Lord Sumption denies legal old boys network

Lord Sumption waded into controversy this week in an interview with the London Evening Standard, where he warned that pushing too fast for more female judges could have “appalling consequences”. These were that it could make “male candidates feel that the cards are stacked against them”. He described the judiciary as a “terribly delicate organism” that could be destroyed. The main reason for the lack of female judges was that women were less prepared to put up with long working hours, he said. He denied there was an “old boys network” at the bar but simultaneously praised the tradition of barristers becoming judges as a “terrific public asset”.