Edinburgh Law School alumni appointed to top positions in UK Supreme Court

Two alumni of the University of Edinburgh Law School are to fill the two most senior positions in the UK Supreme Court for the first time.

Following the announcement of his appointment last July, Lord Reed was sworn in as President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom on 13 January.

Lord Reed is an alumnus of the Edinburgh Law School and graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1978 with a First Class Honours LLB, also winning a Vans Dunlop Scholarship. He went on to become Scotland’s youngest judge in 1998 at the age of 42 and was appointed as a Justice of the Supreme Court in 2012. He has served as deputy to Lady Hale, whom he now succeeds as president, since 2018.

Prior to his appointment to the Supreme Court, Lord Reed sat in the Outer House of the Court of Session, then in the court’s Inner House until 2012.

Lord Reed will be the first Scottish president of the Supreme Court since its creation. On his appointment, Lord Reed said that he "will continue to champion the rule of law, alongside promoting public understanding of the role of the judiciary and maintaining the high regard in which the court is held around the world."

Fellow alumnus of Edinburgh Law School, Lord Hodge, has this week been named as the new Deputy President of the Supreme Court, succeeding Lord Reed.

Lord Hodge was previously the Scottish Judge in Exchequer Causes and one of the Scottish Intellectual Property Judges. He has been a Justice of the Supreme Court since 2013.

On the subject of Lord Hodge's appointment, Lord Reed commented: "I am delighted to congratulate and welcome Lord Hodge [...] He has made an important contribution to the work of the Court since his appointment in 2013, and his previous experience of judicial administration will stand him in good stead as our Deputy President. I am looking forward very much to working with him in his new role."

Lord Hodge said: "I feel honoured to have this opportunity and look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues from each of the jurisdictions of the United Kingdom in upholding the rule of law."

Speaking of both appointments, Professor Martin Hogg, Dean of Law and Head of School, observed: “The Edinburgh Law School is delighted at the news of these recent appointments. Lords Reed and Hodge are two of our most distinguished graduates, and through their professionalism and passion for the rule of law they manifest the values that the School has always sought to nurture in its graduates. The School wishes them the very best in their new roles, and is confident that under their leadership the Supreme Court will flourish.”