Dame Sue Carr

The first woman to ever hold the top judicial post was given the choice of being known as Lord Chief Justice, Lady Chief Justice or simply Chief Justice. She has chosen to be known as Lady Chief Justice, according to The Telegraph.

Her title will be consistent with the head of the judiciary in Northern Ireland, the Lady Chief Justice Dame Siobhan Keegan, who took up the office in 2021.

In another historical milestone, Dame Sue’s swearing-in ceremony on Monday 2 October will be streamed live to the public for the first time. The link will become available through the Court of Appeal livestreaming page.

Dame Sue succeeds Lord Burnett of Maldon, the Lord Chief Justice since 2017.

Educated at Wycombe Abbey School before reading law at Trinity College Cambridge, Dame Sue was called to the Bar in 1987 and developed a specialist practice in general commercial law. She took silk in 2003.

Her judicial career began in 2009 in crime, when she became a recorder. She was appointed to the High Court in 2013 and became a nominated judge of the Commercial Court and the Technology and Construction Court in 2014.

In the same year, she became a member of the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, serving until 2016. She became a presider of the Midland Circuit in 2016 until 2020, when she was appointed as a Lady Justice of Appeal.