Sir Simon James Bryan (born 23 November 1965) is a British High Court judge.

Education and early life

He was educated at

Arnold School Arnold School was an independent school in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, established on the The Fylde, Fylde coast in 1896 during the Victorian expansion of Public school (UK), public boarding schools in England. The school was in the United ...

. He attended

Magdalene College, Cambridge Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...

, graduated with a double first-class BA degree on the law Tripos in 1987 and earned several academic prizes.

Career

He was called to the Bar at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

in 1988 with a Lord Denning Scholarship. He was a

supervisor A supervisor, or lead, (also known as foreman, boss, overseer, facilitator, monitor, area coordinator, line-manager or sometimes gaffer) is the job title of a lower-level management position and role that is primarily based on authority over la ...

in law at Magdalene College from 1988 to 1989. He practised commercial law from

Essex Court Chambers Essex Court Chambers is a set of commercial barristers in Lincoln's Inn Fields, central London. It has 110 tenants, of whom 55 are King's Counsel, also known as Silks. It is considered by legal commentators to be one of the ' Magic Circle' of Londo ...

, where he also completed his

pupillage A pupillage, in England and Wales, Northern Ireland, Kenya, Malaysia, Pakistan and Hong Kong, is the final, vocational stage of training for those wishing to become practising barristers. Pupillage is similar to an apprenticeship, during which ba ...

, specialising in shipping, oil and gas litigation, insurance and reinsurance disputes and civil fraud. In addition to practice, he has been editor of the ''Encyclopedia of International Commercial Litigation'' since 2008. In 2006, he became a Queen's Counsel (

took Silk A King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarch is a woman, the title is Qu ...

) and from 2009 to 2017 he served as a

Recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a newsp ...

of the Crown Court. He was a Deputy High Court Judge from 2013 to 2017 and served a
Chief Justice of the Falkland Islands

South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (SGSSI) is a British Overseas Territory in the southern Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote and inhospitable collection of islands, consisting of South Georgia and a chain of smaller islands known as the ...

, the British Antarctic Territory and the

British Indian Ocean Territory The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) is an British Overseas Territories, Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom situated in the Indian Ocean, halfway between Tanzania and Indonesia. The territory comprises the seven atolls of the Chago ...

from 2015 to 2017. In 2002, he was made a

Freeman of the City of London The Freedom of the City of London started around 1237 as the status of a 'free man' or 'citizen', protected by the charter of the City of London and not under the jurisdiction of a feudal lord. In the Middle Ages, this developed into a freedom or ...

and is a liveryman of the

Worshipful Company of Gardeners The Worshipful Company of Gardeners is one of the livery companies of the City of London. A fraternity of Gardeners existed in the middle of the fourteenth century; it received a royal charter in 1605. The company no longer exists as a regulator ...

. He was a member of the Court at the

University of Hertfordshire The University of Hertfordshire (UH) is a Universities in the United Kingdom, university in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. The university is based largely in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, Hertfordshire. Its antecedent institution, Hatfield ...

from 2011 to 2015 and since 2020 has been on the Disciplinary Appeal Committee of Magdalene College, Cambridge.

High Court appointment

On 2 October 2017, he was appointed as a judge of the High Court and assigned to the

Queen's Bench Division The King's Bench Division (or Queen's Bench Division when the monarch is female) of the High Court of Justice deals with a wide range of common law cases and has supervisory responsibility over certain lower courts. It hears appeals on point ...

. In the same year, he took the customary

Knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

. He sits in the

Commercial Court Business courts, sometimes referred to as commercial courts, are specialized courts for legal cases involving commercial law, internal business disputes, and other matters affecting businesses. In the US, they are trial courts that primarily or ...

and is authorised to hear cases on the Financial List, the

Competition Appeal Tribunal The Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) of the United Kingdom was created by Section 12 and Schedule 2 to the Enterprise Act 2002, Enterprise Act 2002 which came into force on 1 April 2003. The Competition Service is an executive non-department ...

, the

Administrative Court An administrative court is a type of specialized court on administrative law, particularly disputes concerning the exercise of public power. Their role is to ascertain that official acts are consistent with the law. Such courts are usually co ...

and other King's Bench work including criminal cases. He was a

Presiding Judge A chief judge (also known as presiding judge, president judge or principal judge) is the highest-ranking or most senior member of a lower court or circuit court with more than one judge. According to the Federal judiciary of the United States, the ...

on the South Eastern Circuit between 2020 and 2023.

Personal life

In 1989, he married Katharine Hilton, with whom he has one son and one daughter.

Arms

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bryan, Simon Living people 1965 births 21st-century English judges Knights Bachelor Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge Members of Lincoln's Inn Queen's Bench Division judges Falkland Islands judges People educated at Arnold School