This interactive workshop will help you to build the techniques you need to deal with presentations, interviews and small group meetings with confidence and integrity. Barristers Emma Hughes and Sarah Parker will take you through a series of informal exercises tailored to early career professionals aimed at giving you the practical tools to level up your public speaking performance. No preparation necessary.
BILA YP is grateful to Convex for hosting the workshop.
Date: Tuesday, 8 September 2026
Venue: Convex 52 Lime St, London EC3M 7AF (the Scalpel)
Arrival: 16.00 for 16.30 start
End: 18.30
Drinks: 18.30-19.30
Spaces limited to 50 attendees. Tickets allocated on first come first served basis.
Bring company/photo ID.
You’ll be standing where possible – comfortable shoes are recommended.
Our Speakers
Emma Hughes:
Emma is a commercial barrister at 3 Verulam Buildings. She has considerable experience in aviation, insurance, civil fraud and banking and financial services disputes. Her recent and current instructions include large multi-party disputes and matters raising conflict of laws issues. Emma was shortlisted as Shipping, Commodities and Aviation Junior of the year for the Legal 500 Bar Awards 2023. Emma is instructed alongside David Quest KC and Sarah Parker in the Russian Aircraft Operator Policy claims listed for a three month trial in 2026.
Sarah Parker:
Sarah is a barrister at 3 Verulam Buildings practicing in Insurance and reinsurance, commercial disputes, civil fraud and banking and finance. She is currently instructed with David Quest KC and Emma Hughes in the Russian Aircraft Operator Policy claims. Sarah is a confident and convincing speaker, having appeared as an advocate in the High Court and County Court. Prior to coming to the Bar, Sarah worked in business, regularly delivering training, sales pitches and attending customer and stakeholder meetings.
Public speaking skills workshop: Speaking with confidence and integrity
IN-PERSON EVENT AT LLOYDS OLD LIBRARY
Karen Ellis will be giving a presentation on the insurance and risk management considerations for stakeholders across Formula 1, including the role of brokers, insurers and claims specialists in the placement and management of complex insurance programmes and claims for Motorsport.
The session will explore the importance of understanding each risk in detail, the availability of insurance capacity across different territories, and the key insurance considerations arising from the differences between permanent circuits and street venues.
Karen will also share relevant case studies, where details are publicly available, including insights from the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix and a fatal injury claim, from an insurance and risk management perspective, followed by a Q&A.
The session will be chaired by Manoj Vaghela, Chair of BILA. Manoj will contribute to the session in relation to the legal position too.
Karen Ellis has more than 45 years’ experience as a specialist insurance broker in sports, entertainment and complex major risk insurance. She has worked extensively with sporting federations, associations, clubs, athletes and event organisers and is widely recognised as a leading insurance specialist in Formula 1, having advised on the sport for more than four decades.
Her expertise includes global asset risks, contingency and event cancellation, participant and spectator liability, personal accident, travel and medical insurance, professional indemnity, directors’ and officers’ insurance, and property and casualty risks. Karen works closely with clients, insurers, legal advisers and claims specialists to help identify, manage and transfer complex risks effectively.
Karen is the Founder and CEO of Karen Ellis Consultancy Limited. Over the course of her career, she has held senior leadership roles including CEO, Managing Director and Divisional Director, and has extensive experience in business growth, strategic change, high-value transactions and mergers and acquisitions.
Please note that Karen’s presentation will focus specifically on insurance and risk management matters. She is not a lawyer and does not provide legal advice or comment on legal matters; rather, she will share her specialist perspective as an experienced insurance adviser and broker.
The lecture will take place on 9 September from 1.00 pm to 2.00 pm in the Old Library at Lloyd’s.
Important – For admittance to Lloyd’s, please make sure to bring along your Lloyd’s pass if you have one or photo ID (driving licence, passport or work ID with company logo and full name).
We look forward to welcoming you to The Old Library, Lloyd’s Building, 1 Lime Street, London, EC3M 7HA.
High Speed. High Stakes. High Risk
Prof John Birds will be giving an update on recent cases considering insurance warranties under the Insurance Act 2015 Part 3 regime.
Prof John Birds: Having started teaching law at Queen Mary College, University of London, John Birds joined the Law School at the University of Sheffield in 1978 and taught there for 28 years. He was Professor of Commercial Law for many years before moving to a chair at the University of Manchester. Since retirement in 2011 he has been an Emeritus Professor at Manchester and an Honorary Professor at Sheffield. His publications include Birds’ Modern Insurance Law (13th edition with Katie Richards, 2025) and he has been one of the editors of MacGillivray on Insurance Law since 1988. He is also general editor of The Encyclopedia of Insurance Law.