Middle Templar 2020

Page 121

TEMPLE RESIDENTS‘ ASSOCIATION

MASTER FERGUS RANDOLPH

Temple Residents’ Association Master Fergus Randolph has always been involved in promoting the Bar’s interests in the EU. Having undertaken a stage in the Commission in the late 1980s, he has developed a specialist EU law practice and is a tenant at Brick Court. Together with Master Hugh Mercer, he promoted and developed the idea of the European Circuit.

Those members of Middle Temple fortunate enough to have premises in the Inn are blessed indeed. History hangs lightly, but all-embracingly, on our surroundings. We wake to numerous (not always synchronous) chimes from the various bells in the vicinity. Temple Church is a constant reminder of our past and also our present, with mellifluous music from the world-renowned choir and its top organist. Twilight descends over the various squares and courts, the gates close and peace returns to this special place. The Inn as a home is not just a near-perfect historic jewel, something that has not escaped eagle-eyed film location executives who frequently use the Inn for their productions and, happily for the Inn’s finances, pay well for the privilege. It is a vibrant, living community protected by long established statutes, obliging the Inn to ensure that it is a place for the education and lodging of its members. Accordingly, residential premises are reserved for members of the Inn: students, practitioners and retirees alike. One might think that reserved status would lead to a rather uniform approach to living in the Inn. Nothing could be further from the truth, as is clearly shown for example by the annual summer party held traditionally in the Master’s wonderful garden. Lengthy disquisitions over copious refreshments range far and wide and the law rarely gets a look in.

In carrying out its duties, the TRA engages with all relevant ‘stakeholders’, that is to say, the Inns themselves and their committees, as well as the contiguous London councils and other institutions such as TFL, where their activities (or proposed activities) may or will have an impact on its members. One notable victory, although it would be churlish to claim it wholly as our own, was in relation to the ill-fated Garden Bridge project; once the TRA got its teeth stuck in, no quarter was given and our present Prime Minister had to leave the field, vanquished. We also have to deal extraordinarily frequently with the behaviour of dogs in our stunning gardens; needless to say, it is never a TRA’s member’s dog that comes across our radar (or rather it appears that the attraction of our suggested ‘waste’ composting sites may not be obvious to external pooches). More seriously, the impact of the Pegasus project would have been extremely deleterious to the wellbeing of many of our members in terms of noise, general disturbance and removal of residents’ facilities. Through the good offices of the TRA, Inner Temple and its contractors sensibly put in place mitigating measures for the benefit of the residents. Needless to say, we are monitoring the works closely as they move through their various phases. In addition to our summer party, we hold events through the year and via our website (www.templeresidents.com), we aim to keep our members up to date with all relevant developments. We are in fact so up-to-date that we have been recently holding remote meetings via Zoom. We welcome new members with open arms, particularly if they are willing to serve on our Executive Committee! If you are a resident but not yet a member, please feel free to contact me by email at fergus.randolph@brickcourt.co. uk. As a Middle Templar, I can and will say that the Inn’s esprit de corps, best captured by our toast to Domus, is alive and well in the TRA.

And that brings me, somewhat late on the page, to the Temple Residents’ Association (TRA); the abovementioned summer festivity is not organised by the Inn, but rather by the TRA. It comprises of residents from Middle and Inner Temple, a good example of harmony between them. That composition makes eminent sense given the proximity of the residents and common issues that affect them. Eminent sense and Baroness Elizabeth Butler-Sloss are inextricably linked and it is therefore no surprise that she conceived of the idea to create such an association over 40 years ago. Its aim is straightforward; to represent the interests of residents of both Inns, without fear or favour. Those interests have been tested in recent years, with Inner Temple’s Pegasus project and rent increases being but two examples. Bringing things even more up to date, the present lockdown has presented some of the residents, particularly those retired and/or on their own, with specific problems. The TRA’s community spirit did not disappoint, with younger members offering their services (suitably socially-distanced) to those in need.

The Residents’ Association Millennium Bench

2020 Middle Templar

119


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Temple Church Weddings

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page 145

New Masters of the Bench 2019-20

9min
pages 127-129

Middle Temple Students' Association

4min
page 126

Middle Temple Young Barristers' Association

7min
pages 124-125

Hall Committee

4min
page 123

The COIC Pupillage Matched Funded Scheme

3min
page 122

What Have the Bar Council and the Inn Ever Done for Me?

