Lord Burrows: Increase in joint lead judgments at Supreme Court
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Lord Burrows has reflected on his experience as the first full-time academic appointed directly to the Supreme Court in a talk delivered at Oxford University.
He described the shift from specialist scholarship to generalist judging, the court’s strong culture of collegiality – with over 90 per cent of decisions now being unanimous – and the discipline of judgment writing.
He also highlighted the growing practice of joint lead judgments (47 per cent in 2024; 53 per cent in 2025), signalling a move away from multiple separate opinions.
The judge outlined the role of judicial assistants as well, emphasising their research and analytical support while making clear that they do not draft judgments, as the public sometimes mistakenly thinks.
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