Famous British Lawyers & Judges

Amal Clooney is a Lebanese-British barrister, specializing in human rights and international law. Her clients include popular and influential personalities like Yulia Tymoshenko, Nadia Murad, and Julian Assange. Her work and philanthropic activities gained media coverage after her wedding to actor George Clooney. The Clooneys are well-known philanthropists and are founders of the Clooney Foundation for Justice.

Carrie Lam is a Hong Kong politician who has been serving as the Chief Executive of Hong Kong since 2017. From 2007 to 2012, she served as the Secretary for Development. From 2012 to 2017, Lam was the Chief Secretary for Administration. A controversial leader, Carrie Lam's administration witnessed the criminalization of the Hong Kong National Party.

Max Mosley was a British lawyer and racing driver. He is credited with founding the Formula One racing team and racing car constructor, March Engineering. He also served as the president of a non-profit association named Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), which represents the interests of car users and motoring organizations around the world.

John Winthrop was a British Puritan lawyer who played a major role in the establishment of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The colony was the second major settlement after Plymouth Colony in New England. A respected political figure, Winthrop has been cited by many modern-day politicians like Ronald Reagan, John F. Kennedy, and Sarah Palin.

Apart from being the current deputy prime minister of the UK, Dominic Raab has also previously been the secretary of state for Brexit, foreign affairs, and justice. A black belt in karate, too, he has often been in the middle of controversies for his barbed comments against his opponents.

Apart from being the wife of former UK prime minister Tony Blair, Cherie Blair is also a successful attorney in her own right. The daughter of actor Tony Booth, she is has also taught at the University of Westminster. She is associated with charitable campaigns on breast cancer and other causes, too.

Anna Soubry is a British journalist, barrister, and former politician. A vocal critic of Brexit, Soubry left the Conservative Party in February 2019 in order to join the Independent Group for Change (Change UK). Subsequently, Anna Soubry was appointed as the party's leader before the disbandment of Change UK following the party's failure at the December 2019 general election.

Robin Cavendish was an English medical aid developer and advocate for disabled people. He is credited with aiding the development of medical devices aimed at providing independence to paralyzed people. One of Britain's longest-lived responauts, Cavendish was given three months to live at the age of 28. He lived for 64 years and his story inspired the 2017 film Breathe.

Spencer Perceval was an English barrister and statesman who served as the United Kingdom's Prime Minister from 1809 to 1812. The only solicitor-general to have served as UK's prime minister, Perceval was also the only British PM to have been murdered. His assassination inspired poems like Universal sympathy on the martyr'd statesman, which was published in 1812.

Patricia Scotland, Baroness Scotland of Asthal, is a British barrister, diplomat, and politician. In 2016, Patricia started serving as the Commonwealth secretary-general, becoming the first woman to hold the post. As a Labour Party politician, Patricia Scotland has served in several ministerial positions, such as the Advocate General for Northern Ireland and Attorney General for England and Wales.

Harriet Harman is an English solicitor and politician who has been serving as a Member of Parliament for Camberwell and Peckham since 1982. An influential and popular politician, Harman has served in several Shadow Cabinet as well as Cabinet positions. Under Tony Blair, Harman served as the Secretary of State for Employment, Shadow Social Security Secretary, and Shadow Health Secretary.

Jonathan Sumption is a British medieval historian, author, and former senior judge. Between 2012 and 2018, Sumption served as a judge of the United Kingdom's Supreme Court. A former barrister, Jonathan Sumption is well known for his involvement in several legal cases, including the Three Rivers case. 

William Blackstone was a British politician, jurist, and judge of the 18th century. Best remembered for authoring the Commentaries on the Laws of England, Blackstone is credited with influencing prominent American personalities like Abraham Lincoln, James Kent, Alexander Hamilton, and John Marshall among others. His Commentaries, which were cited often in Supreme Court cases, were repeatedly republished throughout the 1770s.

Brenda Hale, Baroness Hale of Richmond, is a British judge. In 2004, she became the first woman to be appointed as a Law Lord in the House of Lords. In 2017, Brenda Hale became the first woman to serve as the president of the United Kingdom's Supreme Court, a position which she served until her retirement in 2020.

Edward Coke was an English politician, barrister, and judge. He is regarded as the greatest jurist of the Jacobean and Elizabethan eras. As a barrister, Coke took up important cases like Slade's Case. As a Member of Parliament, Coke campaigned for the Statute of Monopolies 1623. He also played a key role in the passage of the Petition of Right.

Richard Rich, 1st Baron Rich was a Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain who served during the reign of King Edward VI of England. He played important roles in the trials of Protestant martyr Anne Askew as well as that of Catholic martyrs John Fisher and Thomas More. Richard Rich is also credited with founding Felsted School.  

His mastery of Scottish politics earned Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville the nickname King Harry the Ninth. Apart from serving as the First Lord of the Admiralty and the Secretary of State for War, he also played a significant role in the British expansion in India. He was also a successful lawyer initially.

George Carman was a British barrister best remembered for his involvement in several high profile cases during the 1980s and 1990s. He is best remembered for successfully defending Jeremy Thorpe in 1979 when the latter was accused of conspiracy to murder. George Carman's life and career inspired the 2002 BBC drama Get Carman: The Trials of George Carman QC.

Tom Denning, Baron Denning was a British lawyer and judge. In 1938, Denning was appointed a King's Counsel before becoming a judge in the High Court of Justice in 1944. In 1962, he was appointed Master of the Rolls, a position which he held for two decades. Denning was called the greatest British judge of modern times by Margaret Thatcher.

