Baroness Brenda Hale of Richmond has been appointed President of the Supreme Court, the first woman to become the most senior judge in the UK. She will take up the role on 2 October 2017.
A woman pioneer in law, Lady Hale has already broken the glass ceiling in the legal profession on several occasions. She was the first woman to sit on the Supreme Court bench, and the first family judge to do the same. She was the first woman to be appointed to The Law Commission. Lady Hale also became the first female law lord in the House of Lords. In 2013, she was the first woman to be appointed Deputy President of the Supreme Court in 2013.
Another milestone in the history of women in the law was laid down today with the appointment of Lady Jill Black to the Supreme Court. This means that two of the 12 Supreme Court judges will be lady justices.
Watch Lady Hale’s
interview with The First 100 Years where she shares her experience being the only woman Supreme Court judge.
