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Our Women

Since calling the first woman to the English Bar, The Inner Temple has admitted women from all over the world. This section explores the lives and careers of some of the Inn’s most distinguished women members.

Admitted 1949, Called 1961

The Rt Hon Joyce Adeline Bamford-Addo JSC

First woman to serve as Speaker in an African Parliament

Admitted 1922, Not called (practised as a solicitor)

Marion Graeme Billson

Labour candidate and solicitor

Admitted 1974, Called 1976, Bencher 1999

The Rt Hon Lady Black DBE

Family law specialist who became second woman to be a Supreme Court Judge

Admitted 1951, Called 1955, Treasurer 1998

The Rt Hon the Baroness Butler-Sloss GBE

First female Treasurer of the Inn and first female member of Court of Appeal

Admitted 1985, Called 1987, Silk 2003, Bencher 2006

The Rt Hon The Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill DBE

First Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales

Admitted 1943, Called 1947

Mary Eugenia Charles DBE

First woman to be a lawyer in Dominica, and the first to be Prime Minister

Called 1977 (Scottish Bar), Admitted 1988, Called 1988 (Bar of England and Wales), Bencher 2000

The Rt Hon The Baroness Clark of Calton QC

The first woman Advocate General for Scotland

Admitted 1929; Called 1932

Freda Corbet

British Labour politician

Admitted 1924, Called 1928

Coomee Rustom Dantra

First Burmese woman to be admitted to an Inn of Court

Admitted 1991, Called 1991, Bencher 2018

The Rt Hon Lady Dorrian

The second most senior judge and most senior woman judge in Scotland

Admitted 1957, Called 1964

Dr Frene Noshir Ginwala

Anti-apartheid campaigner who became Speaker of the National Assembly of South Africa

Admitted 1970, Called 1972, Treasurer 2011

The Rt Hon Baroness Heather Hallett DBE

First woman to be appointed Vice-President of the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) and first woman to chair the Bar Council

Admitted 1959, Called 1975

Dame Rosalyn Higgins GBE JSD FBA QC

First woman judge and President of the International Court of Justice

Admitted 1924, Called 1926

Daw Phar Hmee

First woman to practise as a barrister in Burma

Admitted 1923, Called 1926

Lim Beng Hong

First ethnic-Chinese and Malayan woman to be called to the English Bar

Admitted 1931, Called 1934

Dorothy Knight Dix QC

First woman to sit as Recorder for a jury trial

Admitted 1937, Called 1940, Bencher 1965

Dame Elizabeth Lane DBE

First woman High Court Judge and first woman Bencher

Admitted 1989, Called 1990

Sara Lawson KC

The first woman General Counsel of the Serious Fraud Office

Admitted 1920, Called 1922

Theodora Llewelyn Davies

First woman to be admitted to The Inner Temple

Admitted 1927, Called 1931

Gladys Ramsarran

First woman in British Guiana to qualify as a lawyer and the first Indian woman to qualify as a lawyer in the West Indies and practise in Trinidad & Tobago (1932).

Admitted 1926; Called 1930

See Chye Hong

Second woman to be called to the Hong Kong Bar

Admitted 1927, Not called

The Rt Hon The Baroness Sharp GBE

First woman Permanent Secretary

Admitted 1978, Called 1979

The Rt Hon Dame Victoria Sharp DBE

First female President of the Queen’s Bench Division

Admitted 1984, Called 1987, Bencher 2008

The Rt Hon Lady Justice Simler DBE

The first female President of the Employment Appeal Tribunal

Admitted 1924, Called 1927

Teo Soon Kim

First Singaporean woman admitted to the Bar in Hong Kong and the Straits Settlements and first female barrister to appear at the Supreme Court in Singapore.

Admitted 1920, Called 1922

Dr Ivy Williams

First woman to be called to the Bar of England and Wales