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02 July 2021 / Elizabeth Johnson
Issue: 7939 / Categories: Features , Profession
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A career in the judiciary—open to all?

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District Tribunal Judge Elizabeth Johnson reflects on her journey to the bench & the need for wider representation
  • Judge Elizabeth Johnson shares her experiences of becoming a judge and encourages other CILEX members as well as lawyers from under-represented groups to follow suit.

There is still considerable under-representation of women and ethnic minorities in our judiciary. Current figures show that although the proportion of women judges is increasing gradually, they still only represent 32% of all judges and 26% of High Court roles or above.

Black, Asian and minority ethnic people represent 8% of court judges and 12% of tribunal judges and research by the Sutton Trust shows that two-thirds of the most senior judges in England and Wales were privately educated.

More progress is needed to ensure the judiciary better reflects the society it serves. We are on the right track, but we need to draw more experienced lawyers from across the whole profession, not just the Bar.

I would like to encourage those who might have previously

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Arc Pensions Law—Matthew Swynnerton

Arc Pensions Law—Matthew Swynnerton

Chair of the Association of Pension Lawyers joins as partner

Ampa Group—Kamal Chauhan

Ampa Group—Kamal Chauhan

Group names Shakespeare Martineau partner head of Sheffield office

Blake Morgan—four promotions

Blake Morgan—four promotions

Four legal directors promoted to partner across UK offices

NEWS

The abolition of assured shorthold tenancies and section 21 evictions marks the beginning of a ‘brave new world’ for England’s rental sector, writes Daniel Bacon of Seddons GSC

Stephen Gold’s latest Civil Way column rounds up a flurry of procedural and regulatory changes reshaping housing, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and personal injury litigation
Patients are being systematically failed by an NHS complaints regime that is opaque, poorly enforced and often stacked against them, argues Charles Davey of The Barrister Group
A wealthy Russian divorce battle has produced a sharp warning about trying to challenge foreign nuptial agreements in the wrong English court. Writing in NLJ this week, Vanessa Friend and Robert Jackson of Hodge Jones & Allen examine Timokhin v Timokhina, where the High Court enforced Russian judgments arising from a prenuptial agreement despite arguments based on the landmark Radmacher decision
An obscure Victorian tort may be heading for an unexpected revival after a significant Privy Council ruling that could reshape liability for dangerous escapes, according to Richard Buckley, barrister and emeritus professor of law at the University of Reading
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