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14 June 2018
Issue: 7798 / Categories: Movers & Shakers , Profession
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NLJ PROFILE: Sir David Anderson KBE QC, Brick Court Chambers

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The newly-knighted cross-bench Peer discusses the challenges of A Question of Trust

What was your route into the profession?

Failed an assessment for a graduate marketing job with United Biscuits. Studied law as a second degree and from there into pupillage and tenancy at Brick Court Chambers.

What has been your biggest career challenge so far?

At the invitation of the three party leaders at the time, writing with the help of a small team A Question of Trust (2015): an analysis of the UK’s investigatory powers regime and a blueprint for its replacement. The challenge was to come up with proposals that would be sufficiently acceptable to all strands of opinion to allow them to be adopted into law.

Which person within the legal profession inspires you most?

My former neighbour in chambers, Sir Sydney Kentridge QC, for the work recorded in Nelson Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom and for being on his feet in the Supreme Court on his 90th birthday.

If you weren’t a lawyer, what

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Cripps—Radius Law

Cripps—Radius Law

Commercial and technology practice boosted by team hire

Switalskis—Grimsby

Switalskis—Grimsby

Firm expands with new Grimsby office to serve North East Lincolnshire

Slater Heelis—Will Newman & Lucy Spilsbury

Slater Heelis—Will Newman & Lucy Spilsbury

Property team boosted by two solicitor appointments

NEWS
The Supreme Court has delivered a decisive ruling on termination under the JCT Design & Build form. Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Singer KC and Jonathan Ward, of Kings Chambers, analyse Providence Building Services v Hexagon Housing Association [2026] UKSC 1, which restores the first-instance decision and curbs contractors’ termination rights for repeated late payment
Secondments, disciplinary procedures and appeal chaos all feature in a quartet of recent rulings. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor of employment law at UEA, examines how established principles are being tested in modern disputes
The AI revolution is no longer a distant murmur—it’s at the client’s desk. Writing in NLJ this week, Peter Ambrose, CEO of The Partnership and Legalito, warns that the ‘AI chickens’ have ‘come home to roost’, transforming not just legal practice but the lawyer–client relationship itself
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
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