5RB is delighted to announce that the Masters of the Bench of the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple have elected 5RB member, Felicity McMahon, to join their ranks as a Master of the Bench or ‘Bencher’. The Masters of the Bench are responsible for the governance of the Inn. This is a rare achievement and privilege for such a young practitioner and member of the Inn. The majority of Middle Temple Benchers are King’s Counsel or senior members of the judiciary. Felicity’s election as a Master is a recognition of the phenomenal scale of her voluntary service to Middle Temple since 2015, latterly (amongst her many other contributions to the life of the Inn) as Vice-Chair and then Chair of the Inn’s Hall Committee. The Middle Temple Hall Committee represents the largest constituency of the Inn, namely those Called to the Bar who are not Benchers.
Felicity’s Middle Temple colleagues at 5RB look forward to celebrating her achievement in Middle Temple Hall at a forthcoming Bench Call night. The procedure is that ‘Callees’ are Called to the Bench before dinner, then asked to take their place at the High Table. After dinner each new Bencher gives a short speech in which they are asked to ‘give an account’ of themselves to the Inn.’