The Technology and Construction Court in Manchester
Judges
His Honour Judge Stephen Davies became a permanent full time Judge of the Technology and Construction Court in Manchester in October 2007.
He is authorised to sit in Manchester and elsewhere in the TCC, Circuit Commercial Court, Chancery Division, King’s Bench Division, Administrative Court, Planning Court, Crown Court and the Upper Tribunal Immigration & Asylum Chamber.
He was educated at his local state secondary school, Baines School, Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, before reading law at Downing College, Cambridge University.
He was called to the Bar in 1985 and practised in Manchester, principally in construction cases but also in business and property cases more generally.
He became a Recorder in 2002 and was authorised to sit in the Technology and Construction Court in 2006. He has acted as a mediator, both as a barrister and as a judge.
He is a course director on the Specialist Jurisdictions course at the Judicial College.
His Honour Judge Pearce became one of the Judges of the Technology and Construction Court in 2018.
He is authorised to sit in the King’s Bench Division (including the Technology and Construction Court, the Circuit Commercial Court and the Administrative Court), the Chancery Division, the Upper Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber and the County Court in Manchester, Liverpool and London.
His Honour Judge Pearce was educated at his local state secondary school, the Abbot Beyne School, before reading law at Cambridge University.
He was called to the Bar in 1985 and practised at Manchester in professional negligence (including solicitors’ negligence and clinical negligence) and personal injury claims.
He was appointed a Recorder in 2005 and a civil Circuit Judge in 2015.
His Honour Judge David Hodge KC became a Specialist Civil Senior Circuit Judge in 2005.
His principal court is the Manchester Civil Justice Centre although he also sits in Liverpool and the Rolls Building in London. He sits in the Business & Property Courts and is authorised to hear cases in the Chancery Lists, the Circuit Commercial Court and the Technology and Construction Court. He is also authorised to sit in the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) and the Court of Protection.
HHJ Hodge KC was educated at a local state secondary school, St Margaret’s in Liverpool, before reading for the degrees of BA (Jurisprudence) and BCL at University College, Oxford.
He was called to the Bar in 1979 and was elected a Bencher of Lincoln’s Inn in 2000. He practised at the Chancery and commercial Bar from chambers in Lincoln’s Inn, London between 1980 and his appointment to the Bench in 2005.
He was appointed a QC (now KC) in 1997 and sat as an Assistant Recorder/ Recorder from 1998 to 2005 and as a Deputy High Court Judge from 2004 until his appointment in 2005.
Roles since appointment include Chancellor of the Dioceses of Blackburn and Oxford and Deputy Chancellor (ad hoc) of the Diocese of Ely. He is the Chair of the Civil Sub-Committee and the Senior Vice-President of the Council of HM Circuit Judges.
He is the author of Hodge on Rectification (now in its 2nd edition).
His Honour Judge Halliwell became a Judge of the Technology and Construction Court in June 2018
He is also authorised to sit as a Judge of the Circuit Commercial Court and the Chancery Division of the High Court. He is based at Manchester.
He graduated from the London School of Economics with BSc (Econ)(Hon) and was then awarded Dip. Law by the City University.
He was called to the Bar in 1985 and practised from Chambers in Manchester specialising in Chancery and Commercial Law. He sat as a Recorder of the Crown Court and the County Court before his appointment in June 2018.
He is the author of “Distribution on Intestacy”.
His Honour Judge Mark Cawson KC became one of the Judges of the Technology and Construction Court in October 2020.
He is authorised to sit all the courts of the Business and Property Courts, as well as in the Administrative Court, sitting in Manchester and London.
HHJ Cawson KC graduated in law from the University of Liverpool.
He was called to the Bar in 1982 and practiced from Chambers in Manchester and London. His practice encompassed a broad range of Chancery and commercial work. He was also an accredited mediator.
He was Junior of the Northern Circuit in 1987, Chair of the Northern Circuit Commercial Bar Association between 2008 and 2013, and Chair of the Northern Chancery Bar Association between 2013 and 2020.
He was appointed a QC (now KC) in 2001, was a Recorder and a Deputy High Court Judge before his appointment in October 2020.
Manchester TCC Contact and other details
Address: Circuit Commercial Court, Manchester Civil and Family Justice Centre, 1 Bridge Street West,
Manchester, Greater Manchester M60 9DJ
General email for the Business and Property Courts (including the TCC): BPC.Manchester@justice.gov.uk
Team leader: Samantha Samkange (Samantha.Samkange@justice.gov.uk)
Telephone: 0161 240 530