The Blundell Series this year celebrates its half century, and continues its tradition of forward-thinking discussions on key developments in property law and practice. These lively lectures are an indispensable practical aid to all practitioners and make a substantial annual contribution to the development of the professions involved.
Venue: All lectures take place in the Inner Temple Lecture Theatre. In-person attendance is encouraged but online participation is available. In-person ticket price includes a reception after the first, second and third lectures and a party in the Inner Temple Parliament Chamber to celebrate the conclusion of this 50th year of the Blundell Lectures following the interview with Sir Kim Lewison on 24 June 2025.
Learning objective:: to improve knowledge and understanding of current trends and important developments in property law.
Learning rationale: To enable the maintenance and development of competence and performance in core areas of practice.
Eminent speakers from the judiciary and the professions · frontline topics · latest legal trends · unrivalled networking
The Blundell Lecture Series is a real highlight in the calendar for property law practitioners, who eagerly anticipate the series each year. To be celebrating its 50th anniversary is a marvellous achievement, and testament to its ability to offer the highest calibre programme of legal topics, consistently delivered by exceptional speakers.
Rebecca CampbellPartner, BCLPChair, Property Litigation Association
Please book online using your card for payment
If you are booking multiple sets of lectures for 5 people or more at the same time (ie 20+ lectures) and require an invoice please email us directly for further information – although card payments still preferred where possible.
Lectures
3Jun
Rescue Culture v Property Rights in insolvency: Who wins?
In Discovery (Northampton) Limited v Debenhams Retail Limited [2019] EWHC 2441 (Ch), Norris J concluded that future rent under a lease can fall within a CVA, but that a right of re-entry in a lease is “property belonging to the landlord (not a security right created by the tenant over his own property)” and cannot be modified. How far does that distinction go, for example where there are cladding obligations? In this talk, an insolvency and a property practitioner debate this issue. When an insolvency and a property approach meet what will the outcome be?
10Jun
Keeping controlHow confident should landowners feel in their freehold and leasehold covenants?
In the centenary year of the Law of Property Act 1925, this second Blundell Lecture will consider the statutory power to modify or discharge restrictive covenants. Martin Rodger KC, the Deputy President of the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) and Guy Fetherstonhaugh KC will consider whether freehold and leasehold covenants are becoming increasingly vulnerable to applications under section 84 of the Act.
17Jun
The role of the trial judge in assessing documentary v oral evidence
Almost all property disputes involve both documentary and oral evidence, and this third Blundell Lecture will provide a judge’s eye view of the value of oral evidence and the limitations of documentary evidence together with an analysis of the relevant authorities and review of what other judges have had to say on this critical subject.
24Jun
The Interpretation of Contracts in 2025An interview with Sir Kim Lewison
In this landmark final Blundell Lecture in the 50th annual series the author of the seminal work The Interpretation of Contracts, who has himself been responsible for a wealth of authority in the High Court and the Court of Appeal on that and a broad range of other topics, is interviewed by Caroline Shea KC, to examine among other things whether the reach of the law of contract has been fettered by the development of other areas of law designed to bypass its formal strictures, and what lies ahead for this cornerstone of the common law.
Followed by a party to celebrate the conclusion of this 50th year of the Blundell Lectures in the Inner Temple Parliament Chamber.
Lecture series format
Each lecture will take place on a Tuesday evening this year and start promptly at 6pm. Please register at 5.45pm.
Lecture 6.00pm until 7.30pm followed by networking during which refreshments and food will be served. Finish around 8:30pm. The final lecture on the 24th June is followed by a party to celebrate this 50th year of the Blundell Lecture Series.
Price (in-person and online): £85 + VAT = £102 for each lecture, or £340 + VAT = £408 for all four lectures
We have a limited number of in-person tickets available. Please book early to avoid disappointment.
