Dame Linda Dobbs, DBE

Following a successful career at the Bar, in October 2004, Dame Linda Dobbs DBE became the first non-white high court judge in the UK, having been appointed a Deputy High Court Judge in 2003. At the Bar, she was a member of, and chaired, a number of committees, including the Race Relations, Equal Opportunities, International, Professional Conduct and Professional Standard Committees. In 2003, Dame Linda Dobbs became the Chairman of the Criminal Bar Association where she set up its first Equality and Diversity sub-committee. Whilst on the High Court Bench she was the Senior Liaison Judge for Diversity, Chair of the Magisterial Committee of the Judicial Studies Board and Chair of the International Committee of the Judicial College and a Fawcett Commissioner.

Dame Linda Dobbs has been named in the past as one of Britain’s most powerful black women and one of the 100 Great Black Britons. In 2013 she stepped down early from the High Court Bench to pursue her various interests, which includes the training of judges and lawyers internationally (in particular, in the Caribbean and Africa).