Judges and clerks in Birmingham
Supervising High Court Judge: Mr Justice Zacaroli
Mr Justice Zacaroli was called to the Bar in 1987 and took silk in 2006. He was appointed a Justice of the High Court, Chancery Division, in November 2017. He was President of the Upper Tribunal, Tax and Chancery Chamber from 2018 to 2022 and continues to sit as a judge of that tribunal.
He was appointed as Chair of the Insolvency Rules Committee in 2018. He sits as a chairman of the Competition Appeal Tribunal, and is authorised to sit as a judge of the Financial List and as a judge of the Patents Court.
He was appointed Business and Property Courts Supervising Judge for the Midland, Western and Wales Circuits in November 2021.
Senior Circuit Judges
HHJ David Worster
HHJ Worster was called to the Bar in 1980 and practised in Birmingham from 7 Fountain Court and St Philips Chambers. Much of his work was in the Birmingham Mercantile and Chancery Courts. He was a member of the Attorney-General’s Panel from 1995-2007.
He was appointed as a Recorder in 2001, a Circuit Judge in 2008 and a Senior Circuit Judge in 2017.
HHJ Worster is the designated Circuit Commercial Judge for Birmingham, and is currently the Lead Judge for the Business and Property Courts in Birmingham.
He is authorised to sit as a Judge of the High Court in the Chancery and Queen’s Bench Divisions, the Circuit Commercial Court, the London Circuit Commercial Court, the TCC, the Administrative Court and the Planning Court, and is a Judge of the Upper Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber.
He is a Course Tutor for the Judicial College and a Bencher of Lincoln’s Inn.
HHJ Sarah Watson
HHJ Sarah Watson qualified as a solicitor in 1987 at Freshfields (now Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer).
In 1989 she joined the Birmingham office of Edge Ellison (now Squire Patton Boggs) and became a partner there in 1994. Her practice was in commercial litigation. She acted in disputes involving construction and engineering, commercial contracts, corporate finance, and professional negligence. She was an accredited mediator, specialising in engineering disputes.
She was appointed as a Deputy District Judge in 2001, a District Judge in 2007, and a Specialist Circuit Judge in 2017. She is the designated Technology and Construction Court Judge in Birmingham.
She is authorised to sit as a Judge of the High Court in the Technology and Construction Court, the Circuit Commercial Court and the Chancery Division. She is a course tutor for the Judicial College Civil training course.
HHJ Richard Williams
HHJ Richard Williams qualified as a solicitor in 1992. He worked at Eversheds LLP advising corporate and trustee clients in respect of both contentious and non-contentious pensions and trust law including: (i) High Court pensions litigation involving funding disputes, professional negligence, interpretation and rectification of pension scheme governing documents, estoppel and applications for Part 64 directions/compromises (ii) applications before the Pensions Ombudsman and the Pensions Protection Fund Ombudsman (iii) corporate insolvencies, outsourcings, disposals, re-organisations and capital reductions including seeking Pensions Regulator approval.
He was appointed as a District Judge in Birmingham in 2010 where he specialised in Chancery/BPC work. He was appointed as a Circuit Judge in 2018. In October 2020 he was appointed as a Specialist Senior Circuit Judge sitting in Birmingham and authorised to sit as a High Court Judge in the Chancery Division, Circuit Commercial Court, TCC, Administrative Court and Upper Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber. He is also authorised to sit as a Circuit Judge in the Financial Remedies Court.
HHJ Brian Rawlings
HHJ Brian Rawlings qualified as a solicitor in 1986. On qualification he worked for what was then Edge & Ellison undertaking commercial litigation, and then specialised in Contentious Corporate Insolvency, Corporate and Banking work.
In 1997 he moved to the Birmingham offices of Eversheds LLP where he continued to undertake Contentious Corporate Insolvency, Corporate and Banking work. In 2000 he was granted Higher Rights of audience entitling him to appear in the Higher Civil Courts and in 2001 he obtained a License to practice as an Insolvency Practitioner.
