Trustees

Dame Anne Rafferty
President

Dame Anne was the first woman Chairman of the Criminal Bar Association.  In 2011 she was appointed to the Court of Appeal of England and Wales and made a member of the Privy Council.  In November 2014 she was appointed Chancellor of the University of Sheffield (her alma mater); she retired from the Court of Appeal in 2020.

Dame Julie Maxton
Chair of the Board of Trustees

Dame Julie Maxton is the Executive Director of the Royal Society, the first woman in 350 years to hold the post. Before taking up her position at the Royal Society in 2011, Julie was Registrar at the University of Oxford, the first woman in 550 years in the role.

She is an Honorary Fellow of University College Oxford, a Bencher of the Middle Temple, a Freeman of the Goldsmith’s Company and a Board member of Sense about Science.  In the past she has also been on the Boards of the Alan Turing Institute, Blavatnik School of Government in Oxford, Haberdasher Aske’s School (Elstree), Engineering UK, Charities Aid Foundation and The Faraday Institute.

Originally trained as a barrister at the Middle Temple, Julie combined a career as a practising lawyer with that of an academic, holding a number of senior academic positions, including those of Deputy Vice Chancellor, Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Auckland, New Zealand.  Academic and other recognition Julie has received include a CBE (2017), DBE (2023), and Honorary Degrees from the Universities of Huddersfield, Warwick, Canterbury, Hull, Bristol and Brunel.  She is the author of numerous articles concerned with trusts, equity, commercial and property law.

Leon Kazakos KC
Vice Chair

Leon is a member of 2 Hare Court and the current Leader of the South-Eastern Circuit, the representative organisation for all members of the Bar in the South East. He has a wide ranging and diverse defence practice, representing individuals and companies across England and Wales, who face serious criminal and regulatory allegations

Clare Wardell
Vice Chair

Clare was called to the Bar in 2000 and appeared in a number of high profile and complex crime and fraud cases over 16 years in full time practice at the Criminal Bar.  She is one of the founding members of The Fraud Lawyers Association.  Clare became a door tenant at Foundry Chambers in September 2018 when she joined BPP University Law School.  Clare has been a specialist oral skills and criminal law tutor and throughout 2023 was the Interim Award Leader on the Bar Training Course leading that programme across the national centres.  Clare is now a Head of Faculty at BPP supporting the career development of members of their specialist lawyer tutor team.

John Dunston
Director of Education & Trustee

John was Director of Music at Harris Manchester College, Oxford, from 2018 to 2022, where he pioneered recitals given by students from the Harris Academies. He is a tutor for the Farmington Institute and was formerly Head of Sibford and Leighton Park Schools. He read Modern Languages at Selwyn College, Cambridge. John has been a Reporting/Lead Inspector in the UK and abroad, trained inspectors and led school consultancies on governance, leadership, management and compliance.

John has been director of several choirs, leading tours to Europe and China. As head, he led the live broadcast of Sunday Worship from Leighton Park School on BBC Radio 4. He has lectured or written on education, Bach, Wagner, Vienna 1900, post-war memorialisation, silence, and the Holocaust.

John has been chair of the Society of Heads, the Quaker Heads’ Conference, the Macular Society, the boards of governors of two schools, and is currently a governor of the British School of Paris. He is a Winston Churchill Fellow and Chair of Trustees of the Oxford Chamber Music Society.

Mark Fenhalls KC
Trustee

Former Chair of the Criminal Bar Association, and the 2022 Chair of the Bar, Mark prosecutes and defends serious and complex criminal cases. He advises companies and individuals facing allegations of alleged regulatory and/or criminal misconduct relating to their business activities.

HHJ Judy Khan KC
Trustee

Judy was appointed as Queen’s Counsel in 2010 and sat as a Recorder from 2006. In her career at the Bar, she had experience of criminal defence work across a wide spectrum of cases, but typically defended in cases involving allegations of murder. She spent two years representing a number of families at the Hillsborough Inquests, in which she led a team of barristers who dealt with the medical and pathological evidence. In 2023, she became a Senior Circuit Judge at the Central Criminal Court.

HHJ Angela Rafferty KC
Trustee

In her career at the Bar, Angela appeared in many of the most high profile, sensitive and complex cases nationwide.

