The youngest ever woman judge in the UK has been appointed. Last Tuesday, Briony Clarke, 31, was sworn in as a deputy district judge at Chelmsford Crown Court, The Telegraph reported.
Clarke began her career at Chelmsford law firm Taylor Haldane Barlex (THB) when she was just 15, winning a work placement as an administrative assistant. By 2009, she was admitted to the Roll of Solicitors. She then became an accredited Duty Solicitor in 2010 and an associate at THB in 2013. She made partner at the firm in 2014.
Chelmsford Crown Court resident judge Charles Gratwicke said that since Clarke is so young, her compulsory retirement date would be January 2056, 39 years from now.
“It’s nice to have someone from our own community, embarking on the same career that we have all, at some stage, had to launch ourselves into,” Gratwicke said.
According to THB, she will continue her practice and serve in a part-time capacity as a judge in magistrates’ court.
Richard Wright QC was the youngest person ever to be appointed judge in the UK when he became a deputy district judge in 2006 at the age of 29.
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