About me

Bar

I was called to the Bar by Middle Temple in 1982 (ad eundem Lincoln's Inn. My horsehair wig was made to measure by Ede & Ravenscroft, Chancery Lane). Practice areas included government contracts, insurance, inheritance and private client. Latterly I practised at 13 Old Square Chambers, Lincoln's Inn, London.

Retirement

In 2009 I retired in good standing from law practice. My status at Middle Temple is now 'Withdrawn Membership' and my category there is 'Non-Practising Barrister' (Middle Temple's Head of Membership's October 10, 2022 letter, 'To whomever it may concern').

Surname change

I was born, brought up, practised law, and until I retired from the Bar lived with the surname Astor (my father's choice after WW2). In 2011, I changed it to Szrabe, a made-up variant of my paternal-paternal ancestral name. Dignified, fun, refreshing.

Books, articles

I was professionally involved in fighting the back- and front-office frauds at Lloyd's of London. For free, you can download from archive.org two books of mine, and an ebook collection of some of my published articles.

Associations

In my time I've been a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine, a ditto of the Royal Society of Arts, a ditto of the Royal Geographical Society, a Visiting Scholar at Harvard Law School, a Visiting Fellow here, a Visiting Professor there, etc. And at some point long ago I was even a member of my local public library (St. John's Wood).

Projects now

MHNA, my inheritance crime consulting firm here
Anatexis Media, a specialist legal publishing project here
The Inheritance Channel.com, a global multimedia inheritance project here
PerfectEnglish.pro: it's about time someone got English really right, right?

My philosophy

Clean conscience
clear thinking
straight talking
plain speaking
square dealing.

I expect the same from everyone else, including everyone with whom you deal on my watch.

I don't tolerate insincerity, incompetence, dishonesty or stupidity.

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