This fund was established in 1999 to honour the memory of the late Michael Self QC, Bencher of Lincoln's Inn, Recorder and head of these chambers for 12 years.
He was a man of intense loyalties. As his obituary in The Times recorded,
"From Lancing, which he regarded as pre-eminent among public schools, he went on to Worcester College, which he likewise thought beyond question the finest of colleges at Oxford, which in turn was supreme among universities."
"In 1941 he joined the Royal Navy, serving as an officer on destroyers in the Atlantic and, after the war, in India. The Navy was, for him, the only service that any sensible man would enter."
It followed of course that there was no question in his mind but that the chambers to which he belonged for nearly 50 years were peerless.
He was formidable and charming, a tireless advocate and a real winner with judges and juries alike. The latter seldom understood how such a man could represent the guilty, and if they did his clients could be reassured by his extraordinary success rate in apparently unwinnable appeals to the Court of Appeal and to the House of Lords.
As head of chambers he supported and encouraged us all, members and clerks alike. He was a great friend of the young bar.
The fund is available for occasional awards as follows:
All pupils at Nine Bedford Row are eligible to apply. The funds are available to cover a wide variety of applications and each request is dealt with on a case by case basis. Priority may be give to those in the earlier stages of pupillage, but junior tenants are also eligible to apply.
Application should be made in writing to the chairman of the pupillage committee and should state the amount requested and the purpose of the payment.
Each application will be considered on its merits and qualities of commitment and ability of the applicant will be taken into account.
