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Last week, we had the privilege of welcoming The Rt Hon Brenda Hale, the Baroness of Richmond, to CLC. She was a remarkable and experienced speaker, and provided us with fascinating insight into how she has become the person she is today.

Lady Hale graduated from Girton College, Cambridge in 1966 and became a law lecturer at the University of Manchester shortly afterwards. After having passed the bar exam and working as a barrister, Lady Hale became the first woman and youngest ever person to be appointed to the Law Commission, where she spent nine years overseeing important reforms such as those of Family Court, which were put into statute by Parliament. She made sure to evolve the view of family and marriage in society, for instance, she worked to develop the Children Act of 1989 and the Family Law Act of 1996.

Latterly, Lady Hale played a significant role as President of the UK Supreme Court, having previously been the only woman ever to serve as a Law Lord. A particularly high-profile case she worked on was Miller II, regarding Boris Johnson’s prorogation of Parliament in 2019 at the height of the Brexit impasse between government and Parliament. The ruling of 'unlawfulness' was unanimous, and her judgement was crucial in successfully clarifying significant constitutional principles. These cases were pivotal in demonstrating the role that the judiciary's role in holding the government accountable, protecting our human rights and in upholding the rule of law.

Outside her career, Lady Hale has been a strong advocate for equality, social justice and judicial diversity. She is a strong believer that in a democracy, the judiciary should reflect the diversity of society, and that judges with different backgrounds and life experiences bring vital perspectives to legal issues and cases. Her insights into being a woman in the law, and the challenges that she faced because of this, taught us about the importance of resilience when breaking gender stereotypes while presenting why representation in the judiciary is incredibly necessary. 

Moreover, her ability to address the audience's questions with such depth and detail was truly impressive. Her thoughtful responses not only displayed her expertise in complex legal issues, but also her strong sense of humour which really engaged the audience.

Following the talk, Lady Hale kindly agreed to answer a few of our extra questions in the Main College Library. Here, she talked about a range of issues including the Assisted Dying Bill and some of the biggest regrets and challenges that she faced during her career. Her transparency when responding to our questions was very insightful, and we are so privileged to have had these extra moments.

Lady Hale was a captivating speaker whose remarks on the British judiciary are a clear testament to her historic career and pioneering work. We are immensely grateful to her for taking the time to deliver her memorable talk, and to the seven other schools from the Cheltenham Education Partnership who joined us in this momentous event. 

Farah and Siobhan, SFC2