Profile of Ian Leeming QC

Ian was born in the North West of England and grew up there. He read law at Manchester University, where he was later a lecturer in law (part-time) for several years. As junior counsel he practised at the Chancery Bar from chambers in Manchester, but even in the early days his practice was geographically wide-spread and often took him to London. He was also instructed in a large number of business and commercial cases outside the usual Chancery fields of work.

He was appointed Queen’s Counsel at an early age in 1988. He then joined London chambers, initially in Lincoln’s Inn but subsequently accepting an invitation to join the distinguished set then headed by Michael Burke-Gaffney QC at Lamb Chambers in the Temple, where practice was more exclusively dispute orientated. Since becoming a QC Ian has practised from both London and Manchester.

Ian has appeared in all the higher-level Courts, taking a large numbers of cases in the Court of Appeal and several in the House of Lords. He has recently been reserved on behalf of nationally known corporate clients in both the Court of Appeal and the House of Lords. He also represents clients in arbitrations and at mediations.

In recent years he has added an important international dimension to his practice. He has advised a number of clients outside Europe and in particular in the Far East. He has done work for leading solicitors in Singapore, including assisting with a successful appeal to the Singapore Court of Appeal.

Ian has very considerable experience of deciding cases as a part-time judge. He has sat in the High Court of Justice and in the Court of Appeal of the Isle of Man. He has also determined cases as an arbitrator and is willing to accept appointment as an arbitrator in both domestic and international disputes. He is a member of London Court of International Arbitration and a member of its panel of arbitrators. He is also a Recorder of the Crown Court.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• Queen’s Counsel 1988
• Member of Lincoln’s Inn and Gray’s Inn (called to the Bar 1970)
• Gerald Moody Scholar
• Fellow of the Society for Advanced Legal Studies
• LL.B (Hons) Manchester
• Recorder of the Crown Court
• Sometime lecturer in law Manchester University
• Counsel appointed to examine titles on behalf of Her Majesty’s Land Registry
• Member of the Joint Tribunal of the Law Society and the Bar
• Former Counsel to New York Attorneys
• Consultee/Contributor to law reform reviews in company and property law
• Author of the Equity division of Butterworth’s Law of Limitation
• Director of limited companies

BAR ASSOCIATIONS AND SOCIETIES

• Chancery Bar Association
• Property Bar Association
• Professional Negligence Bar Association
• Tec Bar
• Society of Construction Lawyers
• L.C.I.A.