The King has approved the appointment of Lord Justice Snowden, originally from Redcar, as a Justice of the Supreme Court. The King made the appointment on the advice of the Prime Minister and Lord Chancellor, following the recommendation of an independent selection commission.
Richard Snowden grew up and was educated at a state school in Redcar. He studied law as an undergraduate at Downing College, Cambridge and obtained a Master of Laws degree from Harvard Law School.
He was called to the Bar by Lincoln’s Inn in 1986. He practised from Erskine Chambers, specialising in company law, corporate insolvency, financial services and related commercial litigation. He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2003.
Lord Justice Snowden’s judicial career began when he was appointed a Recorder of the Crown Court in 2006. He was appointed a Deputy High Court Judge in 2008 and a High Court Judge of the Chancery Division in 2015. He served as Vice-Chancellor of the County Palatine of Lancaster and Supervising Judge of the Business and Property Courts for the Northern and North-Eastern Circuits from 2019.
Lord Justice Snowden was promoted to the Court of Appeal in October 2021. He was appointed to the Transparency and Open Justice Board on its inception in 2024, and was appointed Lead Judge for International Relations for the judiciary in March 2025.
The Supreme Court is the final court of appeal in the UK for civil cases, and for criminal cases from England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Supreme Court hears cases of the greatest public or constitutional importance affecting the whole population. It has 12 members.
*This report is based on a press release from the Prime Minister’s Office
