England: Lord Chancellor calls for more solicitor judges

David Gauke, the first solicitor to hold the post of Lord Chancellor, has called on more solicitors to consider a career at the bench, The Brief reports.

Mr Gauke (pictured), addressing 400 lawyers and judges at the annual dinner for the Times Law Awards essay competition, said he could “think of many former colleagues who would make excellent judges” but that “far too few even consider it”.

From 1999 to 2005, Mr Gauke practised as a solicitor in the financial services group at Macfarlanes in the City of London.

He told the event: “In addition to attracting leading barristers, I want to see a wider range of legal professionals applying to join the judiciary and giving back to the best system in the world.”

He hoped the judiciary would become more diverse “not just in terms of race and gender, but also in terms of professional background”.

Lord Justice Hickinbottom is the only solicitor turned judge in the Court of Appeal, and only one solicitor has been elevated to the Supreme Court, the retired Lord Collins of Mapesbury.