The Rt Hon Lord Justice Bean
Sir David Bean was a founding member of Matrix, specialising in employment, discrimination, education and public law. He was appointed silk in 1997 and was Chairman of the Bar Council of England and Wales in 2002. He was a Recorder of the Crown Court between 1996-2004 and appointed as a High Court judge in 2004. He was promoted to the Court of Appeal in October 2014.
The Rt Hon Lord Justice Singh
Lord Justice Singh was a founding member of Matrix when we were established in 2000. Before becoming a KC in 2002, he was a member of the Attorney General’s A Panel. He was acknowledged as a leading silk in constitutional and public law, as well as human rights and civil liberties. In 2003, Rabinder was appointed a deputy High Court judge and, in 2004, a Recorder of the Crown Court. In 2011, he was appointed a Justice of the High Court and assigned to the Queen’s Bench Division. From 2013 to 2016 he was a Presiding Judge of the South Eastern Circuit and in 2017 was the Administrative Court Liaison Judge for Wales and the Midland and Western Circuits. He was a Visiting Professor at the LSE from 2002 to 2009 and is now an Honorary Professor at the University of Nottingham and a Visiting Fellow at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. Rabinder was promoted to the Court of Appeal in October 2017 and was appointed as the President of the Investigatory Powers Tribunal in September 2018. He continues to sit in the Court of Appeal.
Professor James Crawford AC SC
Professor Crawford was a founding member of Matrix and was an active and valued member who died in June 2021.
In February 2015 he left Matrix and was promoted to the judiciary of the International Court of Justice. James was widely recognised in the field of public international law and was a leader in the legal development of several areas of international law before the ICJ, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, as well as investor-state arbitral tribunals composed under the ICSID Convention or ad-hoc under the UNCITRAL rules. In addition to his work in this field, he was also Whewell Professor of International Law at the University of Cambridge. James had an illustrious career and his impact will continue to be felt in the legal community around the globe.
The Hon Mr Justice Knowles
Sir Julian Knowles KC was a founding member of Matrix when it was established in 2000. Julian was called to the Bar in 1994; was appointed as a Recorder in 2009; King’s Counsel in 2011; and a Deputy High Court Judge sitting in the Family Division in 2017.
Julian’s international practice saw him called to the Bar of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, frequently appearing as a barrister before the Courts in the British Virgin Islands and St Kitts. He was called ad hoc to the Bar of Northern Ireland, and regularly advised clients in offshore jurisdictions including the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, as well as in Hong Kong. A leading silk, Julian was renowned for his practice in complex criminal law and fraud, extradition, human rights law [especially death penalty cases], public law and media law; he was the author of the pre-eminent book on extradition law [“The Law of Extradition and Mutual Assistance” [OUP]], with Clive Nicholls KC and Clare Montgomery KC.
He was appointed as a Justice of the High Court in October 2017, and sits in the Queen’s Bench Division.
Sir Paul Jenkins KCB QC (Hon)
Sir Paul Jenkins KCB QC (Hon) joined Matrix as an Associate Member in 2015 but tragically died on February 26, 2018, aged only 63. Paul became an Associate Member of Matrix after a distinguished career in the Government Legal Service where for eight years he was the most influential lawyer in Whitehall as the Treasury Solicitor and the head of the Government Legal Service. Paul was a valued and much loved member of Matrix Chambers. In practice he acted as an independent adviser and consultant, specialising in sensitive investigations, inquires, compliance audits and reviews both internationally and in the UK. At the time of his death he was the Treasurer of Middle Temple. Paul was also a Trustee and Board member of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law and the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law as well as a member of the Ethics Committee at Tate.
Two of the many obituaries are:
Civil Service
Counsel Magazine
Paul was an outstanding and relentless advocate for diversity and he worked tirelessly to promote greater access to the legal profession. Following his death, Middle Temple established the Sir Paul Jenkins Memorial Fund to support and encourage applicants without any means to join the Bar. Details can be found here.
Thomas Linden KC
Thomas Linden KC was a founding member of Matrix and was appointed as a High Court Judge in 2020. He was called to the bar in 1989 and took silk in 2006. Thomas served on the Attorney General’s ‘A’ Panel of Treasury Counsel, was the Chair of the Visitatorial Board of Oxford University and is a Bencher at Gray’s Inn. He was appointed as a Recorder in 2005 and as a Deputy High Court Judge in 2019.
Tom was best known for his employment, discrimination and sports related work, and acted for a wide range of clients. He appeared in over a hundred reported cases and a number of landmark cases in his fields in the Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court and the Court of Justice of the European Union.