Born on 12 July 1945, Robin de Wilde was called to the Bar in 1971, appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1993 and elected a Bencher in 1996. He was a leading Silk in professional negligence, particularly personal injury and clinical negligence, including cerebral palsy and product liability. He chaired the Professional Negligence Bar Association from 1995-97, becoming Honorary Vice President in 1998. He sat as a Recorder between 2000-04. Master de Wilde was Chairman of the Ogden Working Party, 2003-17, and was responsible for the 5th, 6th and 7th editions of the Ogden Tables, in collaboration with actuaries from the Government Actuary’s Department. Master de Wilde also worked with the actuarial profession in his professional practice and was a strong advocate for co-operation between actuaries and the legal profession, shaping the practice of the courts in this field. He was appointed an Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries in 2016.

From 2001-07, Master de Wilde was Master of the Yearbook, later serving on the Inn’s Investment Sub-Committee and Archives Committee.  In a collaboration with Dr Johnson’s House Trust, he was instrumental in the Inn publishing a series of essays by Lord Bingham entitled Dr Johnson and the Law.

Robin de Wilde died on 13 March 2025. A private funeral has taken place and his widow Patricia is planning a memorial service in the Temple Church in October. Further details will follow in due course. The Inn’s flag was flown at half-mast in his memory on Thursday 24 April.