CIArb’s East Anglia Branch appoints new members to its committee

CIArb’s East Anglia Branch held its Annual General Meeting online on 29 April 2021 which was considered to be a resounding success. More members took part than in previous years. The Chairman’s, Treasurer’s and Chairman’s (as the de facto Public Relations Officer’s) presentations were comprehensive and supplemented by PowerPoint slides covering the eleven professional events that were made available to the CIArb and non-members. A new female member was formally elected to join the committee increasing diversity. Three other members were elected to the committee and all were warmly welcomed by the Chairman, Dr Al Jarratt FCIArb, on behalf of the committee. A fifth was co-opted on to the committee subsequently.

The new members are:

Islam Chowdhary LL.M MCIArb Barrister MBE

Islam, a banker turned Barrister, was called to the Bar in July 1982 from the Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn and following a stint of 3 years during 1984 – 1987 in Saudi British Bank, Riyadh as legal adviser/credit control manager, returned to practice at the Bar. In December 1987 he joined 9 King’s Bench Walk, Inner Temple, London, EC4. In 1990 he was elected as a joint Head of Chambers with the late Mr. M. Azhar.

In or about February 2002, he moved to Mitre Chambers where he was elected as Head of Chambers and by reason of his commercial background, his main focus in practice remained exclusively on civil matters such as Banking, Arbitration, professional negligence, breaches of contract, property law, trust and equity, charity law and Partnership. Progressing further in his career at the Bar, in 1988 he was selected as a standing Counsel for the biggest banks of Pakistan based in London; namely United Bank, Habib Bank and National Bank of Pakistan until 2003.

Since August 2010, Islam became sole practitioner practising as Cassian Chambers and also a door tenant at Article 6 Chambers, 2 King’s Bench Walk, Temple since 2018. He is also a member of Professional Negligence Bar Association of the Bar.

In 2002, the chair of an education charity, Muslim Care based in East London (now in Park Royal, NW10) invited Islam to join the charity as a Trustee and since then he has been an active member of the Board of Trustees. In 2016, with his professional assistance the charity moved further and became a charitable incorporated organisation and he has been named as the primary contact for the charity with the Charity Commission of England and Wales.

In addition, Islam is an active member of the executive committee of his local mosque since August 2016 and where he offers free advice to members on Thursday evenings. He has been made MBE in Her Majesty The Queen’s Birthday’s Honours List 2020.

Louise Hall FCIArb

Louise Hall FCIARB, MICE, is an independent commercial advisor, with 15 years’ experience in the construction industry. Louise’s primary focus is on dispute avoidance, with a varied practical background enabling her to successfully guide clients and contractors through the procurement, contract establishment and delivery phases of projects. She specialises in the NEC suite of contracts, and has particular experience applying these to large government projects and frameworks.

Louise is a graduate of the renowned King’s College London ‘Construction Law and Dispute Resolution’ Masters course and a pupil of the Worshipful Company of Arbitrators’.

Lee Kyson FCIArb

Lee Kyson MSc (Construction Law & DR), FCIArb, MCIOB, AssocRICS; CSCS Black Card (site manager), CSCS Gold Card (advanced craft plastering & rendering). Lee has over 40 years’ ‘hands on’ experience in the construction industry both in the UK and Germany. His background trade is plastering, machine plastering, rendering, floor screeding, drylining, floor and wall tiling, and external wall insulation. Lee currently works as a party wall surveyor, assists either clients or contractors with disputes and produces reports on the standards of construction work carried out by contractors.

Dr Michael Reynolds C.Arb FCIArb

Dr Reynolds is a solicitor and chartered arbitrator, who teaches and researches international arbitration. He is a Senior Research Fellow at the London School of Economics completing research for an historical study on international dispute resolution between sovereign states. He is the Module Director of LLM International Dispute Resolution and Arbitration at BPP University College. He has also taught Jurisprudence, Construction and Engineering Law, Professional Legal Skills and Tort as well as being the PhD House Tutor.

As a solicitor he worked in Westminster and the City, then in local government before returning to private practice. As an arbitrator he has recently presided over two international cases and over 80 other referrals. He has acted in numerous actions in the High Court, on enquiries, arbitrations including the Andover Public Arbitration, and as part of the defence team on a Royal Commission regarding the National Health Service. He is the author of several professional practice books and numerous articles having formerly been a member of the Editorial Board of Arbitration and then Commissioning Editor of Construction and Engineering Law.

Prior to returning to the LSE to write his new book he was a Programme Associate on the Civil Justice Programme at the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, University of Oxford. He is a regular contributor to The Company Lawyer. Michael is a member of the Law Society, the London Court of International Arbitration, the Royal Institute of International Affairs, the British Institute of Comparative and International Law and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

Dave Wenlock FCIArb (co-opted)

Dave Wenlock FCIArb MRICS is a Chartered Quantity Surveyor, and an accredited mediator and construction adjudicator with over 30-years’ experience in the construction industry, having held board level commercial positions in private and PLC contracting organisations.

Over the last 10-years Dave has specialised within quantum disputes, complex commercial settlements, and high-value negotiations. He is a company Director of Quantum Ethos Management Services Limited, based in Essex which provides quantum expert and ADR services on a national basis. Working for lawyers, main clients, contractors and sub-contractors during all stages of disputes including representing clients at without prejudice settlement meetings in order to avoid formal proceedings where possible.

View the full list of members of CIArb’s East Anglia Branch Committee.

The committee encourages branch members to become a committee member and lend their support in running the branch such as deciding future professional events and keeping abreast of the latest news of the Institute locally and globally. Under Branch Model Rules a member can serve up to three years extendable to a second term of three years.

On behalf of the committee, the Chairman would like to wish all members a safe and prosperous future.