NEW MASTERS OF THE BENCH 2019-20
New Masters of the Bench 2019-20 These Masters of the Bench were all Called to the Bench between September 2019 and July 2020, following their election by Parliament. They are Called by Master Reader in a ceremony held in Hall attended by their guests, fellow Benchers, members of Hall and students. After dinner, each of the new Benchers is introduced by Master Treasurer and gives a brief address. Bench seniority is determined by date of Call to the Bar for members of the Inn, and at the Treasurers’ discretion for Honorary Benchers. This list is in order of seniority, with the most recently called Bencher, ‘Master Junior’ at the end of the list. At each Inn event, ‘Master Junior’ replies to the Treasurer’s toasts to The Queen, Domus and Absent Members. During Covid-19, the Inn held it’s first ‘virtual Bench Call’ following a meeting of Parliament on Thursday 9 July 2020. A full list of Masters of the Bench can be viewed on the ‘Members’ section of the Inn’s website. The Right Honourable Richard Wagner, Chief Justice of Canada (Honorary) The 18th and current Chief Justice of Canada. Richard was sworn into office on 18 December 2017. He received his Bachelor of Social Sciences in Political Science from the University of Ottawa in 1978 and his LL.L from the same institution in 1979. Called to the Quebec Bar in 1980, he began practice at the Montreal law firm Lavery de Billy. His practice centred on real estate, commercial litigation and professional liability insurance. He was appointed to the Quebec Superior Court for the District of Montreal in 2004. In 2011, he was elevated to the Court of Appeal of Quebec. In 2012, he was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada. Sheila R. Block (Honorary) Sheila is a trial and appellate counsel with a broad civil litigation practice. Former Chair of Torys’ Litigation and Dispute Resolution Practice, she has held (and still holds) many roles, including: Chair of the Touching Tiny Lives Foundation; President of the The Harold G. Fox Education Fund; Founder and Trustee of the Foundation for International Arbitration Advocacy, Geneva; former Director of Children’s Aid Foundation, Trillium Foundation; Chair of the Quadrennial Commission on Judicial Compensation (2007-2011). She serves as Conduct Review Advisor for the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and has taught advocacy in Canada, the United States, England, Scotland, France, Sweden, Switzerland, New Zealand, El Salvador, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Brazil, India, Hong Kong and Singapore. Sheila was Called to the Ontario Bar in 1974.
Dame Cressida Dick DBE QPM (Honorary) Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police since April 2017, Cressida has 36 years of public service, the majority of which she has spent in policing. She became the first woman to be appointed a Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner in 2009. From 2011-14 she was in charge of UK counter terrorism policing, leading operational security and counter terrorist operations for The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the London 2012 Olympics. In 2014 she joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office senior leadership team. Has a Master’s Degree in Criminology from Cambridge. Linda Greenhouse (Honorary) Linda is a lecturer at Yale Law School and a commentator for the New York Times on the United States Supreme Court. She was the newspaper’s daily Supreme Court correspondent for 30 years, and since 2010 has written a regular op-ed column on the Court for the Times’ opinion pages. Her books include The U.S. Supreme Court: A Very Short Introduction, published by Oxford University Press. In extracurricular life, she is president of the American Philosophical Society, the country’s oldest learned society. Kate Davenport QC Admitted to the New Zealand Bar in 1983, Kate was admitted as a solicitor in England & Wales in 1988 and worked for Masons in construction law. On her return to New Zealand she became a barrister. Took Silk in New Zealand in 2013 and was Called to the Bar of England & Wales in 2015. She is a member of Outer Temple Chambers. Awarded the New Zealand Lawyer Barrister of the Year Award in 2013. She practises primarily in civil and commercial litigation. Currently President of the New Zealand Bar Association.
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