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Brenda Hale, appointed in October as the country's first ever 'Law Lady', has wasted no time using her position to advance the case of equality within the judiciary and the bar.
In a speech given to the Plymouth Law Society in October, she decried the "rigidly hierarchical" nature of the judiciary and said that although the bar is now more diverse in the lower ranks, "many obstacles to progress remain".
Hale has been an outspoken critic of the lack of representation of women in the judiciary and of the male-dominated culture of the bench. In September, she revealed her affront at the tradition in judges' lodgings that requires women to leave the dining room after dinner, and that she had refused to leave the dining room on at least one occasion.
Her appointment was a particular triumph after the then Lord Chancellor, Lord Irvine of Lairg, was criticised by MPs for declining to appoint the first ever female Law Lord after receiving several applications from women judges in July 2002.
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