Judges

The Hon Mr Justice Fancourt, Vice-Chancellor of the County Palatine of Lancaster

Mr Justice Fancourt began his judicial career in 2009 when he was appointed a Recorder of the Crown Court.  He sat regularly in the Crown Court until 2018. Having been appointed a Deputy High Court Judge of the Chancery Division in 2013 he was then appointed a High Court Judge to sit in the Chancery Division in 2018. He served as President of the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) from August 2019 to August 2022 and was then appointed Vice-Chancellor in September 2021, in succession to Mr Justice Snowden. As such, he is the supervising judge for the Business and Property Courts on the Northern and North-Eastern Circuits. He published Enforceability of Landlord and Tenant Covenants (3rd ed. 2014) and is the general editor of Muir Watt and Moss, Agricultural Holdings (15th ed).

His Honour Judge Davis-White KC

Judge Davis-White KC was called to the Bar in 1984. He was appointed QC (now KC) in 2003. His practice was grounded in the fields of company, insolvency and financial services law but also encompassed a broad commercial, regulatory and governmental practice.

He was a member of the Attorney-General’s Civil “A” panel, a Senior Decision Maker of the Guernsey Financial Services Authority and, in the latter part of 2016, was appointed to be a Judge (acting) of the High Court, Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court sitting in the Commercial Court in the British Virgin Islands.

He was appointed a Recorder in 2009 and a Deputy High Court Judge sitting in the Chancery Division in 2013. Since December 2016 he has been a Specialist Chancery, Circuit Commercial and TCC Judge, principally based on the North Eastern Circuit. He is the lead Chancery Circuit Judge for the North Eastern Circuit.

He was the joint author with Professor Sandra Frisby of Kerr on Receivers and Administrators (19th Edn) and is joint author, with Professor Adrian Walters, of Directors Disqualification and Insolvency Restrictions.

His Honour Judge Klein

Jonathan Klein is a Specialist Circuit Judge based in Leeds. He is authorised to sit in all the courts of the Business and Property Courts, as well as in the Administrative Court, the Planning Court and the Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber). He also sits in the Court of Protection.

He grew up and was educated in London. He read law as an undergraduate at the University of Essex, and as a postgraduate at the University of Oxford. After pupillage, he practised as a commercial chancery barrister in specialist chambers in Leeds and London.

He was appointed a Civil Recorder in 2010, and, shortly after, he was authorised to hear Chancery Business at Central London County Court and on the North-Eastern Circuit. He was appointed a Deputy High Court Judge in the Chancery Division in 2013, and he became a full-time judge in 2017.

His Honour Judge Gosnell

HH Judge Mark Gosnell was admitted as a Solicitor in 1981 and was a partner in a High-Street Practice in Lancashire. He specialised mainly in personal injury and clinical negligence work.

He was appointed a Deputy District Judge in 1993 and a District Judge in 1998. Whilst a District Judge in Manchester he specialised mainly in industrial disease, catastrophic injury and clinical negligence cases. He was also a Regional Costs Judge. 

He was appointed a Recorder in 2005 both in the criminal and civil jurisdictions. In October 2010, he was appointed Designated Civil Judge of Leeds and North Yorkshire and in 2012 he became DCJ of the Bradford and West Yorkshire group of courts. He is a course tutor on the Specialist Jurisdictions Course at the Judicial College and has lectured extensively on topics such as case management, housing law and costs. He has held authorisation to sit in both the High Court and County Court on Chancery claims and claims in the Circuit Commercial Court since 2010.

Her Honour Judge Jackson

Claire Jackson became one of the judges of the Circuit Commercial Court in February 2021.

She is also authorised to sit in Chancery, the Technology and Construction Court and the Administrative Court. While Leeds is her main court, she also sits in Newcastle and at the Rolls Building.

She was educated at her local state secondary school and sixth form college before reading Law at the University of East Anglia.

She was called to the Bar in 2002 and practised at Enterprise Chambers and Kings Chambers in Leeds in commercial chancery work.

She was a Deputy District Judge and a District Judge before her appointment.

Her Honour Judge Kelly

Her Honour Judge Kelly became one of the Specialist Civil Circuit Judges of the Business and Property Courts in Leeds in January 2021.

She is authorised to sit in the Chancery Division, the Technology and Construction Court, the Administrative Court and the Upper Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber. She sits in Leeds, Newcastle and the Rolls Building, London.

Her Honour Judge Kelly was educated at St Mary’s RC High School, Chesterfield and All Saints Catholic High School, Sheffield before reading law at Queens’ College, Cambridge.  

She was called to the Bar (Gray’s Inn) in 1995 and practised at St Johns Buildings, Sheffield in clinical negligence and personal injury work.

She was appointed a Specialist Civil Recorder and a Deputy District Judge in 2010. She also sat as an Assistant Coroner between 2012 and 2016. She was appointed as a District Judge in 2014 in Leeds and in the same year was authorised to hear chancery and commercial work. She has lead responsibility for the Technology and Construction Court in Leeds.

She is a Course Director for the Specialist Civil Course at the Judicial College and she also teaches on the Judicial College Civil Course.

District Judge Goldberg

District Judge Jeff Goldberg was admitted as a solicitor in 1985 and was a Partner and Financial Director of a commercial practice in Leeds for 14 years. He specialised in Commercial litigation.

He was appointed as a Deputy District Judge in 1998 and a full time District Judge with Chancery authorisation in 2011.

District Judge Pema

District Judge Anesh Pema was called to the Bar (Middle Temple) in 1994 and practiced in Leeds in a broad civil practice. He was appointed as a Deputy District Judge in 2009 and was appointed as a District Judge in 2013. He was authorised to hear chancery proceedings as a District Judge in 2013 and hears cases in all aspects of chancery business and property. He is a contributing author to Jordan’s Civil Court Service.

District Judge Geddes

District Judge Joanna Geddes was appointed as a Deputy District Judge in 2010 and a full time District Judge in April 2014 after a career at the Bar specialising in family law, especially financial remedies and quasi-family law involving the ownership and division of family assets and provision for family and dependants. 

She is authorised to sit in the Financial Remedies Court. District Judge Geddes was appointed to the BPC in October 2019 undertaking a full range of company, probate and insolvency work. DJ Geddes is also the Regional Lead for the Court of Protection in which she adjudicates on the management of the property and affairs of mentally incapacitated people, including the authorisation of property transactions, the making of statutory wills and in relation to the appointment or discharge of attorneys and deputies.

District Judge Shepherd

District Judge Shepherd was admitted to the Solicitors Roll in 1987. She had a general civil litigation practice with a particular interest in contentious probate and trust  disputes.

She was a member of the Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists (ACTAPS). In 1996 she qualified as a mediator after completing training with Rosenberg Mediation in San Francisco and as mediated many disputes since.

She was appointed a Deputy District Judge in 2004 and District Judge in 2013.

District Judge Bond

District Judge Bond was called to the Bar in 2007. She had a commercial chancery practice with particular emphasis on insolvency and a foothold in property and commercial litigation.

From 2015 onwards she was appointed to the Attorney General’s Regional Panel of Junior Counsel to the Crown and dealt primarily with customs and excise appeals. She was appointed as a Deputy District Judge in 2019 and as a District Judge in 2021.

During her practice at the Bar District Judge Bond contributed to Westlaw UK Insight (insolvency section), the Landlord & Tenant Factbook, Butterworth’s Property Insolvency and The Rural Law Notebook. In 2021 she joined the editorial team of Bailey and Groves: Corporate Insolvency – Law and Practice.