The Lord Chancellor has approved the appointment of the following members of the Civil Justice Council for 3 years from 1 January 2024:
- John Cuss, Solicitor member
- Amrik Kandola, Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) member
- Daniel Hoadley, Digital, Technology and Information member
- Laurence Shaw, Legal Executive member
- Sue Prince, Lay member
- Elizabeth Smart, Advice Sector member
The CJC is a statutory advisory body established by the Civil Procedure Act 1997.
The CJC brings together members of the judiciary, civil servants, legal professionals and others representative of the varied perspectives, sectoral interests, specialist and professional expertise found across the civil justice system.
The CJC has a statutory role in keeping the civil justice system under review. It advises the judiciary, government, and rule makers on the development of the civil justice system, especially how it can be more accessible, fair and efficient. It is empowered to make proposals for change and propose and undertake research.
Appointments to the Civil Justice Council are made by the Secretary of State for Justice and are regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. These appointments have been made in line with the Governance Code on Public Appointments.
Biographies
John Cuss
John Cuss is a solicitor and works for Hudgell Solicitors as Head of Corporate Services and Strategic Partnerships. Supporting the next generation of aspiring lawyers is very important to John, and he also leads on the firm's early careers and work experience programmes and was very pleased to be recognised as Mentor of the Year at the Hull and East Yorkshire People in Business Awards 2023. John is also Vice-Chair of the National Law Society Dispute Resolution Committee and a Senior Advisor to the Association of Consumer Support Organisations (ACSO).
Mr Cuss has not declared any political activity.
Daniel Hoadley
Daniel Hoadley is Head of Data Science and Analytics at London law firm Mishcon de Reya LLP specialising in the application of artificial intelligence and data science to legal information and processes. Daniel was called to the Bar, in 2009, and worked as a law reporter for The Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for England and Wales (ICLR). Between 2015 and 2020. Daniel played a leading role in the modernisation of ICLR, co-designing the ICLR Online-series of legal research platforms, devising a substantial expansion in the coverage of The Weekly Law Reports, and building the first open-source deep learning model for processing English legal information, Blackstone.
Mr Hoadley has not declared any political activity.
Amrik Kandola
Amrik Kandola is a full-time commercial Mediator. After joining Eversheds LLP (now Eversheds Sutherland LLP) in 1991 as a trainee, Amrik became a partner in 2002. He specialised in technology, engineering, construction, and energy infrastructure disputes. He was an elected Board member of the firm between 2011 and 2014. In 2016, Amrik left private practice to become a full-time commercial mediator. He now mediates complex, high value and multi-party disputes across a wide range of commercial sectors. Amrik is a Centre for Effect Dispute Resolution (CEDR) Panel Mediator and Lead Faculty trainer on the CEDR Mediator Skills Training course. He was named Civil/Commercial Mediator of the Year 2023 at the National Mediation Awards (NMA) in 2022.
Mr Kandola declared he was a Change UK candidate in the 2017 European Parliament election.
Sue Prince
Sue Prince is a Professor in the Law School at the University of Exeter. She has held several senior roles in the University, including Associate Academic Dean for Students and Associate Dean Education for the Faculty of Social Sciences. She was also the Interim Head of the Law School for a long period. She sits on the University Council.Sue set up the first law clinic at the University of Exeter, based at Exeter Combined Court, which won the LawWorks Attorney General Award for Best New Student Pro Bono Activity. She also received an award from the Attorney General for a debt literacy project with local schools. She has carried out evaluations of court-connected Alternative Dispute Resolutions for the Ministry of Justice across fast-track, multi-track, and small claims mediation, and has researched mandatory mediation in Canada, Florida, and New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Sue was a member of the CJC Advisory Group on Online Dispute Resolution. Sue is an accredited civil and commercial mediator and a community mediator. She is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Authority.
Ms Prince has not declared any political activity.
Laurence Shaw
Laurence Shaw is a freelance legal consultant/qualified Chartered Legal Executive. He worked in the Before The Event and After The Event market for a short time for a well-known firm of Legal Expense providers. He has over 40 years' experience dealing with Personal Injury claims on behalf of the Claimant and, in the latter years, specialised in foreign jurisdiction litigation arising out of accidents abroad. He was an active member of APIL (Association of Personal Injury Lawyers) and PEOPIL (Pan European Organisation of Personal Injury Lawyers). He sat on the council of CILEX (Chartered Institute of Legal Executives) for 15 years during which time he chaired the Investigating Committee looking into possible members' misdemeanours, as well as chairing the Law Reform Committee for Contentious business. He is currently a Special Reference Group adviser for CILEX in Civil Litigation and, through that role, he represented CILEX on the Civil Justice Council Costs Committee on Guideline Hourly Rates.
Mr Shaw has not declared any political activity.
Liz Smart
Liz Smart is a Professor of Legal Education and a practising solicitor. She is currently Head of the School of Law and Society at St Mary's University, Twickenham and is a National Teaching Fellow and Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Liz is a non-Executive Solicitor Director of the Solicitors' Regulation Authority (SRA) and serves on the Independent Ethics Panel for the Police and Crime Commissioner in South Yorkshire advising on equality, diversity, and inclusion. Liz created a unique innovative law provision which was the only law degree in the UK which provided placement opportunities for all students embedded at all levels and removed the barriers to entry in the legal profession realising the ambition that we should reflect the communities we serve.
Ms Smart has not declared any political activity.
