Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers

Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers is the first Dickson Poon Distinguished Fellow and Visiting Professor in The Dickson Poon School of Law. He joined the School in November 2012 following his retirement as the first President of the UK Supreme Court, an appointment that he took up in 2009.

Lord Phillips undertook his national service with the Royal Navy before reading Law at King’s College, Cambridge. He was called to the Bar in 1962 and took silk in 1978. During his time at the Bar of England and Wales he specialised in Commercial Law and Admiralty Law. In 1982, he was appointed a Recorder. From 1987 to 1995, he served as a Judge of the High Court of Justice, Queen’s Bench Division where he sat in the Commercial Court and presided over several lengthy and complex matters including the Barlow Clowes and Maxwell prosecutions. In 1995, he joined the Court of Appeal and in 1999 became a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary. In 2000, he succeeded Lord Woolf as Master of the Rolls and held the post of Head of Civil Justice at the Court of Appeal until 2005. In 2005 he was appointed Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales. In 2008, he became the Senior Law Lord.

Lord Phillips has held roles in numerous public bodies including the Law Advisory Committee, the Council of Legal Education, the Lord Chancellor's Advisory Committee on Public Records, the Sentencing Guidelines Council and the Criminal Procedure Rules Committee.

He is currently President of the British Maritime Law Association and is an honorary member of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law. He is Patron of Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and holds roles with various other bodies.

Lord Phillips holds a number of honorary degrees from Exeter University, Birmingham University, City University, London, London University, International Maritime Law Institute, University of Wolverhampton, Wake Forest University, North Carolina and Washington and Lee University, Virginia. He is an Honorary Fellow at King’s College, Cambridge and at the Society for Advanced Legal Studies.

Whilst at King’s College London, Lord Phillips will continue his role as President of the Qatar International Court and Dispute Resolution Centre and at Brick Court where he recently as an arbitrator.

Lord Phillips has accepted an invitation to sit as a Judge in the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong in November 2013.

Alternative contact:

Anna Z Loutfi, Legal Researcher | Project Officer,

Email: anna.loutfi@kcl.ac.uk