Dame Jennifer Jane Eady, DBE (born 31 May 1965) is a British High Court judge.

Education

She was educated at Boston High School in

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

, gaining 9 O-levels in 1981. She worked with the Boston Playgoers theatre. She studied

politics, philosophy and economics Philosophy, politics and economics, or politics, philosophy and economics (PPE), is an interdisciplinary undergraduate or postgraduate degree which combines study from three disciplines. The first institution to offer degrees in PPE was the Unive ...

St Hugh's College, Oxford St Hugh's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It is located on a site on St Margaret's Road, to the north of the city centre. It was founded in 1886 by Elizabeth Wordsworth as a ...

, completing a BA in 1986, and then earned a

graduate diploma in law The Graduate Diploma in Law/Postgraduate Diploma in Law/Common Professional Examination (GDL/PGDL/CPE) is a postgraduate law course in England and Wales that is taken by non-law graduates (graduates who have a degree in a discipline that is not ...

at the

Polytechnic of Central London The University of Westminster is a public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first polytechnic to open in London. The Polytechnic formally received a Royal charter in Au ...

in 1988.

Career

Eady was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

and practised employment law after completing her

pupillage A pupillage, in England and Wales, Northern Ireland, Kenya, Malaysia, Pakistan and Hong Kong, is the final, vocational stage of training for those wishing to become practising barristers. Pupillage is similar to an apprenticeship, during which ba ...

at Old Square Chambers in 1990, remaining there until 2013. She served as a

recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a newsp ...

from 2003 to 2013,

took silk A King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarch is a woman, the title is Qu ...

in 2006, and became a senior circuit judge in 2013. She was chair of the Employment Tribunals and a part-time employment judge from 2001 until 2008, a member of the

Acas The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) is a non-departmental public body of the Her Majesty's Government, Government of the United Kingdom. Its purpose is to improve organisations and working life through the promotion and fa ...

Council from 2008 to 2014, and a

trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, refers to anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the ...

of the Free Representation Unit from 2006 to 2014. On 1 October 2019, Eady was appointed a judge of the High Court and assigned to the

Queen's Bench Division The King's Bench Division (or Queen's Bench Division when the monarch is female) of the High Court of Justice deals with a wide range of common law cases and has supervisory responsibility over certain lower courts. It hears appeals on point ...

. She received the customary

dame ''Dame'' is a traditionally British honorific title given to women who have been admitted to certain orders of chivalry. It is the female equivalent of ''Sir'', the title used by knights. Baronet, Baronetesses Suo jure, in their own right also u ...

hood in 2019. From 2022-2025, she served as President of the

Employment Appeal Tribunal The Employment Appeal Tribunal is a tribunal in England and Wales and Scotland, and is a superior court of record. Its primary role is to hear appeals from Employment Tribunals in England, Scotland and Wales. It also hears appeals from decisions ...

, replacing Sir Akhlaq Choudhury.

Personal life

She is married and has one son.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eady, Jennifer Living people 1965 births Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Alumni of St Hugh's College, Oxford Members of the Inner Temple Queen's Bench Division judges 21st-century English judges 21st-century British women lawyers 21st-century British women judges Alumni of the Polytechnic of Central London Lawyers awarded damehoods