One of the 10 children of legendary English author Charles Dickens, Henry Fielding Dickens was named after author Henry Fielding. A Cambridge alumnus, he had initially studied math. However, he later took up law and became a successful barrister. He had also been a Liberal Party member.

F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead was a British barrister and Conservative politician who was appointed as the Lord Chancellor in the early 20th century. A skilled orator, Smith is best remembered as one of Winston Churchill's greatest political friends. F. E. Smith died at the age of 58 due to pneumonia.

British jurist A. V. Dicey is best known for his Introduction to the Study of the Law of the Constitution, which forms the basis of the modern British constitution. Apart from teaching law at Oxford, he also served as the principal of the Working Men’s College of London.

Charlie Elphicke is an English politician and former solicitor. He served as the Lord Commissioner of the Treasury from 2015 to 2016. A controversial politician, Elphicke was charged with sexual offenses against two women and was sentenced to two years in an open prison in 2020.

One of the Founding Fathers of the US, Thomas McKean was the son of a tavern keeper and later became a successful barrister and politician. He simultaneously served in the Continental Congress of Delaware while he was also the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

British jurist William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield is remembered for his significant contribution to the English commercial law. He had been the chief justice of the King’s Bench. Though he brough in new reforms in areas of finance, he mostly avoided dealing with issues such as slavery.

Apart from being a Liberal Party politician, Rufus Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading had also held positions such as those of the chief justice of England and the Viceroy of India, among others. He had initially also been part of his family’s fruit import business. He had eventually received 5 knighthoods.

English judge David Neuberger, Baron Neuberger of Abbotsbury was born to a pathology professor and grew up with three brothers, who all worked as professors later. He rose to be the President of the Supreme Court of the UK. He has also been associated with causes such as mental health research.

Peter Benenson was a British human rights activist and lawyer. He is credited with establishing the popular human rights group and an international non-governmental organization Amnesty International (AI). In 2001, Peter Benenson agreed to receive the prestigious Pride of Britain Award after refusing to accept all honors throughout his career.

The son of Lord Chancellor Douglas Hogg, Quintin McGarel Hogg was educated at Eton and Oxford and later fought in World War II. A barrister and a Conservative politician, he was the First Lord of the Admiralty. He renounced his hereditary peerage to become an MP. He was also a 2-time Lord Chancellor.

Born to legendary biologist Charles Darwin, George Darwin initially studied law and became a barrister. However, his interest in science made him deviate to astronomy. He believed the Moon was one part of the Earth. He later also taught at Cambridge and was made a Fellow of The Royal Society.

Initially a Methodist preacher and a cloth merchant, Norman Birkett later became a successful barrister and even served as the King’s Counsel. A Liberal Party politician, he had also been an MP from Nottingham East. Apart from being a High Court judge, he was also an alternate judge at the Nuremberg Trials

Born to Jewish scholars in Germany, Geoffrey Elton later moved with his family, first to Czechoslovakia and then to Britain. He grew up to become a renowned historian who specialized in the Tudor period. He also taught history at Cambridge and penned books such as England Under the Tudors.

Born into a family of lawyers and being the daughter of a High Court judge, Elizabeth Butler-Sloss was destined to take up law as a profession. She not only became the fourth female High Court judge but was also the first female Lord Justice of Appeal.

The son of three-time prime minister of the UK Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, Robert Cecil enjoyed an elite education at Eton and Oxford. Apart from being a lawyer, he was a Conservative politician like his father and also won the Nobel Prize for his efforts in the formation of the League of Nations.

Initially a lawyer, Margaret Mountford was also associated with the companies Amstrad and Georgica. She gained popularity as a TV personality after her appearance in The Apprentice UK. She has also presented several documentaries and has worked for causes such as the promotion of Hellenic studies and Egypt exploration.

The son of an Indian-origin English vicar, solicitor George Edalji made headlines when he was convicted of mutilating a horse and writing anonymous threatening letters. Though acquitted later, Edalji had a tough time clearing his name and took the help of author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to campaign for him.

During his time at Cambridge, G. A. H. Branson was a talented rower. He later rose through the ranks of the legal profession, becoming a successful barrister and eventually the judge of the High Court. He is also known as the grandfather of business tycoon and Virgin Group founder Richard Branson.

British sociologist Michael Young, also known as Lord Young, or Baron Young of Dartington, not only helped shape the manifesto of the Labour Party but also coined the term meritocracy. A qualified barrister, he was also instrumental in forming the Consumers’ Association and a prototype of the modern Open University system.

Apart from being a barrister, Thomas Audley, 1st Baron Audley of Walden had served as the Lord Chancellor of England. He is remembered for his contribution to King Henry VIII’s break with the papal authorities, eventually leading to the king being declared the head of the English church.

Called a “legal giant,” Brian Leveson is known for chairing an inquiry into the ethics and practices of the British press. Apart from presiding over the Queen’s Bench Division, he had also been the Head of Criminal Justice. He had also served the Liverpool John Moores University as its Chancellor.

British-American merchant Samuel Sewall is best remembered for a diary that he had penned and which threw light on the infamous Salem witch trials, which he had judged. He was the only judge to have publicly regretted the decision of the trials. A Harvard alumnus, he initially also managed a printing press.

Born to Jamaican immigrants in the UK, Constance Briscoe had an inspiring rags-to-riches story of growing up in an abusive household and then financing her education to become one of the first Black female judicial officers in the UK. She, however, was later jailed for lying to the police.

A qualified jurist, Thomas Hughes was also a renowned author, known for his iconic semi-autobiographical novel Tom Brown’s School Days. He also co-founded the Working Men’s College, as a result of his association with the Christian Socialist movement. He was also a Liberal Party MP, representing Lambeth and Frome.