Special Offer (limited numbers in person, so subject to availability): If you purchase a complete set of 4 lecture tickets at full price you are entitled to buy a second half price set, at the same time, for use by a colleague of under 4 years PQE
The In-Person Ticket (limited numbers) includes:
Attendance in person at Inner Temple
Networking and reception after lectures 1, 2, and 3, and party after the interview with Lord Justice Lewison
The lecture followed by Q&A
Speakers’ written papers
Access to zoom recording (lectures only) for up to 3 months post event
The Online Ticket includes:
A link to dial in and watch the Lecture followed by Q&A online. Any questions for the speaker(s) should be emailed to us at least 24 hours in advance of the Lecture by online viewers
Speakers’ written papers
Access to zoom recording (lecture only) for up to 3 months post-event.
Tickets should be purchased in the name of the person attending together with their email address. If this is unknown at the time of booking, please let us know the details as soon as possible by email.
Cecily is a barrister at Falcon Chambers. This year to date her professional hours have been spent principally on cladding issues and mortgages. She has a particular interest in mortgage law. With Stephanie Tozer KC, she authored a new book, Mortgage Receivership: Law and Practice, now, with Tricia Hemans, in its 2nd edition (Wildy, Simmonds and Hull Publishing, May 2024). She thus brings a property practitioner’s eye to the issues of the treatment of property rights in insolvency.
Raquel is a sought-after specialist in insolvency, company and commercial litigation.
She is also a highly-regarded expert in the area of pensions and insolvency, in particular the ‘moral hazard’ provisions. She has led on many high profile cases on behalf of the Pensions Regulator, including on Nortel and Lehman in the Supreme Court. She has advised extensively on company voluntary arrangements including Clarks Footwear, BHS/Arcadia, New Look, Travelodge and Park First. She was successful in acting for the company, Snoozebox Limited, whereby the Court declared that fines arising in potential criminal proceedings relating to of breaches of Health and Safety legislation were compromised in the CVA. She acted for Victor Restis successfully pursing a claim against Amanda Staveley in insolvency proceedings. On pensions and restructuring issues, she has acted for the pension trustees in Re Cobham Limited, the secured lenders in Johnston Press and for Bombardier Inc. She also sits as a deputy Insolvency and Companies court Judge.
Guy Fetherstonhaugh has been joint head of Falcon Chambers for 18 years, latterly with Stephen Jourdan KC, and specialises in the law of real property, in common with all his wonderful colleagues. He is a joint author of the Handbook of Rent Review, of Commonhold, and of The Electronic Communications Code and Property Law, as well as a regular columnist for the Estates Gazette. He is inordinately proud of his links with RICS, and is both an Honorary Member of the Institution as well as of Arbrix. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, and loves trees.
Deputy President Martin Rodger KC
Martin Rodger KC was appointed Deputy Chamber President of the Upper Tribunal, Lands Chamber in June 2013, having spent the previous 26 years as a barrister specialising in property litigation at Falcon Chambers. He took silk in 2006. He now sits mostly in the Upper Tribunal, but he was appointed a Deputy High Court Judge in 2017.
Stephen Jourdan KC is joint head of Falcon Chambers. He has a wide-ranging practice covering all aspects of property litigation, including insolvency, professional negligence and partnership disputes. He has considerable experience of leading in heavy cases turning on valuation issues or difficult questions of law. He is a Deputy High Court Judge, a Civil Recorder, a judge of the Land Registration Division of the Property Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal. He is the author of “Adverse Possession”, the second edition of which he wrote with Oliver Radley-Gardner.
The Honourable Mr Justice Fancourt
Sir Timothy Fancourt was appointed as President of the Lands Chamber of the Upper Tribunal on 1 August 2019.
He was called to the Bar by Lincoln’s Inn in 1987. Following a chancery pupillage in Lincoln’s Inn, he started practice specialising in real property and landlord and tenant law.
In 1996 he was elected to the Bar Council of England and Wales. He took Silk in 2003 and was appointed as a Recorder (Crime) in 2009. In 2012 he became chairman of the Chancery Bar Association.
He was appointed a Deputy High Court Judge in 2013 and as a High Court Judge assigned to the Chancery Division in 2017.
The Right Honourable Lord Justice Lewison
Kim Lewison was called to the Bar half a century ago. He spent half his time in practice as a property specialist, and then became a judge. He is now the longest-serving judge on the bench of England and Wales. The principles he formulated about the approach to summary judgment are among the most frequently cited passages and, as one judge of the commercial court remarked, if royalties were paid on judgments, Kim Lewison would be a very rich man. Since his arrival in the Court of Appeal in 2011, he has dabbled in most areas of civil law; and is often required to pontificate about things he knows nothing about. His judgments sometimes even escape reversal by the Supreme Court.
