Timothy Dutton CBE KC

Barrister & Founder of the Keble College Advanced International Advocacy Course

Timothy Dutton CBE KC is a leading silk at the London Bar, practicing out of Fountain Court. He was called to the bar in 1979, taking silk in 1998, with a general commercial practice which focuses on professional, regulatory and public law matters. Tim has undertaken a large number of high profile cases and is described as a “doyen of the bar when it comes to professional conduct.” He is regularly instructed by City Firms and institutions to advise and act in high value and complex cases.

In 2003 Tim was elected as a Bencher at Middle Temple. He sat as a Recorder from 2000-17 and continues to sit as an arbitrator and chair of high profile inquiries. Tim also contributed to the Butterworth Guide to the Legal Services Act 2007, sits on the Editorial Board of Cordery and lectures widely on his areas of expertise.

In 1987 Timothy was invited to teach advocacy to practising lawyers in the USA. From this experience he realised that teaching of advocacy in the UK lacked sophistication. In 1994 he founded, and for the next 10 years directed, the Keble College Advanced International Advocacy Course which teaches practising advocates how to improve their skills, always complying with ethical standards. The course is regarded as the world’s leading advocacy course for practising advocates, and the model has been widely exported. In 2004 Tim was elected leader of the South-Eastern Circuit, and in 2008 he was elected Chair of the Bar Council through which he campaigned for better standards of integration and inclusion. The same year he became head of chambers at Fountain Court. In 2015 Timothy was appointed CBE for services to the UK Legal System.