She has been described as ‘one of the most formidable advocates seen in recent times’ and ‘outstanding’ by those she works with.

She has many years’ experience in cases involving young witnesses, the mentally and physically disabled, Autism and Asperger’s syndrome, addictions and cases involving those who are seriously traumatised.  She has particular skills in working with vulnerable women from all backgrounds who appear as defendants and witnesses in serious cases.  She has a deep commitment to, and long standing expertise in such cases.

In 2019, she became a Senior Circuit Judge at the Central Criminal Court.

Merry Van Woodenberg
Trustee

Merry is a member of 2 Hare Court Chambers and specialises in criminal, regulatory and tax law. She has a particular expertise in financial crime, serious sexual offences, and cases involving vulnerable individuals.

Merry’s practice enables her to act and advise at every stage of a criminal investigation. She is experienced at advising in relating to pre-charge matters, such as the imposition of restraint orders. She is a talented jury advocate, who has had particular success in fraud and money laundering trials. Her expertise in Proceeds of Crime means that she is also able to advise and act post-conviction in respect of confiscation proceedings. Merry is an experienced disclosure and LPP counsel.

Andrew Fisher KC
Trustee

Prior to entry to the Bar, Andrew spent several years in international banking.  He has extensive experience in serious crime of all kinds including: homicide, organized crime and gang warfare, serious drug and sex offences, major fraud and regulatory matters. He is the head of Citadel Chambers and a Trustee of several Charities.

Max Hardy
Trustee

Max was chairman of the Young Barristers’ Committee in 2014 and was, for a number of years, Secretary of the Kalisher Trust.  He has visited many academy schools on Kalisher outreach work and acted the role of the firm but fair prosecutor of Mr. Bear, whose assault of Goldilocks so dismayed the creatures of the forest.

Lord Justice Peter Coulson
Trustee

Lord Justice Coulson was appointed as a Queens Counsel in 2001 and he became a Recorder the same year. In 2004 he was appointed a Senior Circuit Judge in the Technology and Construction Court. In 2008, still under 50, he was appointed as a High Court Judge in the Queen’s Bench Division. He was a presiding Judge of the North Eastern Circuit between 2011 and 2014, where he sat mainly in murder cases including the trial of the teenager who killed the Leeds schoolteacher, Ann McGuire.

In 2017 he was appointed a member of the Court of Appeal, and was the Deputy Head of Civil Justice between 2017 and 2021.

He has a long-standing interest in the arts and social mobility, and is a supporter of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields.

Henrietta Paget KC
Trustee & Treasurer

Henrietta is the Treasurer of the Kalisher Trust. She is a specialist trial advocate, with particular expertise dealing with the vulnerable in the context of rape and other serious sexual offences and has long-standing experience handling document-heavy cases such as fraud/organised crime.

Edmund Vickers KC
Trustee

Appointed a QC in 2017, Ed is an experienced criminal barrister who prosecutes and defends at Crown Court and Appellate level. He successfully defended in the UK’s only FGM trial. Ed is a senior advocacy trainer for the Middle Temple and the Inns of Court College of Advocacy; and sits on the Middle Temple’s Scholarship panel. He is currently treasurer of the Kalisher Trust.

Danielle Manson
Trustee

Danielle is a criminal defence barrister and represents defendants in all areas of criminal law and associated work. She has particular expertise defending children and young people and is known for being extremely personable as well as technically and strategically astute.

Danielle is also a Kalisher Trust alumna and prior to undertaking pupillage was awarded a scholarship to fund an internship JUSTICE where her research contributed to JUSTICE’s intervention in the Supreme Court case of R (on the application of Hallam) and R (on the application of Nealon) v Secretary of State for Justice [2019] UKSC 2 in relation to the statutory provisions governing eligibility for compensation for miscarriages of justice.

Rabah Kherbane
Trustee

Rabah is a member of Doughty Street Chambers, and specialises in crime and appeals, extradition, crime related public law, and international crime.

In addition to experience defending the most serious allegations of violence, organised crime, and drugs or firearms conspiracies, Rabah is regularly instructed in criminal cases characterised by highly technical evidence, cross-jurisdictional elements, and complex legal and human rights issues.

