Bar Council Chair, Vice-Chair and Treasurer elected for 2019
Richard Atkins QC has been elected as Chair of the Bar for 2019. Amanda Pinto QC and Grant Warnsby have been elected as Vice Chair of the Bar and Treasurer of the Bar respectively.
Richard Atkins QC - Chair of the Bar, 2019
Practising from St Philips Chambers, Birmingham, Richard was called to the Bar in 1989 and took silk in 2011. Described as “a very impressive silk, juries love him” (Legal 500) and as “a silk at the top of his game who is highly regarded” (Chambers Directory) he practises in criminal and regulatory law (health and safety and trading standards).
Richard has been a Recorder since 2005, a Mental Health Tribunal Judge since 2014 and a Legal Chair for the Financial Reporting Council Disciplinary Tribunal. Richard became a member of the Bar Council in 2003 and was Chair of the Bar Council's Member Services Board from 2010 until 2016 and Co-Chair of the Bar Council's Bar Representation Board from 2016 to 2017. In 2014, Richard chaired the Annual Bar Conference.
Richard was Leader of the Midland Circuit from 2014 to 2017. He is a Bencher of Gray's Inn. Outside the Bar, Richard was a Governor of the Coventry Schools Foundation (King Henry VIII and Bablake schools) from 1999 until 2014, becoming Chairman of the Governors from 2011-2014. Richard will come to the end of his term as Vice Chair of the Bar on 31 December 2018 and will become Chair of the Bar on 1 January 2019.
Amanda Pinto QC – Vice Chair of the Bar, 2019
Amanda Pinto QC of 33 Chancery Lane was called to the Bar in 1983 and took silk in 2006. Specialising in fraud, money laundering, business wrong-doing and corruption cases with an international dimension, Amanda is described as “an inspiring leader” and “a real warrior who cannot be knocked off her perch” (Chambers and Partners UK 2017 & 2016). She is co– author of Pinto and Evans on Corporate Criminal Liability.
Amanda has been co-Chair of the Bar’s Rule of law Group from 2013 – 2015 and Chair of the International Committee since 2015, from which she will step down to become Vice Chair of the Bar. She is a Recorder and a Bencher of Middle Temple.
Amanda is a Deputy Chair of the Tate Members Council and a trustee of the Slynn Foundation. She is a Champion of the First 100 Years celebrating 100 years of women lawyers and a supporter of Refugee Action and Liberty.
Grant Warnsby – Treasurer of the Bar, 2019
Grant Warnsby was called to the Bar at Lincoln’s Inn in 1997. He also qualified as a Chartered Accountant while working on International Tax matters with Coopers & Lybrand (latterly PwC). He is an employed barrister specialising in the oil and gas industry, having worked in BP since 2004. Working in the upstream business, he has been based at the Rumaila oil field in Basra, Iraq. Prior to that his role included supporting BP’s 2010 disposal program as well as its regulatory compliance work.
Grant also spent several years in Moscow both inside and outside of the TNK-BP joint venture. He has worked closely with the Bar Council over the years as a member of both the Employed Barristers’ Committee and the Wellbeing Committee. Grant is also Senior Vice-President of the Bar Association for Commerce, Finance & Industry.
