A message from our Chair regarding Mr Stephen Whitaker:

I just want to take a moment, with sadness, to mark the death of Stephen Whitaker, a member of the Association, who passed away on the 16th of January.

Stephen was a well-respected and deeply valued member of No5 Chamber’s Business & Property Group and the MCCBA. I know many of you who had the privilege of knowing him, will agree that he will be deeply missed. 

Stephen joined No5 as an associate tenant in 1982. He was the first Chancery lawyer to do so. He joined No5 full time in 1996 and was instrumental in helping develop Chancery specialism in No5 and in Birmingham. He was the joint editor of Mithani: Directors’ Disqualification and several other books, including the title “Corporate Insolvency” in the Encyclopaedia of Forms and Precedents (2004). He was also a pupil supervisor to current members of the association. 

Applications are now open for the MCCBA’s Black Mini Pupillage Scheme, which is aimed at increasing and promoting the diversity of barristers in our practice area in which black barristers are underrepresented.

Applications for 2026 will close on 13 February 2026 and be considered within 6 weeks of that date, with successful applicants to be announced no later than the end of March 2026.

Details of the Scheme are available here and you can download an application form (MS Word) here.

A copy of the guidance for those assessing applications can be found here.