Guy retired from practice on 31 March, after 45 years in chambers at One Crown Office Row. He took Silk in 1994. He appeared in many reported cases, in particular, in the fields of legal practice/negligence, funding of litigation and clinical negligence.
From 2012 Guy led the team instructed by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in the ultimately successful defence of some 40,000 claims brought in the Kenyan Emergency Group Litigation (Kimathi & others v FCO). After a trial lasting 232 days all the claims were dismissed by Stewart J on 21 November 2018.
Guy is a Bencher of Middle Temple. He was a member of the Bar Council from 1998-2005, chairing in succession its Remuneration and Legal Services Committees and also the Bar Council working party which recommended and introduced Direct/Public Access to the Bar. He became chairman of the Bar Council in 2005, (vice chairman 2004). In 2009/10 he chaired a Bar Council working party which produced three reports into the potential viability of a privately funded Contingent Legal Aid Fund. From 2006 to 2019 he was the Bar Council nominated member on the Queen’s Counsel Complaints Committee.
Guy sat for many years as a Recorder and latterly as a Deputy High Court Judge. He was a member of the council of JUSTICE from 2006 to 2018. He contributed to a number of practitioner text books: ‘Financial Provision in Family Matters’, chapter on ‘Ancillary Relief and Professional Negligence’ (Sweet & Maxwell 1999); ‘Human Rights and Common Law’, chapter on ‘Costs, Conditional Fees and Legal Aid’ (Hart Publishing 2000); ’Personal Injury Handbook’, chapter on ‘Wasted Costs’ (Sweet & Maxwell 1998, 2001).
All in Chambers wish to thank Guy for his remarkable contribution to the life and work of Chambers over the past 45 years. We wish him a long and happy retirement.
