Colin Edelman KC  will explore how the Covid-19 pandemic has shaped insurance law.

This talk will take place at the International Arbitration Centre, from 5.30pm to 6.30pm

Address: 190 Fleet Street, London, EC4A 2AG

The event will be hybrid and recorded. RSVP here for in-person attendance only.

The event is open to COMBAR members and their pupils only. COMBAR members do not need to register for online attendance, a ZOOM link will be circulated before the event.

Any questions, please email: admin@combar.com

The COMBAR Annual Lecture 2026 will be delivered by:

Lord Burnett of Maldon

on Tuesday 24th November at 5.30pm, in Gray’s Inn Hall

on the subject of

“The value of English law and dispute resolution to the UK“

There will be a drinks reception following the lecture.

The event is in-person only and will be recorded.

The lecture is open to COMBAR Members and invited SBA Members.  Pupils welcome.

Please register : here

Professor Jordan English (Magdalen College, Oxford and 3VB) will explore some of the thorny issues arising in the 2025 trilogy of Supreme Court judgments on equitable remedies for breach of trust and/or fiduciary duty:

In Recovery Partners GP Ltd v Rukhadze [2025] UKSC 10, the Court considered whether it was a valid answer to a claim for an account of profits for breach of fiduciary duty to allege that the same profits could have been made in any event.

In Stevens v Hotel Portfolio II UK Limited [2025] UKSC 28, the question was whether a dishonest assistant could be held liable to pay equitable compensation for the ‘loss’ caused by the dissipation of profits held on constructive trust by an errant fiduciary.

In Mitchell v Al Jaber [2025] UKSC 43, the Court addressed the appropriate approach to calculating equitable compensation for breach of trust/fiduciary duty and the role of counterfactuals.

This talk will take place at the International Arbitration Centre, from 5.30pm to 6.30pm

Address: 190 Fleet Street, London, EC4A 2AG

The event will be hybrid and recorded. RSVP here for in-person attendance only.

The event is open to COMBAR members, ChBA members and their pupils only. ChBA members wishing to attend online are asked to register using the link to enable the ZOOM link to be sent.

A ZOOM link will be circulated closer to the event.

Any questions, please email: admin@combar.com

The second in our COMBAR Africa series on the Rule of Law.  If you missed the session on 4th June 26, don’t miss part 2, which coincides with the Ghana Bar visit.

Speakers:

The Hon Mr Justice Robin Knowles.

Abdul-Lateef Jinadu and Mercy Milgo (Keating Chambers)

Kwaku Gyau Barffour (Minkah-Premo, Osei-Bonsu, Bruce Cathline & Partners)

Sheila Minka-Premo (ALC Law Consult)

This panel discussion and reception will take place at: Keating Chambers

Doors open 1700, the seminar will start at 17:15 and runs for an hour before food & drinks until 7.30pm.

The event is for COMBAR Members only, pupils and invited guests.

Please register here for your in person place.

Camilla Wells and Rebecca Norris

The COMBAR Wellbeing Committee are delighted to welcome Rebecca Norris and Camilla Wells from Trauma Informed Law to talk to members about Stress, overwhelm and trauma in commercial practice.

Commercial legal practice operates at the sharp end of professional pressure. Tight deadlines, significant financial stakes, complex disputes and demanding clients are part of the landscape.

But there is an important distinction between operating under pressure and operating under distress. When pressure escalates beyond a certain threshold, our neurobiology changes in measurable ways. For example, rising hormone levels begin to affect parts of the brain responsible for reasoning, language, chronology, working memory and decision-making. These shifts are not matters of personality or resilience. They are healthy, biological responses.

In legal practice, those responses can shape how we – and our clients – communicate, recall information, assess risk and make decisions.

Drawing on research from neuroscience and psychology, alongside examples from our own work at the Bar, we will examine:

• • The difference between productive stress and cognitive impairment caused by distress
  • How heightened emotional states affect memory, communication and decision-making
  • The impact of prolonged periods of high-intensity and stress
  • Practical ways in which we can recognise and navigate these dynamics in real time

Rather than approaching the subject purely through a wellbeing lens, the session considers the issue as one of professional competence, effective advocacy and risk management.

For those attending in-person, the session will include time for questions and discussion followed by drinks.

The event will take place in the International Arbitration Centre, from 5:30pm to 6.30pm.  Drinks will follow from 6.30pm onwards.

Address: 190 Fleet Street, London, EC4A 2AG

The session will be hybrid but will not be recorded as previously advertised.

The event is open to COMBAR members and pupils only.

Please register here.

The Commercial Bar Association is holding an event to encourage and support women applying to the Commercial Bar.

If you are a woman applying or intending to apply to the Commercial Bar, and would like to know what Commercial chambers look for in pupils and hear tips for a successful pupillage and beyond, this event will be of benefit to you.

Our panel of Commercial barristers are all either relatively recent applicants for pupillage or experienced in the pupillage process.

Panellists:

Emily McKechnie – Wilberforce Chambers

Gretta Schumacher – Essex Court Chambers

Maria Mulla – Maitland Chambers

Andrew Lodder – One Essex Court

This online event will start at 5.30pm.

The event will run for one hour until 6.30pm with a Q&A chat function enabling questions to be taken by the panellists.

Please register here to receive the zoom link in due course.

Join COMBAR Africa at Cameroon Arbitration Week

COMBAR Africa is proud to be a co-sponsor for the opening reception for this year’s JAW 2026. COMBAR Africa members will be attending and speaking and COMBAR Members are encouraged to attend.

Johannesburg Arbitration Week (JAW) 2026 is a flagship initiative that positions South Africa as a leading arbitration hub on the African continent and a key player in the international dispute resolution arena.

Join the Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa (AFSA) and their co-hosts, comprising leading solicitor firms, bars, and other stakeholders, in unpacking the issues and challenges in the fast-paced world of commercial arbitration.

The Johannesburg Arbitration Week (JAW) taking place in May 2026 will pay particular attention to key initiatives that are shaping and transforming dispute resolution within the African region.

Speakers: Professor Emilia Onyema, Julius Nkafu, Jamsheed Peeroo, Ebun Azeez

This panel debate and reception will take place at the International Arbitration Centre, from 5.30pm to 6.30pm with drinks and canapés to follow on the terrace.  The flyer may be downloaded here.

Address: 190 Fleet Street, London, EC4A 2AG

The event will be hybrid and recorded. RSVP here for in-person and online attendance.

A ZOOM link will be circulated closer to the event.