This week, our Deputy Head of Chambers, Derek Kerr, is our spotlighted barrister.
Tell us a little about yourself and your practice.
“My work almost exclusively relates to property matters. This ranges from boundary disputes, the interpretation of covenants, mortgages, trusts of land and the registration of land. In fact, anything that can be done to, over, through, under, over, on, with, against, around or along land is what I do.”
What is your first memory of wanting to be a barrister?
“I was born and raised in Scotland where the bar (and the legal profession generally) was something of a closed world. It was not until I was in my mid-20s and living south of the border that I toyed with the idea of becoming a barrister. I already had a fascinating job in Whitehall but knew it was not my ‘forever’ career. A switch to the bar, while not without risk, was a decision I have never regretted.”
Is there a certain case that stands out to you in your career? If yes, why?
“Yes. Some years ago I was instructed in a claim brought by a sitting government that had been ousted by an interim revolutionary militia. The claim was one to oust the interim regime from its nation’s London embassy, essentially as trespassers. However, the UK had decided to recognise the interim regime. Among other things, the claim raised the issue of host country recognition of states versus host country recognition of governments – not a staple ingredient of claims against trespasser. A day or two before the first hearing, the leader of the deposed regime was assassinated leading to the withdrawal of the claim. That too is not a staple ingredient of trespasser claims – although litigants can occasionally give the impression that it should be!’”
What’s your favourite thing about being a barrister?
“The variety and intellectual challenge of the work.”
What do you do to relax?
“I walk, ski, garden and try to ignore current affairs but find I cannot. I enjoy the company of friends. I am currently piecing together a family history stretching back to 1690 – an unfinished project from the 2020 pandemic and made possible by the wonderful online resource of the National Records of Scotland.”
If you weren’t a barrister, what would you be?
“In my dreams, I would read the Channel 4 news. Quite good hours, a chance to press evasive interviewees – and the possibility of international travel. But maybe I only have a face for radio…”
