Lady Hale of Richmond

Lady Hale of Richmond
Name	Lady Hale of Richmond
Office	President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
Term start	2017
Term end	2020
Predecessor	Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury
Successor	Lord Reed
Office1	Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
Term start1	2009
Term end1	2020
Predecessor1	Position established
Successor1	Lord Stephens
Office2	Lord of Appeal in Ordinary
Term start2	2004
Term end2	2009
Predecessor2	Lord Millett
Successor2	Position abolished
Birth name	Brenda Marjorie Hale
Birth date	31 January 1945
Birth place	Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
Alma mater	Girton College, Cambridge
Profession	Judge, Academic

Lady Hale of Richmond. She is a retired senior British judge who served as the first female President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. Appointed to the judicial House of Lords in 2004, she became a founding Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom upon its establishment in 2009. Her tenure is distinguished by landmark rulings on constitutional law, human rights, and family law, cementing her reputation as a pioneering and influential jurist.

Early life and education

Brenda Marjorie Hale was born in Leeds within the historic West Riding of Yorkshire. She was educated at Richmond High School for Girls in North Yorkshire. Demonstrating academic excellence, she won a scholarship to study at Girton College, Cambridge, one of the first colleges to admit women. She read law at the University of Cambridge, graduating at the top of her class with a starred first-class degree in 1966, a rare achievement that underscored her formidable intellect.

Legal career

After Cambridge, Hale chose an academic path, becoming a lecturer in law at the University of Manchester from 1966 to 1984. During this period, she also qualified as a barrister, being called to the Bar by Gray's Inn in 1969. Her scholarly work, particularly in family law and social welfare law, gained significant recognition. In 1984, she made history by becoming the first woman appointed to the Law Commission, where she led groundbreaking work on reforms concerning mental capacity, family homes, and domestic violence.

Supreme Court tenure

Hale was appointed a High Court judge in 1994, assigned to the Family Division. She was promoted to the Court of Appeal in 1999. In 2004, she was elevated as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary, becoming the first woman to sit as a Law lord in the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords. When the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom was created in 2009, she was a natural appointment as one of its inaugural Justices. She made history again in 2017 upon her appointment as President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, succeeding Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury.

Notable judgments and legal philosophy

Lady Hale authored many seminal judgments. In *R (Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union* (2017), she presided over the historic ruling that the government required an Act of Parliament to trigger Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union. In *R (on the application of Miller) v The Prime Minister* (2019), the court unanimously held that the prorogation advised by Prime Minister Boris Johnson was unlawful. Her legal philosophy is often characterized by a focus on clarity, constitutional principles, and a commitment to protecting vulnerable individuals, as seen in cases like *Birmingham City Council v Abdulla* and *Yemshaw v London Borough of Hounslow*.

Later life and public role

Since retiring from the Supreme Court in January 2020, succeeded by Lord Reed, Lady Hale has remained active in public life. She serves as the Visitor to Girton College, Cambridge, and holds the role of Chancellor at the University of Bristol. She is a frequent lecturer and commentator on legal issues, advocating for greater diversity in the judiciary and the importance of the rule of law. She published her autobiography, *Spider Woman: A Life*, in 2021.

Honours and recognition

For her services to the law, she was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 1999 upon her elevation to the Court of Appeal. Upon her appointment to the Lords, she was created a Baroness, taking the title **Baroness Hale of Richmond**, of Richmond in the County of North Yorkshire. She holds numerous honorary doctorates from institutions including the University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford, and the University of Glasgow. In 2022, she was awarded the prestigious Bodil Prize for Jurisprudence.

Category:British judges Category:1945 births Category:Living people Category:Presidents of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom Category:Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge