Sarah Falk

{{Short description|British court of appeal judge}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix = The Right Honourable

| name = Lady Justice Falk

| honorific-suffix = {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|DBE}}

| image = File:SarahFalk_Judge.jpg

| caption = Falk in 2022

| office = Lady Justice of Appeal

| term_start = 14 November 2022

| term_end =

| monarch = Charles III

| monarch2 = Elizabeth II

Charles III

| predecessor =

| successor =

| office2 = High Court Judge
Chancery Division

| term_start2 = 1 October 2018

| term_end2 = 2022

| nationality = British

| birthname = Sarah Valerie Falk

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1962|06|01|df=y}}

| birth_place =

| death_date =

| death_place =

| alma_mater = Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge

}}

Dame Sarah Valerie Falk, {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|DBE|PC}} (born 1 June 1962){{Cite web |title=Falk, Hon. Dame Sarah (Valerie), (born 1 June 1962), a Judge of the High Court of Justice, Chancery Division, since 2018 |url=https://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/10.1093/ww/9780199540884.001.0001/ww-9780199540884-e-291379 |url-access=subscription |access-date=2022-10-27 |website=WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO |year=2019 |language=en |doi=10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U291379|isbn=978-0-19-954088-4 }} is a British Court of Appeal judge. She was previously a High Court judge and senior Judicial Appointments Commissioner.

Career

Falk studied law at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, and was admitted as a solicitor in 1986. Specialising in corporate tax she became a partner in Freshfields in 1994, notably working on the corporate restructure of EMI in 2011.{{Cite web|url=https://1attorneys.net/freshfields-and-ao-veterans-among-five-new-high-court-judges/|title=Freshfields and A&O veterans among five new High Court judges|date=2018-10-01|website=1 Attorneys|language=en-US|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200128201351/https://1attorneys.net/freshfields-and-ao-veterans-among-five-new-high-court-judges/|archive-date=28 January 2020|access-date=2020-01-26}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-commissioner-appointed-to-the-judicial-appointments-commission|title=New Commissioner appointed to the Judicial Appointments Commission|last=|first=|date=|website=GOV.UK|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200316213744/https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-commissioner-appointed-to-the-judicial-appointments-commission|archive-date=16 March 2020|access-date=2020-03-16}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.judiciary.uk/announcements/high-court-judge-appointments/|title=High Court Judge Appointments|last=|first=|date=15 November 2019|website=www.judiciary.uk|language=en-GB|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200128201234/https://www.judiciary.uk/announcements/high-court-judge-appointments/|archive-date=28 January 2020|access-date=2020-01-26}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.judicialappointments.gov.uk/high-court-judges-2018#Sarah%20Falk|title=High Court Judges 2018 {{!}} Judicial Appointments Commission|last=|first=|date=|website=www.judicialappointments.gov.uk|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191203005118/https://www.judicialappointments.gov.uk/high-court-judges-2018|archive-date=3 December 2019|access-date=2020-01-26}}

During her career at Freshfields, Falk noted she experienced sexism despite being a partner. In an interview, she said during her time there she would often be the only female attending meetings and her male colleagues in those meetings would demonstrate selective hearing, with a male colleague repeating a point she had made earlier which then would be treated as a good idea.{{Cite web|date=2019-10-04|title=Sarah Falk Biography|url=https://first100years.org.uk/sarah-falk-biography/|access-date=2020-06-17|website=First 100 Years}}

In 2015 she was appointed as a deputy judge of the Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery Chamber) having left Freshfields partnership while still working on a consultancy basis until 2018.

= High Court appointment =

On 1 October 2018 she was appointed as a High Court judge.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2018-10-01 |title=Freshfields and A&O veterans among five new High Court judges |url=https://lawyerfirmnews.com/2018/10/01/freshfields-and-ao-veterans-among-five-new-high-court-judges/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200128201147/https://lawyerfirmnews.com/2018/10/01/freshfields-and-ao-veterans-among-five-new-high-court-judges/ |archive-date=28 January 2020 |access-date=2019-12-10 |website=Lawyer firms NEWS |language=en-US}} She received the customary Damehood in 2019.{{Cite web |title=Warrants Under the Royal Sign Manual {{!}} The Gazette |url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/notice/3414951 |access-date=2023-01-04 |website=www.thegazette.co.uk}}

On 1 October 2019, she was appointed as a Judicial Commissioner of the Judicial Appointments Commission. She retired from the post on 30 September 2022.

= Court of Appeal and Privy Council appointment =

Her appointment to the Court of Appeal was announced on 2 November 2022.{{Cite web|url=https://www.judicialappointments.gov.uk/commissioner/mrs-justice-sarah-falk-judicial|title=Mrs Justice Sarah Falk (judicial) {{!}} Judicial Appointments Commission|last=|first=|date=|website=www.judicialappointments.gov.uk|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200128201015/https://www.judicialappointments.gov.uk/commissioner/mrs-justice-sarah-falk-judicial|archive-date=28 January 2020|access-date=2019-12-10}} On 14 December 2022 Falk was appointed to the Privy Council, entitling her to the style The Right Honourable for life.{{cite web|url=https://privycouncil.independent.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/2022-12-14-List-of-Business.pdf|publisher=Privy Council Office|title=Orders for 14 December 2022|access-date=30 December 2022}}

Personal life

Falk married Marcus Flint in 1985, she has one son and one daughter. She has an interest in classical music, dog walking and horse riding.

She acted as chair of the [https://procorda.com/pro-corda/vision-history/vision/ ProCorda Trust], a youth music organisation, between 2008 and 2018.

References