It is with great sadness that Fountain Court notes the death on 26 April 2020 of its former Head of Chambers (1984-1989), Conrad Dehn QC.

Following service in the Royal Artillery between 1945-1948, Conrad took a First in PPE from Oxford (Christ Church) in 1950. He was called to the Bar (Gray’s Inn) in 1952 and took Silk in 1968. He was made a Bencher of Gray’s Inn in 1977 and served as its Treasurer in 1996. At the height of his formidable powers, Conrad was one of the most attractive and feared advocates at the English Bar, known for his meticulous preparation and complete command of his brief and the courtroom. He had an incredibly varied practice ranging through employment, competition, insurance, administrative and commercial law, and he appeared in diverse fora from industrial tribunals to the House of Lords and the ECJ. He appeared in numerous landmark cases, including Black Clawson International Property v Papierwerke Waldorf-Aschaffenburg [1975] AC 591, Faccenda Chicken v Fowler [1987] Ch.117, Post Office v Crouch [1974] 1 WLR 89, Royco Homes v Southern Water Authority [1979] 1 WLR 1366, Re Supply of Ready Mixed Concrete [1992] 2 QB 213, Rogers v Essex CC [1986] AC 66 and Barclays Bank of Swaziland v Hahn [1989] 1 WLR 506.

Conrad had a huge commitment to public service and, amongst other roles, served as a Recorder (1974-1978), as a deputy High Court Judge (1988-1996), as the Chairman of the Bar Council Working party on Liability for Defective Products (1975-1977), as a member of the Foster Committee of Inquiry into Operators’ Licences, Dept of Transport (1978), as the Chairman of the London University Appellate Disciplinary Committee (1986-1996), as the Vice-Chairman of the London Legal Aid Committee (1987-1992), as a governor of the Inns of Court School of Law (1996-2008), as a director of the Bar Mutual Indemnity Fund (1988-2010) and as a legal adviser to and vice-president of Age Concern UK.

Chambers remembers Conrad with fondness and affection as a kind, generous and highly cultured friend and colleague. Conrad’s wife of some 40 years, Marilyn, sadly died on 29 March 2020 and he is survived by his children Hugh, Kate and Guy.