He has been the general editor of Woodfall on Landlord and Tenant for some 25 years; and has recently published the 8th edition of his work on the Interpretation of Contracts.
Caroline is listed as a leading silk for both Real Estate Litigation and Agriculture and Rural Affairs in both the Legal 500 and Chambers UK Guide. She is described by her clients as “clever, forthright and commercial”, “extremely client focused”, “an iron fist in a velvet glove”, “decisive, technically impressive and pugnacious in the courtroom”.
She has been a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators since 2015, and was appointed a Deputy High Court Judge, assigned to the Chancery Division, in 2021. She is a co-editor of Muir, Watt and Moss on Agricultural Tenancies, the 16th edition of which was published in February 2024
Rebecca is a partner in the BCLP Real Estate Disputes Group with over 15 years’ experience of complex high value disputes and managing litigation at all levels of the UK court system, including the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court. She advises the full spectrum of Real Estate sector clients, including investors, developers, landlords and institutional tenants.
In November 2024, Rebecca was elected Chair of the Property Litigation Association, the professional body that represents over 1,700 property litigators across the UK and Ireland.
Rebecca is individually ranked in Chambers UK as a leading practitioner and in Legal 500 UK as a ‘Next Generation Partner’ for Real Estate Litigation. The 2025 editions described Rebecca as “a tenacious and technical lawyer”, “always quick to respond, positive and creative. She sees situations clearly and is never afraid to “grasp the nettle” in difficult circumstances” and “[she has] exceptional attention to detail, energy and determination always produces swift and successful results.
She was shortlisted for Disputes Lawyer of the Year in the 2025 Women in Law and Diversity Awards.
Liz Peace was Chief Executive of the British Property Federation, the lobbying organisation for the commercial property industry in the UK, for 13 years until her retirement in 2014. She was awarded a CBE in 2008 for services to the property industry. She currently has a range of non-executive, advisory and charity roles including Chair of Nuclear Waste Services Ltd, Chair of the University of Cambridge Property Board, Senior Independent Governor at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and Chair of the Churches Conservation Trust. She is a non-executive director and chair of the Sustainability Committee at Howard de Walden Estates Ltd, and a non-executive director at Greencore Homes and at AEW REIT plc. Previously she was the first Chair of the Government Property Agency and one of the founding members of Real Estate Balance, an organisation set up to achieve gender balance in the property industry. Her early career was in the Ministry of Defence where she held a number of roles in finance, operations, management services and defence estates, culminating in eleven years as Director of Public affairs at the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency, where she played a pivotal part in its transformation into QinetiQ plc.
Hodge Malek KC was called to the Bar in 1983 and appointed Queen's Counsel in 1999. He is a member of 3 Verulam Buildings in London. His practice has covered many areas of commercial law and dispute resolution including banking and financial services, fraud, professional disciplinary cases, energy, insurance and reinsurance and procurement. He is the General Editor of the leading book on the law of evidence, Phipson on Evidence (20th edition, 2022), and the joint author of Disclosure (6th edition, 2024). He is also a contributor to Mithani, Directors Disqualification (Human Rights chapters), and various volumes of Atkins Court Forms (Financial Services, Human Rights, Disclosure and Information Requests and Administrative Court). He was a member of the Commercial Court working party chaired by Lord Justice Cresswell on Electronic Disclosure. He is a Bencher of Gray’s Inn. He was a member of the Inns of Court Conduct Committee and acted as a Chairman of the Bar Disciplinary Tribunal. He is an acting Deemster of the High Court in the Isle of Man. He sits as a Deputy High Court Judge assigned to the Chancery Division and has been nominated by the Lord Chief Justice pursuant to Section 12 (2) (aa) of the Enterprise Act 2002 to sit as a Chairman of the Competition Appeal Tribunal. He is a Chairman of the Competition Appeal Tribunal Rules Advisory Committee. He is the Chairman of the Appeal Committee of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.