In 2008 he was appointed as a Chancery Recorder on the North Eastern circuit. In December 2015 he was appointed as Circuit Judge and became the Designated Civil Judge for Staffordshire and Shropshire. He was authorised to sit as a Judge of the High Court in the Queen’s Bench Division and (in 2018) in the Chancery Division. In 2020 he was appointed as a Specialist Senior Circuit Judge sitting in Birmingham and authorised to sit as a High Court Judge in the TCC, Circuit Commercial Court, Administrative Court and Upper Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber.
HHJ Tindal
HHJ Tindal was called to the Bar in 2002 having previously practised as a solicitor. He was a member of St Philips Chambers in Birmingham and specialised in Employment law and Restraint of Trade. He was a contributor to Sweet & Maxwell’s ‘Encyclopaedia of Employment Law’ and wrote chapters on implied contractual terms and fiduciary duties, and EU Law. He was a member of the Attorney General’s Panel from 2009-2015.
HHJ Tindal was appointed as a fee-paid Employment Judge in 2009, a Recorder in 2012, Circuit Judge in 2016 and Designated Civil Judge for Worcestershire and Herefordshire in 2019.
HHJ Tindal was appointed as a Specialist Senior Circuit Judge in Birmingham in 2022 and is authorised to sit as a Judge of the High Court in the Chancery and Queen’s Bench Divisions and in the Administrative Court.
HHJ Emma Kelly
HHJ Emma Kelly was called to the Bar in 1997. She practised in Birmingham from 1, Fountain Court and then from St Philips Chambers. Much of her practice involved Chancery matters, particularly property and probate litigation.
She was appointed a Deputy District Judge in 2010 and a District Judge in 2015, a Recorder (crime and civil) in 2018 and a Senior Circuit Judge in 2021. From 2015 she was a specialist Chancery and then BPC District Judge at Birmingham Civil Justice Centre and thereafter was authorised to sit hearing Business and Property work as a Recorder.
HHJ Emma Kelly is authorised to sit as a Judge of the High Court in the Chancery Division and the Queen’s Bench Division, including in the Administrative Court. She is also authorised to hear Court of Protection cases. She is the Designated Civil Judge for Birmingham.
Circuit Judges
HHJ Delia Truman
HHJ Delia Truman trained as a solicitor with a long-established Midlands firm then known as Haden & Stretton. She subsequently became a partner in the firm’s Civil Litigation Department.
She was appointed a Deputy District Judge in 2000 and became a District Judge in 2005. She sat as a specialist Chancery/BPC District Judge at Birmingham Civil Justice Centre.
She became a Circuit Judge in 2018, and deals with a wide variety of Civil cases, including BPC work in the County Court. She formerly served as a member of the Insolvency Rules Committee.
HHJ Jane Ingram
HHJ Jane Ingram qualified as a solicitor in 1985, and became a Partner in a leading West Midlands Law Firm in 1987. She was Head of the Firm’s Dispute Resolution Department with a practice was in general Commercial Litigation, TCC; Building Disputes; Company and Partnership litigation. She was also an accredited Mediator.
She was appointed a Deputy District Judge in 2000 and a District Judge in 2006. She sat as a specialist Chancery/BPC District Judge from 2008 and was authorised to hear Intellectual Property Small claims in Birmingham.
She was appointed BCJC Leadership District Judge in 2018 and a Circuit Judge in October 2020. HHJ Ingram hears BPC work in the County Court and is also authorised to sit as a Judge in the Financial Remedies Court.
HHJ Ingram has been a Civil Tutor Judge with the Judicial College since 2013 and is also a Supervisor CJ.
HHJ Stephen Murch
HHJ Stephen Murch was called to the bar in 1991. After pupillages in a Chancery and then a specialist property law set of Chambers, he practised in London with most of his work being focused upon disputes relating to the ownership and use of land.
