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08 March 2018 / Gerard Forlin KC
Issue: 7784 / Categories: Features , Profession , ADR
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Maxwell Chambers— from strength to strength

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Gerard Forlin QC charts the progress of Maxwell Chambers’ expansion in Singapore & highlights the many virtues of the island city-state

As well as British Guyana, Malta, the UK, Thailand and the Philippines, I was partly brought up in Singapore, when my parents lived there in the 1970s. It was, therefore, an enormous pleasure to be offered my own room in Maxwell Chambers about four years ago.

I had been particularly impressed after attending a lecture there as part of a UK General Council of the Bar visit to Korea, China and Singapore. I was immediately struck by the kindness, openness and efficiency of the staff and the beautiful architecture of the building. Somehow, it also all felt vaguely familiar and I then realised: the Maxwell Chambers building had been the old Custom House.

English, energy & education

Singapore has many virtues. Not only is it a beautiful place—safe, lush and green, English-speaking and one of the least corrupt countries in the world—it has huge energy and one of the

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Foot Anstey—Jasmine Olomolaiye

Foot Anstey—Jasmine Olomolaiye

Investigations and corporate crime expert joins as partner

Fieldfisher—Mark Shaw

Fieldfisher—Mark Shaw

Veteran funds specialist joins investment funds team

Taylor Wessing—Stephen Whitfield

Taylor Wessing—Stephen Whitfield

Firm enhances competition practice with London partner hire

NEWS
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
Recent allegations surrounding Peter Mandelson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor have reignited scrutiny of the ancient common law offence of misconduct in public office. Writing in NLJ this week, Simon Parsons, teaching fellow at Bath Spa University, asks whether their conduct could clear a notoriously high legal hurdle
A landmark ruling has reshaped child clinical negligence claims. Writing in NLJ this week, Jodi Newton, head of birth and paediatric negligence at Osbornes Law, explains how the Supreme Court in CCC v Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2026] UKSC 5 has overturned Croke v Wiseman, ending the long-standing bar on children recovering ‘lost years’ earnings
A Court of Appeal ruling has drawn a firm line under party autonomy in arbitration. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed, associate professor at the University of Leicester, analyses Gluck v Endzweig [2026] EWCA Civ 145, where a clause allowing arbitrators to amend an award ‘at any time’ was held incompatible with the Arbitration Act 1996
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