Appointment of Lord and Lady Justices of Appeal
The Queen has approved the appointment of two Lady Justices and six Lord Justices of Appeal.
The Queen was pleased to approve the appointment of Mrs Justice Andrews and Mrs Justice Elisabeth Laing as Lady Justices of Appeal; and the following as Lord Justices of Appeal – Mr Justice Birss, Mr Justice Edis, Mr Justice Lewis, Mr Justice Nugee, Mr Justice Stuart-Smith and Mr Justice Warby.
These appointments will fill forthcoming vacancies in the Court of Appeal arising from autumn 2020.
| Appointment | Biography |
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Mrs Justice Andrews: Called to the Bar (Gray’s Inn) in 1981 and took Silk in 2001. She was made a Bencher in 2004. She was appointed a Recorder in 2001, a Deputy High Court Judge in 2005 and a High Court Judge in the Queen’s Bench Division in 2013. |
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Mr Justice Birss: Called to the Bar (Middle Temple) in 1990 and took Silk in 2008. He was appointed a Specialist Circuit Judge of the Patents County Court in 2010 and a High Court Judge in the Chancery Division in 2013. He has been a Member of the Civil Procedure Rule Committee since 2014. From 2017 to 2019 he was the Supervising Judge for Business and Property Courts of the Midlands, Wales and Western Circuits. In 2019 he was appointed as the Judge in charge of the Patents Court. |
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Mr Justice Edis: Called to the Bar (Middle Temple) in 1980 and took Silk in 1997. He was appointed a Recorder in 1999, a Deputy High Court Judge in 2001 and a High Court Judge in the Queen’s Bench Division in 2014. He has been a Presiding Judge for the South Eastern Circuit since 2018. |
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Mrs Justice Elisabeth Laing: Called to the Bar (Middle Temple) in 1980 and took Silk in 2008. She was made a Bencher in 2013. She was appointed an Assistant Recorder in 1999, as a Recorder in 2000, a Deputy High Court Judge in 2010 and a High Court Judge in the Queen’s Bench Division in 2014. Mrs Justice Elisabeth Laing was appointed as Chairman of the Special Immigration Appeals Commission, the Pathogens Access Appeal Commission and the Proscribed Organisations Appeal Commission in January 2017. |
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Mr Justice Lewis: Called to the Bar (Middle Temple) in 1987 and took Silk in 2006. He was made a Bencher in 2011. He was educated at Cwmtawe Comprehensive, then went to Churchill College Cambridge. He was also a Fellow in Law, and a Lecturer, at Selwyn College in the University of Cambridge before entering practice at the Bar. He was appointed a Recorder in 2003, as a Deputy High Court Judge in 2010 and a High Court Judge in the Queen’s Bench Division in 2013. He was a Presiding Judge for the Wales Circuit from 2016 until 2019 and was the Deputy Chairman of the Boundary for Wales from 2016 until 2020. |
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Mr Justice Nugee: Called to the Bar (Inner Temple) in 1983 and took Silk in 1998. He was made a Bencher in 2003. He was appointed a Recorder in 2002, a Deputy High Court Judge in 2003 and a High Court Judge in the Chancery Division in 2013. He was a Judge of the Courts of Appeal of Jersey and Guernsey from 2011 until 2013. |
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Mr Justice Stuart-Smith: Called to the Bar (Gray’s Inn) in 1978 and took Silk in 1997. He was appointed a Recorder in 1996, a Deputy High Court Judge in 2004 and a High Court Judge in the Queen’s Bench Division in 2012. He was a Presiding Judge for the South Eastern Circuit from 2014 until 2018. |
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Mr Justice Warby: Called to the Bar (Gray’s Inn) in 1981 and took Silk in 2002. He was made a Bencher in 2007. He was appointed a Recorder in 2009, a Deputy High Court Judge in 2013 and a High Court Judge in the Queen’s Bench Division in 2014. He has been Judge in Charge of the Media and Communications List since 2017 and Chair of the High Court Judges’ Association since 2019. |