Lord Clarke of Stony-cum-Ebony - or “Tony” as we knew him – was far more than a selection of dates and achievements in an illustrious career as a barrister, Queen’s Counsel and Judge. This is not to downplay his distinguished career and achievements which were both numerous and profound, culminating in his appointment as Master of the Rolls and then to the Supreme Court in 2009 until stepping down in 2017. For all of us who were members of what was then 2 Essex Court before he went to the Bench in 1993, he was far more than a superb lawyer. He was a mentor and guiding influence, a constant source of wisdom and wit with boundless enthusiasm, good cheer and always a twinkle in his eye. Even whilst at the Bench, he was always interested in the progress and welfare of the Chambers which he had helped to develop and, upon his retirement from the Supreme Court in 2017, he was warmly welcomed back into Chambers as an arbitrator and as if he had never left.I see from Lord Reed’s tribute to Tony that like us the Supreme Court Justices regarded him with warmth, affection and respect both personally and professionally.

Tony’s contribution to commercial and maritime law in his 24 years on the Bench was exceptional. A leading example is Rainy Sky SA v Kookmin Bank where he delivered the seminal judgment which is now a foundational authority on contractual interpretation. In Autoclenz Ltd v Belcher Lord Clarke gave the leading judgment emphasising that, in employment cases, courts should look beyond written contracts to ascertain the true agreement between the parties, especially where there is an imbalance of bargaining power. He confirmed that express contractual terms inconsistent with "employee" status may be disregarded if they do not reflect the reality of the working relationship. His decision clarified that the focus should be on the actual nature of the agreement as demonstrated by all the circumstances, not just the written terms. On more familiar territory was The ”Ocean Victory” , an unsafe port case where he delivered a powerful dissent (with Lord Sumption) on the effect of joint insurance and distribution of insurance proceeds upon the right of owners to recover from demise charterers in respect of losses suffered by hull insurers following a breach of an express safe port undertaking.

On a more personal level his words of wisdom to his juniors were legendary, such as “always listen carefully to the questions from the Bench” (so as to see what the Judge was thinking) or the mantra “never re-examine”. These words were repeated to me throughout the 84-day “Ikarian Reefer“ trial in 1992 which was his last case as counsel. It was therefore with a heavy heart that I foolishly felt obliged to re-examine a witness in the first trial (in June 1993) in which I appeared before him after he became Admiralty Judge. Suffice to say he was right and subsequently mused with our solicitor from the “Ikarian Reefer” whether I had learnt anything. In the same case during the course of our 5-day closing submissions Tony apologised as he disappeared to play bridge saying that he had never cancelled a social event for the purpose of preparing a case, thus illustrating yet another one of his attributes – his “joie de vivre”.

As Head of Chambers he conducted Chambers’ meetings in a manner which might not be acceptable today. Votes were rarely taken. If the discussion was moving in the wrong direction and against the interests of Chambers as far as Tony was concerned, he would sum up “the mood of the meeting” without the necessity of a vote. Whether this represented the actual mood of the meeting is another matter.

As a Judge he was always fair, good tempered and responsive to the underlying merits. As Lord Reed said he was famous for his common sense. In the late 1990s I appeared before him in a case in which a time limit had been missed by a solicitor who was unaware that personal injury claims arising from a collision were subject to a 2 year limitation period albeit with a power to extend time. The case concerned a collision between an Isle of Wight ferry and a yacht in which the ferry’s bridge team were allegedly distracted by fighting a bee. No application had been made to extend time because the claimant’s lawyers were unaware of the power Tony’s response was to adjourn the hearing to enable an application for a time extension to be made with a clear indication that he might be minded to grant the application if the case was not settled.

In 2000 he conducted the three month Public Inquiry arising from the collision between the Marchioness and Bowbelle and then into the coroner’s subsequent conduct. This was a distressing time for survivors and members of the family of the deceased. 51 people on board the Marchioness had died in the tragic collision on the Thames. Tony carried out both aspects of the Inquiry with outstanding sensitivity. No participant expressed any concern or disappointment at the manner in which the Inquiry was conducted or its findings and his Reports were warmly welcomed.

All those who knew and worked with him at 2 Essex Court will still be able to picture him in his room on the first floor overlooking the courtyard in Fountain Court. As one former member has said, his cheerfulness, enthusiasm and sense of fun were infectious. He was wonderfully modest and wore his legal and tactical brilliance lightly. Being led by him was a joy, and a joy ride (since he seemed to do all the work and the thinking). Tony was a wonderful human being and we are blessed to have known him as a friend and a colleague in Chambers. The essence of Tony and his attitude to life can be summarised by his habitual response to a crisis or to a disaster in a case, or anything else; he would give you his twinkling smile and say “I daresay we’ll muddle through somehow” or “t’was ever thus”.

Our thoughts are with Rosemary and all of Tony’s family.

Nigel Jacobs KC 

Lord Reed read out a tribute to Tony in the Supreme Court which you can watch below.