Dame Sarah Valerie Falk, (born 1 June 1962) 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 Sidney Sussex College (historically known as "Sussex College" and today referred to informally as "Sidney") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1 ...

, and was admitted as a solicitor in 1986. Specialising in corporate tax she became a partner in

Freshfields Freshfields LLP (formerly Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, or FBD) is a British multinational law firm headquartered in London, England, and a member of the so-called "Magic Circle". The firm has 28 offices in 17 jurisdictions across Asia, Europe ...

in 1994, notably working on the corporate restructure of

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

in 2011. During her career at Freshfields, Falk noted she experienced

sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but primarily affects women and girls. It has been linked to gender roles and stereotypes, and may include the belief that one sex or gender is int ...

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. 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. She received the customary

Damehood ''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. Baronetesses in their own right also use the title ''Da ...

in 2019. On 1 October 2019, she was appointed as a Judicial Commissioner of the

Judicial Appointments Commission The Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) is an independent commission that selects candidates for judicial office in courts and tribunals in England and Wales and for some tribunals whose jurisdiction extends to Scotland or Northern Ireland. ...

. She retired from the post on 30 September 2022.

Court of Appeal and Privy Council appointment

Her appointment to the

Court of Appeal An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...

was announced on 2 November 2022. On 14 December 2022 Falk was appointed to the Privy Council, entitling her to the style ''

The Right Honourable ''The Right Honourable'' (abbreviation: The Rt Hon. or variations) is an honorific Style (form of address), style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire, and the Commonwealt ...

'' for life.

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 th
ProCorda Trust
a youth music organisation, between 2008 and 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Falk, Sarah Chancery Division judges Lady justices of appeal Alumni of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge 1962 births Living people Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire 21st-century English judges English women judges 21st-century women judges English solicitors Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom 21st-century British women lawyers Lawyers awarded damehoods