Paul Darling OBE KC

Leading barrister dies at the height of his career

Paul Darling OBE KC died suddenly on Friday. He was 64 and is thought to have suffered a heart attack or stroke.

He died at Middle Temple, where he was treasurer — the inn’s non-executive chairman for 2024.

Dame Kate Thirlwall, the deputy treasurer, said yesterday:

It is with profound sadness that we announce the sudden death of our much loved and respected Treasurer, Master Paul Darling OBE KC. Paul died on Friday in Middle Temple, a place he loved. For over forty years he was a constant in every part of the Inn. Throughout that time, he worked selflessly and tirelessly for the good of others and the Inn, most recently as a wonderful Treasurer. He will be very much missed by us all.  

With two newly-called barristers at Middle Temple last month. Darling was dedicated to mentoring the young

Darling grew up in Cleadon in County Durham and went to Tonstall School in Sunderland before attending Winchester College and then St Edmund Hall, Oxford. He was called to the bar in 1983 and took silk in 1999.

He was head of Keating Chambers between 2010 and 2015 and led the technology and construction bar through an extensive re-organisation of its specialist court.

In 2017, Darling joined 39 Essex Chambers where he maintained a formidable reputation as an advocate. He specialised in complex cases featuring multiple parties, large teams and high volumes of material. An ability to quickly grasp detail, strategy and tactics allowed him to develop a practice that took him to every major jurisdiction, appearing in a wide variety of construction, energy, and commercial matters. Adaptability and focus contributed to his reputation as a gamechanger, brought in to direct some of the construction and commercial world’s most difficult cases. He had conducted arbitrations in Hong Kong, Singapore, and the Middle East since the early 1990s.

Darling’s grandfather was the Newcastle United player Jack Allen. His pug is named after Alan Shearer.

An ebullient and hugely popular figure, he also held a senior committee position at the Garrick, where he was seen as a future chair of club. He was the husband of Dr Camilla Darling, brother of HH Judge (Ian) Darling and son-in-law to Dame Anne Rafferty DBE, a former lady justice of appeal, and His Honour Brian Barker CBE KC, formerly the Recorder of London.

Lunch in Middle Temple Hall last month with the actor James Bolam.

Darling was also chair of the Horserace Betting Levy Board, having been appointed CBE in 2015 for services to sport safety and horse racing. In a statement, the board spoke of his “extraordinary enthusiasm, energy and a sense of fun”, while the Betting and Gaming Council described him as “hugely popular, intelligent and distinguished”. Joe Saumarez Smith, chair of the British Horseracing Authority, said that British racing was “mourning the sudden and devastating loss of a friend, colleague and an enormously important figure in our industry”.

Darling’s last message on social media was typically generous and optimistic:

I last spoke to Paul less than a week ago. He was on excellent form, as always, and there was not the slightest sign of anything out of the ordinary. He knew everyone and wanted to know everything. He was larger than life — a friend to all — and the law is now a much duller place without him.