Statement on the Retirement of Sir Nicholas Wall

2 October 2012

Commenting on the retirement, on 1 December, of Sir Nicholas Wall as President of the Family Division and Head of Family Justice for England and Wales, Nicholas Cusworth QC, Chairman of the Family Law Bar Association, said:

"Sir Nicholas Wall has been the most distinguished family lawyer of his generation. He was equally at home with cases involving money and children at the Bar, a very rare commodity. As a judge, he was brave in asserting what he saw as the right way, especially where the interests of children were concerned.

"His elevation to the Presidency of the Family Division of the High Court was welcomed universally by the profession, because of his reputation for integrity and probity and the many sound judgements which he delivered during his long career in the Family Division itself and in the Court of Appeal. He was trusted to stand up for the fair administration of family justice against the repeated attempts at cost cutting by successive governments. It is a great shame that his opportunity to shape family law from the Presidency has been cut short by illness."

For further information, please contact the Bar Council Press Office.