In 2006 he was appointed a Deputy District Judge and in 2016 was given authorisation to hear Chancery matters in the County Court at Central London. In 2017 he was appointed a District Judge on the Midland Circuit and the following year was appointed a Recorder authorised to hear both family and civil matters on the South Eastern Circuit. In 2020 he was given a ticket to hear Business and Property Court matters as a District Judge in Birmingham.
He was appointed a Circuit Judge in 2021, receiving authorisation at the same time to continue to hear Business and Property Court matters.
He was elected a Bencher of Lincoln’s Inn in 2016 and was one of the founder Governors of the Inns of Court College of Advocacy. Since 2020 he has been a civil tutor for the Judicial College.
District Judges
District Judge Ashwin Mody
District Judge Ashwin Mody was admitted as a solicitor in 1988.
During his career as a solicitor, District Judge Mody specialised in commercial disputes. His particular expertise was insolvency work, personal and corporate, contentious or non-contentious. He was the Head of Insolvency and Commercial Litigation at a national firm. In 2014 he established a firm which specialized in commercial disputes, shareholder and partnership work, and contentious insolvency.
He was appointed as a Deputy District Judge in March 2019 and authorized to undertake Business and Property Court work. He was appointed as a District Judge in January 2022.
District Judge Chloë Phillips
District Judge Chloë Phillips qualified as a Solicitor with City firm Richards Butler (now Reed Smith) in 1996.
Working subsequently with Pinsents, RPC and BLM she specialised in professional negligence litigation, acting for professionals and insurers in claims involving Solicitors, Barristers, accountants, surveyors, structural engineers and insurance brokers. Her practice developed to include insurance coverage issues, fraud and recovery claims.
She was appointed as a Deputy District Judge in 2007, initially on the South East (London) Circuit and then to the Midland Circuit. After taking on the role of Risk Management Partner for Harrison Clark Rickerbys in 2016, she was appointed as a full time District Judge to Birmingham Civil and Family Justice Centre in 2020 and authorised to sit as a Business and Property Courts District Judge.
District Judge Anthony Rich
District Judge Anthony Rich TD qualified as a solicitor in 1981. On qualifying he took up a litigation post in the City of London, whilst gaining an MA in International Business Law.
After a further post in London he moved in 1986 to Birmingham to join Cartwright & Lewis, solicitors, where in due course he was elected as The Senior Partner.
He left private for public practice in 2004 becoming General Counsel (or equivalent) in a number of public authorities. His last post before appointment as a full time District Judge was as General Counsel to the Legal Ombudsman.
In 2012 he was appointed a District Judge. DJ Rich is fluent in French & German. His other duties including acting as a Training DJ, as a personal injury/ clinical negligence specialist DJ and as a Diversity & Community Relations Judge.
District Judge Augustine Rouine
District Judge Augustine Rouine was admitted as a solicitor in 1991.
He practised for most of that time as a general commercial litigator, but with a particular interest in contentious construction work.
He was appointed a Deputy District Judge in 2005 and a District Judge in 2012. He has been a BPC District Judge in Birmingham since 2017 and also sits as a Regional Costs Judge.
District Judge Daryl Shorthose
District Judge Daryl Shorthose was admitted as a solicitor in 1994 having completed a training contract at Shoosmiths & Harrison in Northampton.
He worked in banking litigation, insolvency and general civil litigation before moving to Birmingham in 1996 to specialise in insolvency and restructuring with a number of local firms including Gateley Wareing, Hammond Suddards Edge, Shoosmiths, Cobbetts and DWF.
He was appointed as a Deputy District Judge in 2010 and then as a District Judge sitting full time at Birmingham Civil and Family Justice Centre in May 2014. He was authorised to sit as a Chancery District Judge in December 2014 and appointed as a specialist BPC District Judge with effect from the opening of the BPC in Birmingham on 6 July 2017. He is also a Diversity Mentor Judge, Training and Appraisal Judge and JAC Pool Judge.
