On Wednesday 26 July the legal profession came together at the Royal Court of Justice to celebrate and thank the Lord Chief Justice, The Right Honourable Lord Burnett of Maldon, for his work and achievements in advance of his retirement from the Bench after six years in post.
The Master of the Rolls, The Rt Hon Sir Geoffrey Vos, lead the way in paying tributes to the Lord Chief Justice including in relation to his development of the law and his stewardship of the Court Service through challenging times.
The Attorney General, The Rt Hon Victoria Prentis KC MP, who trained as a pupil to Lord Burnett, spoke on behalf of the Government. She thanked Lord Burnett for his work and gave a particularly personal insight into the Lord Chief Justice.
The Law Society President, Lubna Shuja, said Lord Burnett had offered “excellent leadership” and highlighted, in particular, his previously expressed concerns in relation to access to justice and the legal aid system.
Sam Townend KC, the Vice Chair of the Bar Council, said at the ceremony that: “The Bar has very mixed feelings on your retirement. We are glad that we have had the benefit of having you at the helm at all. We are fortunate that ‘the Chief’ or even ‘the Chieftan’, as you are referred to with affection by parts of the Bar, was in post during what may fairly be described as two of the greatest crises that have faced the Court system since the Second World War: the COVID pandemic, and the effective closure of the Crown Courts on the Bar’s action. We are profoundly grateful that the end of your time in office has come only after those crises have abated, even if a number of the problems that face the justice system highlighted by those events are not resolved.”
Lord Burnett said his time as the Lord Chief Justice had been a “busy six years and at times exhausting, exhilarating and never dull”. He praised the support and assistance provided to him by colleagues, saying that “few prosper without the support of others” and he gave thanks to his family, staff and friends from the Bar.