The Rt Hon Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury took office as President of The Academy of Experts on 3rd November 2021 having been appointed Deputy President on 18th May 2020.

After reading chemistry at Oxford and then spending three years as an investment banker, David Neuberger was called to the Bar in 1975 and practised largely in property law, taking silk in 1987. He was appointed a High Court Judge, sitting in the Chancery Division, in 1996, and was Supervisory Chancery Judge for Midland, Wales and Chester and Western Circuits from 2001.

In 2004, he was made a Lord Justice of Appeal, and a Privy Counsellor. In the same year, he was appointed Judge in charge of IT and modernisation. In 2007 he was promoted to be a Law Lord and became a peer. He was appointed Master of the Rolls in 2009. In 2012, he became the President of the United Kingdom Supreme Court, a position from which he retired in 2017.

In 2018, he started practising as an arbitrator and legal expert from One Essex Court in the Temple, London.

Derek is a Chartered Quantity Surveyor and Chartered Engineering Surveyor, with over 35 years of construction and engineering experience. He has acted as expert on over 45 occasions in delay, disruption and quantum matters.

Derek is both an accredited and certified expert witness and fellow of The Academy of Experts and has acted as a delay and quantum expert witness in arbitration, conciliation, litigation and mediation and as an expert determiner. He has been cross-examined on over 10 occasions and has delivered concurrent evidence in disputes from Belize to Brunei and Scotland to Singapore. Alongside his work as an expert adviser for ongoing projects, Derek undertakes the role of ‘project neutral’, independently reviewing international projects in preventative, on-the-job dispute resolution.

Ben Johnson is a Managing Director in the Global Investigations and Strategic Intelligence practice of Berkeley Research Group LLC. Responsible for leading forensic accounting assignments on behalf of a range of clients, including regulators, law firms and corporates.

He has over 18 years experience in the field of forensic accounting and litigation, including financial and regulatory investigations, and commercial disputes and litigation.

Joe Skilton is a Principal at Versant Partners . He is a qualified Chartered Accountant with over 10 years’ experience in dispute resolution, valuations, financial modelling, economic analysis, investigations and accounting reviews.

He advises parties in high profile litigations and international arbitrations across a range of sectors including oil and gas, financial services, energy, telecommunications, IT, banking, construction and manufacturing. The quantum of these disputes varies from US$1 million to over US$20 billion.

Rona is a senior professional support lawyer at Taylor Wessing in the Construction and Engineering group responsible for the group’s know-how and training requirements.

Before becoming a PSL, Rona advised on a full range of contentious and non-contentious construction matters both in London and Hong Kong.

Simon Clarke been practising as a materials expert for over 20 years and have been a Member of the Academy since 1995. I consider that the Academy provides an essential forum supporting experts from all backgrounds and representing their interests.

He is a Partner in a specialist materials consultancy working on a wide variety of projects ranging from new-build to historic structures, many of which are listed. This work includes review of documents and specifications and provision of materials advice for new and historic structures and materials. His work as an expert ranges from relatively minor incidents such as personal injuries, due to failed broom handles or accidents with power tools, through to more major incidents, such as fatalities involving cars and machinery, including fairground rides, cranes and lift failures. His criminal involvements have included investigation of corrosion on weapons involved in various murder cases, examination of counterfeit £1 coins, as well as commenting upon the machines and tooling involved in the reactivation of a number of submachine guns.

Michael Cohen is deeply involved in the world of dispute resolution. He is a Chartered Arbitrator, a qualified mediator and a practising insurance expert.

Formerly the Chairman of The Academy of Experts he was responsible for the professional standards and training of experts and dispute resolvers around the world.

He is a regular course tutor as well as being an established contributor to professional journals and a frequent conference speaker.