The Lord Chief Justice has handed in his notice and is off next summer. His replacement will be a she. My appointee would be Lady Justice Carr, who is as charming as she is efficient. The same is true of Lady Justice Simler, although I suspect the Supreme Court beckons. Dame Victoria Sharp will undoubtedly apply.
I do hope that this time the outcome is not determined by a writing competition. Lord Thomas got the post in 2013 after beating his opponent in a process which required an essay!
Stars of the bench & beyond
Last spring, I singled out for praise the judgment of Lord Justice Birss in Philipp v Barclays Bank UK plc (Consumers’ Association intervening) [2022] EWCA Civ 318, [2022] All ER (D) 48 (Mar) (‘The insider: 25 March 2022’, NLJ, p7). Now that we have reached December, I can say that I regard it as the finest I have read this year. Lord Atkin
