Baroness Hale of Richmond DBE PC FBA

Lifetime Achievement Award Winner

Brenda Hale was educated at Richmond High School in North Yorkshire and Girton College, Cambridge. She taught law at Manchester University for 18 years and practised part-time at the Manchester Bar. In 1984, she became the youngest person, and the first woman, to serve on the Law Commission – the statutory body that promotes reform of the law, where she instigated a number of key reforms in family, health and criminal law. She became a High Court Judge in 1994 and was promoted to the Court of Appeal in 1999. In October 2003, she became the first woman Lord of Appeal in Ordinary in the House of Lords and was appointed as the first woman Justice of the Supreme Court in 2009. She retired in 2020 as the UK’s most senior judge and still continues to sit in the House of Lords.

Baroness Hale said, “What a delight to be among so many wonderful women to celebrate their achievements! It’s an honour to be among them.”

Lady Louise Vaughan, Chair, Women of the Year said, “I’m once again full of admiration to be in a room among these extraordinary women, and to celebrate their varied and many awe-inspiring achievements. The innovation, tenacity and courage exemplified by these women, and their incredible work which has changed the lives of those it touches for the better, is something that is deeply important to recognise and honour.”