2min
page 119

Behind the Lens

8min
pages 116-118

Temple Residents' Association

4min
page 121

Valedictory: The Rt Hon. Lord Carnwath

7min
pages 114-115

Temple Church During Lockdown

7min
pages 112-113

Lent Reader’s Feast: The Highways, Byways and Blind Alleys of International Law

11min
pages 108-110

Temple Church Choir Summer Review

2min
page 111

Becoming a Barrister

15min
pages 103-105

Autumn Reader's Feast: Current Challenges in the Criminal Justice System

8min
pages 106-107

Talk to Spot

3min
page 102

The Divorce Blame Game is Nearly Over

6min
pages 100-101

You have the Right to Remain Unidentified

7min
pages 98-99

Levelling the Playing Field

8min
pages 96-97

A Day in the Country in Lockdown

9min
pages 92-93

Confronting the Challenges Presented by the Covid-19 Pandemic

8min
pages 90-91

Impeachment of a U.S. President

8min
pages 94-95

How Middle Temple Helped Me

3min
page 88

Don’t Let Commercial Awareness be a Bar to Success

4min
page 87

Student Life at the Inn

3min
page 86

In the Shoes of an Out of London Student

4min
page 85

The Inns of Court

3min
page 84

The ICCA Bar Course

3min
page 83

Troubled Journeys on the Path to Justice

3min
page 82

Turning the Tide against Corruption in the Congo

4min
page 81

My Journey to the Bar and Becoming the First Kurdish Iraqi Barrister

3min
page 80

Qualifying Sessions

4min
page 79

The Role of an Inn of Court

3min
page 78

Five Perspectives on Sponsorship

8min
pages 76-77

Advocacy at the Inn

7min
pages 74-75

Outreach

3min
page 72

Sherrard Conversations

3min
page 73

Mock Pupillage Interviews

7min
pages 68-69

Volunteering at Call Day

2min
pages 70-71

Mooting Trip to Cherokee

9min
pages 65-67

Education Update

4min
page 64

100 Years Since Helena Normanton's First Qualifying Session

2min
page 58

MTYBA & MTSA International Women's Day

2min
page 59

Créme de la Créme Climbing Rose

2min
page 62

Celebrating a Century of Women in Law

5min
pages 56-57

Circuit Societies

15min
pages 53-55

MTYBA Dark Waters Event

3min
page 63

The Rule of Law Under Attack

7min
pages 60-61

Working in the Seychelles

4min
page 52

An Increased Use of Technology in Gibraltar's Legal System

2min
page 51

Access to Justice during the Coronavirus Pandemic: The Malaysian Experience

8min
pages 48-49

Cross Border Practice in Europe and Brexit

4min
page 46

Business as Usual at the European Court of Justice Pending Brexit

7min
pages 44-45

Reflections on a Declaration of Friendship

7min
pages 42-43

Mind the Gap: The General Adjourned Period and the Coronavirus Pandemic in Hong Kong

4min
page 47

Amity Visit to Canada

6min
pages 40-41

Book Review: Equal Justice by Frederick Wilmot-Smith

3min
page 39

Book Review: Court Number One: The Old Bailey Trials that Defined Modern Britain by Thomas Grant

4min
page 38

Book Review: Simon Brown's Memoirs by the The Rt Hon The Lord Brown

4min
page 35

The Ceremonial Plate of the Middle Temple

4min
page 32

Lord Carson of Duncairn: Barrister, Statesman and Judge

11min
pages 27-29

Unshaken & Unshakeable

7min
pages 30-31

A Personal Collection of 15th Century Documents

17min
pages 23-26

Justiciability – A Forgotten Saga

9min
pages 33-34

Readers of the Temple: From the 16th to the 19th Century

9min
pages 20-22

A Potted History of the Office of the Under Treasurer

5min
pages 18-19

Equality and Diversity at the Bar Council

4min
page 13

The Spanish Influenza Pandemic

3min
page 17

Racial Equality, Inclusion and Anti-Racism Working Group

2min
page 12

Black Lives Matter

4min
page 11

BAME and the Bar

4min
page 10

From the Treasurer

6min
pages 8-9

Speech at the Inauguration of the Middle Temple LGBTQ+ Forum

11min
pages 14-16

Under Treasurers’ Forewords

8min
pages 6-7
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