The Rt Hon Lady Justice Hallet, DBE, , Law, Debrett's 500 2016, People of Influence

The Rt Hon Lady Justice Hallet, DBE,

Judge of the Court of Appeal

Heather Hallet became the fifth woman to sit in the Court of Appeal when she was appointed in 2005, and was also the first woman to chair the Bar Council in 1998. She was chosen as coroner for the 2010 inquests of the victims of the 7/7 bombings in London, and was widely praised for her compassionate handling of the high profile case. Having experienced what she describes as ‘horrific’ sexism in the profession herself, Hallet has recently been asked by the Lord Chief Justice to lead an initiative on judicial diversity, encouraging more lawyers from non-traditional backgrounds to sit in the High Court. She has been named as one of the UK’s most powerful women by BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour.