About Us

A number of former members of chambers have gone on to hold high judicial office in both the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.

• Baroness Carr, Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales is the first Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales. Sue joined 4 New Square Chambers as a tenant in 1988 and was Head of Chambers in 2012/2013. She was appointed to the High Court, Queen’s Bench Division in 2013, and became the second female High Court Judge to sit in the Commercial Court and the first female High Court Judge to sit in the Technology and Construction Court in 2014. In the same year, she became a member of the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, a role she held until 2016. She became a Presider of the Midland Circuit from 2016 until 2020, when she was appointed as a Lady Justice of Appeal. In the same year she was also appointed as the senior Judicial Commissioner and Vice Chair of the Judicial Appointments Commission, a position she held until January 2023.
• The Rt Hon Lord Justice Stuart-Smith has served as a Lord Justice of the Court of Appeal since 2020. Jeremy was Head of Chambers at 4 New Square Chambers between 2009 and 2012. He was appointed a Recorder in 1996, a Deputy High Court Judge in 2004, and a High Court Judge (Queen’s Bench Division) in 2012. He was a Presiding Judge for the South Eastern Circuit from 2014 until 2018.
• Sir Rupert Jackson served as a Lord Justice of the Court of Appeal between 2008 and 2018.  He was appointed to the High Court in 1999. He served as judge in charge of the Technology and Construction Court from 2004 until 2007.  After sitting as a judge for some 20 years, Sir Rupert re-joined 4 New Square Chambers as an arbitrator in March 2018 and has since sat on numerous international arbitration tribunals.
• The late Lord Toulson was appointed Justice of the Supreme Court in April 2013. He retired in September 2016 but continued to serve on the Supreme Court’s Supplementary Panel. Between 2002 and 2006, Lord Toulson was Chairman of the Law Commission of England and Wales, after which he was appointed to the Court of Appeal. He also served on the Judicial Appointments Commission for England and Wales.
• The late Sir Ralph Gibson was appointed as a Lord Justice of the Court of Appeal from 1985 to 1994 and chairman of the Law Commission from 1981 to 1985.

A number of leading legal texts are or have been written by current and former members of chambers:

• Jackson & Powell on Professional Liability written and edited by former and current members of 4 New Square Chambers
• The Reform of Civil Justice co-authored by Sir Rupert Jackson
• Insurance Claims written by Alison Padfield KC
• Cannon & McGurk on Professional Indemnity Insurance co-authored by the late Mark Cannon QC
• Toulson & Phipps on Confidentiality written by the late Lord Toulson and current members Charles Phipps, William Harman and Simon Teasdale
• Employment and Commercial Disputes: The International Aspects written by Paul Nicholls KC
• Nuclear Power Plant Development: Contract Issues, Claims and Disputes written by Dr Cyril Chern
• Chern on Dispute Boards: Practice and Procedure written by Dr Cyril Chern
• The Law of Construction Disputes written by Dr Cyril Chern