David has served in a variety of roles in government, at both national and local level, and as a member of a number of regulatory boards. A qualified optician, he was for eighteen years a member of parliament, and served in government as Deputy Leader of the House of Commons and as Minister of State at DEFRA. In opposition, he worked principally in the fields of home affairs and criminal justice, shadowing the Lord Chancellor and serving on the select committee on Justice. Prior to joining parliament, he had been leader of a major county council, chair of a police authority, and a member of the audit commission. After standing down as a minister, he was asked to act in ambassadorial roles as the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Nigeria and to Angola.

Since retiring from parliament, David has taken on a number of non-executive roles, including the Consumer Council for Water, the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, and an NHS Clinical Commissioning Group. He has recently stood down after six years as a board member, and latterly Senior Independent Director, of the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Whilst on the SRA he also chaired the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion committee, and was directly involved in the rewriting of the SRA handbook and the move towards the new SQE qualification.

David brings to his present role long experience as a chair and as a member of policy and regulatory boards, a keen interest and involvement in professional regulation, and in particular the legal profession, high standards in governance and regulation, and familiarity with the processes of government at all levels. In 1989 he was appointed CBE, and is a member of the Privy Council.

Andrew’s professional experience is in governance, marketing and change management across a range of public, not-for-profit and private sector organisations. He holds a range of non-executive roles and has a particular specialism in governance for professional, membership and regulatory bodies.

He is Chair of the Professional Conduct Committee at the General Osteopathic Council, a chair of Fitness to Practise panels at the Nursing and Midwifery Council, Deputy Chair of the Investigating Committee of the General Pharmaceutical Council and a member of the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal in Ireland. He is also a non-executive director and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee at Registers of Scotland (the Scottish Government land and legal documents registry) and an independent member of the Civil Nuclear Police Authority.

Andrew is an independent selection panellist, and panel chair, for the Judicial Appointments Commission and, in his earlier career, worked in leadership roles in a number of law firms, including ten years as Head of Marketing at Eversheds.

Andrew is a qualified Costs Lawyer and mediator. He is the leader of the costs and litigation funding team at Clarion. Andrew created the team in 2011 and has successfully grown it to be a nationally recognised service. The team now consists of 25 people and acts for 200 law firms across the UK. It is the biggest in-house legal costs team, with an external offering in the UK.

Helen is an inquisitive leader with cross-sector experience spanning finance, public policy, and social impact. She has a proven record of leading complex change, strengthening governance, informing the rule of law and public policy, and delivering sustainable outcomes across global systems.

From 2026, Helen will join the International Council of Peace Brigades International and the Cost Lawyer Standards Board as a Lay Non-Executive Board Director. Helen has held non-executive roles at Amnesty International UK: Chair of AGM & National Conference, Vice-Chair of the Board, and Co-Chair of the Oversight Panel. She has served as a Board Trustee at the Civil Liberties Trust, the Working Well Trust, the Global Legal Action Network, and as an Independent Non-Executive Director at the Food Network for Ethical Trade. She is serving her second term as an independent external assessor for senior policing appointments at the College of Policing.

Helen’s 30-year executive career includes recent roles as CEO of Anti-Slavery International, Interim CEO at the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, Chief Executive at POhWER, Interim Director of Change at Marie Curie, and Interim COO at Stonewall, where she has led transformation programmes that delivered social impact. 

Helen is completing an MA in International Affairs (Strategic Studies) at King’s College London in 2026. From 2026, Helen will retire from her executive career to pursue postgraduate research as an independent researcher examining economics, trade, and social purpose.

Costs Delivery for Medical Negligence at Irwin Mitchell LLP. With over 22 years in Costs Law, Leigh is recognised for strategic leadership, operational excellence, and a steadfast commitment to regulatory compliance.

Throughout Leigh’s career at Irwin Mitchell, she has led multi-disciplinary teams, managed complex operational plans, and worked closely with Managing Partners to achieve business objectives. Her approach to governance and financial stewardship has directly contributed to group profitability, notably through improved billable and utilisation targets, litigation strategy compliance, and production delivery.

Leigh is passionate about delivering exceptional client service, maintaining the highest standards of professional conduct, and nurturing a client-centric culture. Leigh is known for an approachable nature, dedication to team development, and ability to nurture talent through coaching, mentoring, and structured performance management frameworks.

A forward-thinking leader, Leigh embraces innovation and technology, role-modelling the adoption of AI initiatives and management reporting tools to enhance operational efficiency. Her commitment to technical excellence is matched by a rigorous approach to compliance, risk management, and ongoing professional development.

Leigh’s ethos centres on people development, wellbeing, and inclusion and her commitment to social responsibility is reflected in roles as Trustee of the Irwin Mitchell Charities Foundation and Treasurer of a local Scout group. Leigh is dedicated to upholding the highest standards of regulation, governance, and ethical practice.

Carl Stychin is Director of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies and Professor of Law, in the School of Advanced Study, University of London. Professor Stychin is a graduate of the University of Alberta (BA, 1985), University of Toronto (JD, 1988), and Columbia Law School in the City of New York (LLM, 1992). He served as Law Clerk to Chief Justice Brian Dickson, Supreme Court of Canada (1989-1990). Professor Stychin began his academic career at Keele University in 1992, and moved to a Professorship at the University of Reading in 1998. While at Reading, he held various management roles: Head of the School of Law, Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences, and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Enterprise). He was awarded the degree of Doctor of Laws by the University in 2009 on the basis of his publication record. Professor Stychin served as Dean of The City Law School, City, University of London, between 2012 and 2018. He was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in 2014. Professor Stychin has wide experience in regulatory matters. He is currently a non-registrant member of the General Chiropractic Council, and an Education Visitor for the General Dental Council and the General Optical Council.