CPD Training (UK) Limited

Professor Peter Lyons was a specialist advocacy and dispute resolution trainer from 1995 until his premature death in June 2023. He founded CPD Training (UK) in 2005. Peter became one of the leading advocacy trainers in Europe and had a global reputation.

In March 2019, Wildy’s published Peter’s book, Advocacy – A Practical Guide, which includes a foreword by Lord Pannick KC.

Peter was a professor at the College of Law of England & Wales; an Adjunct Professor at the University of Tasmania; a Visiting Professor at the University of Strathclyde; a Visiting Lecturer at the Center for Transnational Law (CENTRAL) at the University of Cologne; and a guest lecturer at the University of Bonn (Faculty of Law) ... Read More >

Chris Taylor has been a practising litigation and dispute resolution solicitor since 1999. As Head of Litigation Training at CPD Training (UK), he has taught and assessed litigation skills for many leading law firms and patent firms.

Chris has taught litigation drafting skills to a wide range of law firms including CMS, Debevoise & Plimpton, Mayer Brown, Kirkland & Ellis, Milbank and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. He regularly teaches negotiation skills and has been retained by clients including Shearman & Sterling (now A&O Shearman). He has also taught English civil procedure to Dentons’ Scottish dispute resolution teams.

Chris is CPD Training (UK)’s lead trainer on the Basic Litigation Skills Course for patent attorneys and trade mark attorneys. He has delivered the course many times, including in-house for firms including Marks & Clerk, Carpmaels & Ransford, Mathys & Squire, AA Thornton, Boult Wade Tennant and Kilburn & Strode.

Chris was for many years a contributing editor to Blackstone’s Civil Practice ... Read More >

Simon Brown KC was for 10 years the Designated Mercantile Judge of the Midlands and the Senior Circuit Judge for Birmingham, which is the equivalent of a permanent regional High Court Judge.

Simon Brown has worked as an SRA-approved assessor for Higher Court advocacy in England & Wales. For many years Simon assessed Higher Rights for CPD Training (UK), and was the Chair of our Higher Rights Assessment Board from 2010 to 2019. Simon continues to teach all aspects of advocacy skills. He was a member of the teaching team at the Tasmanian Advocacy Conventions in 2012 and 2014 and taught arbitration advocacy at Bär and Karrer in Zurich in 2022. He regularly teaches and assesses interim advocacy on the Basic Litigation Skills Course for patent attorneys.

Simon has also acted as a senior Higher Rights external examiner for the SRA ... Read More >

Fiona Donnelly was for many years a Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Professional Legal Studies at Queen’s University, Belfast, and has been admitted as a solicitor since 1987.

Fiona has acted as an SRA-approved assessor for Higher Court advocacy in England & Wales. She assessed solicitors' Higher Rights of Audience for CPD Training (UK) from 2012 until our accreditation expired in 2025. She is also an approved assessor in Northern Ireland.

For CPD Training (UK), Fiona has taught arbitration advocacy for CMS in London and Vienna and for Bär & Karrer and Gabriel Arbitration in Zurich. She regularly teaches and assesses interim advocacy on the Basic Litigation Skills Course for patent attorneys. Fiona has also taught bespoke advocacy skills courses to a number of patent firms, as well as for the European Central Bank in Frankfurt. ... Read More >

Glenda Fontaine is probably the most experienced assessor of Higher Rights of Audience in the UK. For over 25 years, she has delivered a range of advocacy and academic courses to Bar students, trainee and qualified solicitors, local authorities, private individuals and prosecuting authorities.

Glenda was called to the Bar in 1985, where her practice included representation in all tribunals and courts of law..

Glenda has been teaching and assessing civil and criminal Higher Rights since 2001. She has also taught and assessed many patent attorneys in advocacy skills on the Basic Litigation Skills Course over the last 10 years. ... Read More >

Ruairi Gillen is an accomplished advocacy trainer from Northern Ireland, who regularly teaches advocacy courses in the UK and Europe for CPD Training (UK).

Ruairi has taught Higher Rights of Audience to candidates from a wide range of firms including CMS, Mayer Brown, Bird & Bird, Bristows, Cleary Gottlieb, Debevoise & Plimpton, Freshfields and K&L Gates. He has also delivered CPD Training (UK)’s PSC Advocacy & Communication Skills course to national and City firms. He was a member of the faculty which delivered a course on arbitration advocacy skills to Bär & Karrer in Zurich in 2022 and has also taught arbitration advocacy skills for CMS.

Ruairi is a barrister in Northern Ireland, having previously been a solicitor for 15 years. He practises in both civil and criminal cases, with a particular focus on extradition law.   … Read More >

Carol Sowers is a leading presentation skills coach. Carol was a professional broadcaster for over 30 years. She graduated from the Missouri School of Journalism, which is the foremost journalism school in the US. She was Vice-President for Public Affairs at CBS / ABC Affiliate station KHQA after holding the positions of Main Anchor, Executive Producer and Executive News Director.

Since leaving CBS, Carol has trained advocates, broadcast professionals, law enforcement organisations and government departments in poise, delivery, speaking without notes, using gestures and voice control. For CPD Training (UK), she has taught presentation skills and personally coached lawyers in Vienna; Frankfurt; Zurich; and Hobart and Devonport in Tasmania ... Read More >

Judge Mark Drummond is one of the most well-known advocacy teachers in the United States. He was a trial lawyer for 20 years followed by 20 years as a trial court judge. 

For CPD Training (UK), Judge Drummond has taught arbitration advocacy at the CMS Academy in Vienna in 2012 and 2015 and Frankfurt in 2017; and at Bär & Karrer in Zurich in 2014 and 2022. Since 2024 he has trained lawyers from across Mayer Brown’s international network in arbitration advocacy skills on an annual basis. In 2019 he taught cross-examination in Hobart and Devonport, Tasmania. He also trained lawyers for the Tasmanian Solicitor-General and the Director of Prosecutions in persuading a court ... Read More >

Kelly is a barrister at 39 Essex Chambers in Chancery Lane, London. She acts on matters involving commercial law, international arbitration, international tax law and European Union law. Kelly is the Chair of the Civil Mediation Council and a member of CEDR’s faculty of trainers.

She is ranked in the Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners, and in International Tax Review’s Tax Controversy Leaders Guide. Before becoming a barrister, Kelly was a legal adviser for PwC’s legal firm.

Kelly has taught and assessed for CPD Training (UK) for number of years. She is a visiting lecturer on the LLM degree at King’s College London and has taught at the University of London for many years, teaching and assessing undergraduates and postgraduates … Read more >

Lorraine Richardson, CPD Training’s Head of Quality Assurance, practises as a solicitor in East Anglia and has an extensive background in legal education and training. She also runs Adapt Law, an online property law training business.

Lorraine has a particular expertise in Quality Assurance Procedures for training courses and assessments. At the College of Law, Lorraine managed the very successful Higher Rights of Audience programme where she was responsible for dealing with all academic and assessment issues.

Lorraine has expertise in drafting assessment regulations and associated guidelines; commissioning new assessments; ensuring the integrity of assessment processes (both written and advocacy) and reviewing assessment results ... Read More >