Judges
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.
His Honour Judge Jarman KC
His Honour Judge Jarman KC is the Chancery Judge for Wales and also sits in the Circuit Commercial Court and the TCC.
He studied law at University College, Aberystwyth and at Cambridge and was called to the Bar in 1980 in Gray’s Inn, where he is now a Bencher. He took silk in 2001 and was appointed as a recorder in 2002. After practising throughout his career from chambers in Cardiff, he was appointed to his present position as a Senior Circuit Judge in 2007.
In addition to his work in the Business and Property Courts, he is also authorised to sit as a judge of the High Court in the Administrative Court and the Planning Court, and as a judge of the Upper Tribunal in the Land, Chancery and Tax Chamber and the Immigration and Asylum Chamber.
He is an advisory editor of Sweet & Maxwell Civil Procedure and an editor of the University of Wales series “The Public Law of Wales”. From 2018 to 2024 he was a member of the Civil Procedure Rule Committee and in 2018 he was appointed as an Honorary Fellow of Aberystwyth University.
His Honour Judge Keyser KC
His Honour Judge Keyser KC is the Circuit Commercial Judge for Wales; he is also the principal TCC judge in Wales and sits regularly in the Chancery Division.
After attending Cardiff High School, he read law at Oxford. He was called to the bar in 1986 and practised throughout his career from chambers in Cardiff.
He was appointed as a recorder in 2002, took silk in 2006, and was authorised in 2008 to sit as a judge of the High Court in the Queen’s (now King’s) Bench Division and the Chancery Division. In 2011 he was appointed as a Circuit Judge in Leeds, where he was the principal TCC judge. In 2012 he was appointed to his present position as a Senior Circuit Judge. He was elected as a Bencher of Middle Temple in 2017. Judge Keyser also sits as a judge of the Administrative Court and the Planning Court, and as a judge of the Upper Tribunal in the Immigration and Asylum Chamber.
His Honour Judge Harrison is the Designated Civil Judge for Wales and is authorised to sit as a judge of the Chancery Division. He was called to the bar at Lincoln’s Inn in 1988 and practised as a barrister in chambers in Cardiff, specialising in personal injury and catastrophic injury claims. He was appointed a recorder (crime and civil) in 2005, a Circuit Judge in 2016 and a Senior Circuit Judge in 2017. He is also authorised to sit as a judge of the Queen’s Bench Division and in the Administrative Court.
District Judge Vernon
District Judge Vernon was called to the Bar in 2000 and had a mixed civil practice in Cardiff. He was appointed a District Judge in April 2018 and was authorised to sit as a specialist District Judge of the Business and Property Courts in Wales in April 2019. From 2013 to 2024 he also sat as a Judge of the Employment Tribunal (England and Wales). He is a tutor judge (civil) with the Judicial College.
District Judge Coates was admitted as a solicitor in September 1996 and appointed as a Deputy District Judge in 2011 and as a District Judge in February 2016.
District Judge Jones-Evans practised as a solicitor in North Wales. He was appointed as a Deputy District Judge in 2005 and as a District Judge in 2008. He is a fluent Welsh speaker and is based in North West Wales.
District Judge Pratt
District Judge Pratt was called to the bar in 2004 and practised as a barrister in Swansea, where his work included chancery, commercial and construction claims as well as acting for insurance companies in fraud claims. He was appointed as a District Judge in 2018 and sits in Swansea, Haverfordwest and Aberystwyth.
District Judge Watkin
District Judge Watkin was admitted as a solicitor in 1999 and called to the bar in 2015. Prior to transferring to the bar as an independent chancery barrister specialising in all aspects of property disputes, she was head of Property Solutions (litigation) in large commercial practice in Liverpool. She was appointed as a Deputy District Judge in 2010 (Northern Circuit) (authorised to sit in the BPC Court in 2013) and as a Property Tribunal Judge (Northern Circuit) and District Judge (North East Wales) in 2021. She is able to speak Welsh.
DJ Bayoumi
District Judge Bayoumi was called to the Bar in 2004 and had a civil practice in Cardiff specialising in public and administrative law. She was appointed a District Judge in November 2022 and was authorised to sit as a specialist District Judge of the Business and Property Courts in Wales in January 2023. She is also a Judge of the Mental Health Review Tribunal for Wales.
District Judge Roberts
District Judge Roberts was called to the Bar in 1993 after studying law at Cardiff and Cambridge, and practised from chambers in Chester from 1995 to 2018 with a mixed civil and chancery practice. He was appointed a Deputy District judge in 2010 and a full-time District Judge in 2018, based at Wrexham/Mold/Welshpool. He was authorised to sit in the Business and Property Courts in March 2024. He is a fluent Welsh speaker.
District Judge Jackson
District Judge Jackson was called to the bar in 1990. He was appointed as a Deputy District Judge in 2019 and as a District Judge in 2023. He sits in Newport, South Wales.