The Bar Standards Board has appointed four new members to its governing board, effective this month and throughout the coming year. Professor Jean-Noël Ezingeard and Sara Lawson KC will join the Board immediately, while Abiodun Michael Olatokun FRSA and Mark Fenhalls KC will assume their roles on 1 July and 1 October, respectively. All appointees will serve an initial term of four years, expanding the leadership structure of the organization that regulates barristers in England and Wales.
Background on the New Appointees
Professor Ezingeard brings extensive executive experience to the role. He serves as Vice‑Chancellor and President of the University of Roehampton, where he has been the academic leader and Chief Executive since 2019. Prior to his current position, he held senior roles at Manchester Metropolitan University, Kingston University, and Henley Business School. The BSB notes that he possesses more than twenty years of experience in large, complex, and regulated organizations, with a focus on board‑level decision‑making, audit, risk, and public accountability.
Read Also: AI legal disputes: Are laws keeping pace
Sara Lawson KC has over two decades of courtroom experience. Called to the Bar in 1990, she spent 20 years prosecuting and defending across all areas of crime, including RASSO (rape and serious sexual offence) cases, while specializing in fraud and regulatory work. She served on the Government Regulatory List and prosecuted for the Serious Fraud Office, HMRC, and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), including their specialist casework and fraud divisions. Most recently, she spent six years as an employed barrister as General Counsel of the SFO before returning to the self-employed Bar.
Abiodun Michael Olatokun FRSA is a practising barrister at 36 Public and Human Rights, where he specializes in education, employment, and public law. He holds over a decade of non-executive and trustee experience, having worked within higher education regulatory frameworks. Notably, he served as Deputy Chair of the Subject Pilot Panel for Law in the Teaching Excellence Framework, a national exercise assessing programme compliance for the Department for Education and the Office for Students. He also worked as an assessor for the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education for ten years.
Read Also: Ethics culture at the Bar stays strong
Mark Fenhalls KC has a reputation for handling the most serious criminal matters. Called to the Bar in 1992 and taking silk in 2014, he regularly appears in cases involving large-scale fraud, corruption, murder, and organized crime. His leadership experience includes serving as Chair of the Criminal Bar Association from 2015 to 2016, Leader of the South Eastern Circuit from 2019 to 2020, and Chair of the Bar of England and Wales in 2022. Over the last 15 years, he has worked closely with senior Judiciary, state bodies, and officials on projects addressing capacity, sustainability, and efficiency in the Justice System.
Leadership Transition
Professor Christopher Bones, who chairs the Bar Standards Board, expressed satisfaction with the new additions. He stated that the four new members bring different experiences and expertise that will bring value to the Board while complementing the skills of existing members. Bones also addressed the upcoming departure of Andrew Mitchell KC and Professor Leslie Thomas KC, thanking them for their contributions and commitment to the organization over the years.