From Durham to the Supreme Court: A Conversation with Lady Black of Derwent

By DLSAA Student Reporter, 2nd year UG and 2023/24 Employability Course finisher, Jack Ashurst.

I recently had the enormous privilege of meeting and interviewing Lady Black of Derwent. Our conversation took place in the awe-inspiring Cosin’s Library on Palace Green. The wide-ranging interview had an initial focus on Lady Black’s time in Durham, her career at the Bar and in academia. The conversation culminated in her experiences in the judiciary and her advice for current Durham students and alumni. This structure is mirrored in the article.

Initial Experiences and Durham

Lady Black was the daughter of two medical doctors. When asked why she decided to pursue a career in the law, Lady Black detailed her childhood experience reading the Dr Thorndyke stories written by R. Austin Freeman. Dr Thorndyke was a fictional character who was involved in criminal trials as a forensic scientist. He had chambers in King’s Bench Walk in the Inner Temple and, under the mistaken impression that he was working as a barrister, Lady Black decided to follow in his footsteps and applied to read law at university.

Lady Black specifically selected Durham University after visiting the city to visit some friends. Her experiences of walking through the Bailey, where the Law School was once based, left a lasting impression on her.

A Career at the Bar

Lady Black, like many Durham alumni, was called to the Bar at Inner Temple. After finishing her studies in Durham, Lady Black undertook the Bar exams in London and undertook her first ‘six’ in 1, Crown Office Row. After completing her formal training, she returned to the northeast and worked in Leeds chambers. At this point in her career, she practised a wider range of law. However, the all- consuming nature of the work at the Bar, and doubt about her own abilities, soon prompted a career change. Academic Excellence Lady Black elected to return to academia. It was at Leeds Polytechnic that Lady Black would truly begin to specialise in family law. Such speciality came about almost through chance.

Her ladyship describes, in her warm humour, how “I went to a wedding, and amongst the guests was a publisher who (maybe not quite gauging the spirit of the event!) was asking around for someone a person to write a book about divorce with the title “Divorce: the things you thought you’d never need to know”. He asked a lawyer friend of mine if she would be interested in doing it, and she said that she wouldn’t, but suggested he ask me. And somehow, I ended up agreeing to write it.” Having got into writing, she followed this up later on with a family law textbook and went on, in due course, to contribute to ‘The Red Book’ (The Family Court Practice) which is now the established guide to the procedure in family law proceedings in England and Wales.

Lady Black recalls how she enjoyed teaching students and, in particular, the intellectual challenge of being as thorough and precise as possible in what she taught; a skill which would soon prove valuable.

However, her Ladyship began to feel out of touch with practical law and so returned to the Bar. This step was not without its risks, as Lady Black made the decision to specialise, a rare decision at that time for those on a provincial circuit, but it paid off and she took silk in 1994. For current alumni considering an application to for silk, Lady Black stresses the importance of being as precise and succinct as possible in Court and written advocacy.

Judicial Career

Lady Black was appointed as a High Court judge in 1999 and describes her time as a trial judge as being particularly busy. A little more than a decade later, Lady Black was appointed to the Court of Appeal. When asked what aspect of the role she enjoyed most, her Ladyship noted “I think it was probably my favourite time in the sense that I was in the heart of legal London, still in the Royal Courts of Justice, and most of the time you were sitting with other judge and so there was dialogue, and I really liked that”. Lady Black, as a testament to her achievements in family law, has also served as Head of International Family Justice.

In 2017, Lady Black reached the summit of this country’s legal system, as she was appointed to the Supreme Court. Her Ladyship made history as only the second-ever woman to serve the role. When considering her responsibility in the role, her Ladyship recalls “I would have liked to have made muddled law straight clear, sorting out areas which were causing problems, and putting them into a form which would be easy to understand” but she acknowledges that that is a difficult and time- consuming process, not easily achieved.

For those with the ambition of a career in the judiciary, Lady Black has the following advice “I didn't start with the long-term ambition of a career in the judiciary, and I just did what came as it came… but I do think strategic planning for a career in the judiciary is an interesting thought. I suppose I would say ‘just do your best with everything as it comes along’” This quote highlights the career of Lady Black; the most important aspect of success is consistent excellence.

Lady Black’s Advice and Closing Thoughts

Finally, returning to those currently studying in Durham, Lady Black imparted invaluable advocacy advice “You need to distil your arguments; you need to have the bravery to ditch things which are obviously rubbish and you need to go with the ones which have got force, so I suppose distil your thinking”. We discussed how this advice is particularly important given the wider trend in the law towards simpler language.

Acknowledgements

I would like to conclude by extending my thanks to Lady Black for such an engaging and insightful interview and the Cosin’s library for being a fitting location for such an esteemed guest.

I would also like to extend my gratitude to Professor Philip Bennett, the Law School's first Professor in Practice, and David Patient, Chair of the DLSAA Executive Committee, for giving me this opportunity.