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19 November 2021
Issue: 7957 / Categories: Features , Profession
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Book review: Spider Woman: A Life—by the former President of the Supreme Court

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.
"A wonderful story. Wonderfully gifted, Lady Hale saw her opportunities and she took them. She has made a difference and inspired others to do so too"

Author: Lady Hale

Publisher: Bodley Head

ISBN: 9781847926593

RRP: £20

At the beginning of this book it looked like being a Denning fairy story: a bright little girl living by the village green in a little village in rural north Yorkshire ended up as President of the Supreme Court. But although it had the elements of a fairy story, it was all true. Top law student at Cambridge; quality law academic at Manchester; joint author of book on Women and the Law (very significant); law professor; getting going at the Bar; Law Commissioner, fundamentally reforming child law; judge, Court of Appeal, House of Lords and Supreme Court (first woman ever), President! If there ever was a ‘stop Brenda’ (henceforth she is Brenda) campaign it signally failed. And she certainly stopped Boris in his tracks in Parliament.

Brenda is first and foremost a feminist, it has always pervaded everything

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NEWS
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NLJ this week: No such thing as a ‘Welsh seat’
Talk of a reserved ‘Welsh seat’ on the Supreme Court is misplaced. In NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC explains that the Constitutional Reform Act treats ‘England and Wales’ as one jurisdiction, with no statutory Welsh slot
NLJ this week: Jury reform risks justice for efficiency’s sake
The government’s plan to curb jury trials has sparked ‘jury furore’. Writing in NLJ this week, David Locke, partner at Hill Dickinson, says the rationale is ‘grossly inadequate’
NLJ this week: Crypto fightback offers ‘new frontier for law’
A year after the $1.5bn Bybit heist, crypto fraud is booming—but so is recovery. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Holloway, founder and CEO of M2 Recovery, warns that scams hit at least $14bn in 2025, fuelled by ‘pig butchering’ cons and AI deepfakes
NLJ this week: Time to revive the duty to report crime?
After Woodcock confirmed no general duty to warn, debate turns to the criminal law. Writing in NLJ this week, Charles Davey of The Barrister Group urges revival of misprision or a modern equivalent
NLJ this week: When are experts truly ‘necessary’?
Family courts are tightening control of expert evidence. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Chris Pamplin says there is ‘no automatic right’ to call experts; attendance must be ‘necessary in the interests of justice’ under FPR Pt 25
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