With a significant background in outreach activities, Rabah is passionate about social mobility, equality of opportunity, and representation at the Bar.

Garry Green KC
Trustee

Garry Green has practiced as a criminal defence Barrister for two decades. He is a member of specialist human rights Chambers Doughty Street. He regularly appears in high profile cases especially homicide trials heard at the Central Criminal Court (the Old Bailey).

Throughout his career, and in fact before, Garry has voluntarily committed his time to work with and on behalf of young people. He has mentored in a number of capacities; is a facilitator on a rites of passage program and when invited gives inspirational and career talks to school children and undergraduates. He has also been as a trustee of a number of children and criminal justice charities.

Ultimately Garry is absolutely committed to ensuring young people, especially those from diverse and non-traditional backgrounds, realise and achieve their full potential both in law and in life.

James Gwatkin
Secretary

James is a member of Foundry Chambers, and was called to the Bar in 2017. He specialises in criminal law and related areas, prosecuting and defending in the magistrates’, youth and Crown Courts. He has a particular interest in representing young and vulnerable clients.

James benefitted from the Kalisher Trust’s support himself, taking part in the Advocacy Training programme when studying for the Bar. He is passionate about social mobility and community outreach, and previously worked as a Communities Empowerment Network advocate representing excluded children and their families in school exclusion appeals. He also acted as a mentor for the Vocalise project, teaching public speaking and debating in prisons across London.

Emma Fielding
Co Secretary

Emma is a probationary tenant with 36 Crime and was called to the bar in 2021. She has a predominantly Crown Court practice prosecuting and defending.

She came to the bar via a non-traditional route, having attended a state school and not knowing any barristers or lawyers in her family.

Issues relating to pupillage and the criminal bar are close to her heart and she writes on this topic for Counsel Magazine. Emma is a mentor and set up a business to assist bar students with civil litigation. She is keen to improve diversity at the criminal bar and to fight for changes which will achieve that aim.

Ben Yallop
Critical Friend

Ben joined the civil service in 2003 and has continuously worked with judges throughout a career dedicated to justice. Since 2008 Ben has been based at the Royal Courts of Justice where he has held a number of advisory roles in support to successive Lord Chief Justices, Heads of Division and judicial jurisdictional leads.

Ben is currently the Private Secretary to the Lord Chief Justice of England & Wales, with responsibility for leading support to the LCJ, the Judicial Executive Board, the Judges’ Council, and the wider judiciary across the full range of justice issues, with a focus on the highest profile and most sensitive matters. Ben also sits as a lay magistrate, is a trustee of the Slynn Foundation and is active in a number of groups which support social mobility and inclusion.

Abigail Bright
Head of Awards

Abigail Bright practises at Doughty Street Chambers and appears in the legal directories as a leading individual.

Graduating as a Kalisher Trust student was central to her career and formative to her training at the Bar and she went on to teach on the programme.

Abigail has particular expertise in complex special jurisdiction work. In October this year, she was short-listed having been nominated by Advocate for Junior Pro Bono Barrister of the Year 2022. In July this year, the Bar Council appointed Abigail as a director and trustee of the Incorporated Council for Law Reporting of England and Wales. Abigail serves as assistant head of pupillage advocacy at Middle Temple and also serves as an advocacy trainer and committee member of the Inns of Court College of Advocacy, international advocacy training section.

Abigail is a guest lecturer at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (2012-present). This year she was offered a visiting scholarship at the Onati Institute, Basque Country (2022). She is a keen sailor, jointly owns a British-built yacht that she refurbished with friends and is the London Sailing Club committee’s privacy and data protection officer.

Michael Brady KC
Trustee

Prior to coming the the Bar Michael was an officer in the Greater Manchester Police.

Called to the Bar in 1992 he practised exclusively in all aspects of serious crime, both prosecuting and defending before being appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2020.

Since his appointment Michael has continued to prosecute and defend and has appeared in a number of high profile cases.

Michael has represented the Kalisher Trust on an informal basis since taking silk and was delighted to accept an invitation to be the first Trustee appointed outside London. He is excited to promote the Trust’s work in Manchester (from where he practises at 18 St. John Street Chambers) and beyond.