We are pleased to announce that in a legal first, First 100 Years in partnership with Gray’s Inn is hosting female Supreme Court Justices from across the globe in London.
President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, Baroness Hale will be joined by Chief Justice of Australia, Susan Kiefel, former Chief Justice of Ghana, Georgina Wood, and former Chief Justice of Canada, Beverley McLachlin.
The women will take part in a panel discussion about women in the law, facilitated by Professor Penny Andrews, Dean of Law at the University of Cape Town, and Genevieve Muinzer, author, founder of Ad Astra Communications and Vice-Chair of the Foundation for International Law. An introduction will be provided by Dame Linda Dobbs DBE, with closing remarks from Dana Denis-Smith, founder of First 100 Years.
The evening will be hosted by Gray’s Inn and the discussion will be followed by a drinks reception in South Square.
Baroness Hale DBE is President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, and the first woman to serve in this role. She previously served as Deputy President of the Supreme Court from 2013. In 2004 she became the UK’s first woman Lord of Appeal in Ordinary after a varied career as Professor of Law at Manchester, law reformer at the Law Commission, and judge.
Susan Kiefel AC is the first female Chief Justice of Australia. Appointed to the Court in 2007, she was previously a judge of the Federal Court of Australia and the Supreme Court of Norfolk Island. Admitted to the Queensland Bar in 1975, she was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1987. Justice Kiefel has served as a part-time Commissioner of the Australian Law Reform Commission.
Georgina Wood is the former Chief Justice of Ghana and the first woman to occupy that position. She is also a member of the Council of State of Ghana. Previously she worked as a public prosecutor for the Ghana Police Service, and joined the Judicial Service as a District Magistrate in 1974, and rose through the Courts to become presiding judge of the Appeal Court in 1991. She was nominated as Chief Justice of Ghana in 2007 and retired in 2017.
Beverley McLachlin was the first female Chief Justice of Canada and the longest serving in Canadian history, appointed in 2000 and retiring in December 2017. She also served as Deputy of the Governor General of Canada. Previously, Beverley worked as an Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia, before being appointed to Vancouver County Court in 1981. In 1988 she was appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of British Columbia, and was sworn in as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada in 1989.
This event is sponsored by:
Clyde & Co
Mishcon de Reya
Obelisk Suport
Serjeants’ Inn
Organisers:
First 100 Years
Gray's Inn
Location:
Gray's Inn Hall
London
WC1R 5JA
