barrister attendees. Juniors under 7 year’s Call can also apply to the Young Barristers’ Committees’ International Grant Programme which supports attendance by paying up to two thirds of your costs, including travel. Further details of “The Advantages and Opportunities of COMBAR NAM for Junior Barristers“ may be found here.  This information may assist grant applicants to complete their grant application and identify relevant points to satisfy the grant criteria.

Hotel booking

Group rate Hotel bookings made using the group rate were fully refundable until 26 April 2026. The Group rate block of 55 rooms have now been fully booked.

For further hotel bookings at the Westin (which are not at the group rate), conference attendees should contact the Westin Reservations Office directly at 00070.eventsales@westin.com to get the best available rate (the hotel are offering a 20% discount to best available rate to COMBAR members and conference attendees).

Alternatively, a broad range of nearby hotels and Airbnbs are available to book in the Villa Borghese/Ludovisi district.

In the meantime, if you have any questions, please contact admin@combar.com

North American and Offshore Meeting Montréal, Canada 28-30 May 2025

The successful meeting was held in Montréal, Canada 28-30 May 2025.  The venue for the Conference was  the Ritz Carlton.   Mr Justice Henshaw, the Judge in Charge of the Commercial Court, kindly attended the Conference as the UK Judicial Guest of Honour.  Canadian Supreme Court Judge, the Honourable Suzanne Côté was in attendance as the Canadian judicial guest of honour at the concluding gala dinner.

The Conference opened with a welcome reception in the Oval Room and Terrace at the Ritz Carlton.  A drinks reception was held at le9e, a recently restored 1930’s Art Deco gem located on the ninth floor of Montreal’s Eaton Centre. The meeting culminated with a gala dinner which was held in the spectacular  St James Theatre.

North American Meeting 2024 Stockholm, Sweden

The successful meeting was held in Stockholm from the 29th May – 31st May.  We were fortunate to be joined by both The Lady Chief Justice, Baroness Sue Carr, DBE, PC, and The Hon. Mr Justice Foxton, the Judge in Charge of the Commercial Court, as our Judicial Guests.

The meeting was primarily held at the Hotel At Six,  and at the nearby Nordic Light Hotel.  The conference consisted of sessions addressing contemporary issues for commercial litigators including Law and Technology, Issues in Cross-Border Litigation, and Perspectives in Advocacy at both first instance and appellate level. A breakfast for Juniors was kindly hosted by our Judicial Guests.

The Thursday evening cocktail reception was held in the spectacular Vasa Museum and included a tour of the 17^th century Swedish warship.  The events culminated with a gala dinner held in the Golden Hall of Stockholm City Hall, (Golden Hall  – Wikipedia), a beautiful historic venue. Swedish Supreme Court Judge Eric M Runesson gave a short welcome speech at the drinks reception immediately before the gala dinner

Combined North American and Offshore Meeting 2023, Boston, USA

The successful meeting took place in Boston from the 31st May to the 2nd June.  It is hoped that the presentations will be distributed to the participants in due course. The registration link is now closed.

Combar International

With the UK widely recognized as the leading international centre for legal services and the majority of Combar’s membership regularly undertaking international work, a key part of Combar’s role is to foster relationships with the international legal community. Combar’s strategy is spearheaded by an International Committee and implemented by sub-committees for North America, India, Africa and Offshore. The development of international links offers Combar members the opportunity to build new relationships and deepen existing ones, while providing a multi-jurisdictional forum for the exchange of ideas, developments in the law and regional market insight.

Central to this is our Honorary Overseas Members (HOMs) programme, whereby leading commercial law practitioners in overseas jurisdictions are invited to join Combar. Our much valued HOMs are involved in planning and implementing activity in each region, working with Combar’s committees to create an effective and influential international network. Criteria for becoming an HOM can be found here. Regional activities include:

• Promoting closer ties, cooperation and information exchange between commercial practitioners in different jurisdictions.
• Regional events to further develop relationships, in particular through the long-established annual North America Meeting (which alternates between North America and Europe) and the Combar India Roundtable Conference, which has taken place annually since 2016.
• Funding scholarship and exchange programmes for foreign lawyers.
• Provision of financial support to legal organisations in the developing world.

International Committee

• Jeremy Richmond KC, Chair, International Committee
• Jamie Goldsmith KC, Jamsheed Peeroo, joint Chairs, Africa Committee
• Sapna Jhangiani KC, Chair and Chintan Chandrachud, Vice Chair, India & Asia Committee
• Tom Mountford Chair, Andrew Burns KC, Vice Chair, North America Committee
• Saima Hanif KC, Chair, Gulf Committee
• George Spalton KC, Quentin Cregan; Hannah Tildesley; Andrew Willins KC, Co-Chairs Offshore Committee

COMBAR’s International Work

Combar barristers are active in courts and arbitration centres across the globe. More than a quarter ^[1] of the world’s 320 jurisdictions use English Common Law, and several Combar member sets have a permanent presence in international jurisdictions.

Combar barristers also undertake a huge range and quantity of international work from London, both litigation and London-based arbitration. London is the most popular, and widely used, seat for international commercial arbitration. ^[2] There were 31,514 civil disputes resolved in the UK through arbitration, mediation and adjudication in 2024. In nearly three quarters of the 1055 cases dealt with in the Commercial Court in 2024 over half had at least one party from outside the UK with 373 being completely international; more than 200 foreign law firms from around 40 jurisdictions operate in London. With these numbers in mind, it is no surprise that international exports generated by barristers contributed an impressive £580 million to the UK economy in 2024, with over 2,612 barristers working on international cases, up almost 13% from the previous year.  Combar works to seek to ensure that the international work undertaken by the Bar of England and Wales continues to flourish, both in terms of international work undertaken by commercial barristers in the UK and in terms of commercial barristers appears in courts and arbitrations in jurisdiction all across the globe.

(All stats from UK Legal Services 2025, and the Civil Justice statistics quarterly: October 2024 to December 2024.)

[1] Philip Wood, ‘Governing Law Risks in International Business Transactions’, (December 2022).

[2] White & Case International Arbitration Survey Report 2025.

Sub Committees: