Sir George joins the Supreme Court

Sir George Leggatt, currently Lord Justice Leggatt, will be sworn in as Justice in a closed ceremony on 21 April. However, the format of the ceremony has been modified due to social distancing requirements.

Under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, which established the Supreme Court, a person appointed as a Justice must take the oaths in the presence of the President of the Court. As Sir George is due to sit as a Justice on 22 April, his swearing-in cannot be postponed. Therefore, the ceremony will take place in the Court’s Library rather than the usual Courtroom One before the President, Lord Reed with the other Justices taking part via video conference.

After attending King’s College, Cambridge and Harvard University, and teaching at the University of Chicago Law School, Sir George worked as a foreign lawyer at Sullivan & Cromwell’s New York office before joining Brick Court in 1985. He took silk in 1997 and practised until 2012, when he was appointed a High Court judge.

Sir George replaces Lord Carnwath, who retired on 6 March 2020.