In 1988 he was appointed a Judge of the High Court assigned to the Family Division and in 1995 was appointed to the Court of Appeal where he gave leading judgments in all fields of the law including Family Law.

Sir Alan retired in February 2013, the Lord Chief Justice being kind enough to say at his Valedictory, “Those of you who read his judgments will find a clear description of principle and then every facet of the judgment directed to establishing the fairest possible result.” It is an approach which, leavened with good humour, he would hope to carry into Dispute Resolution and Arbitration.

His enthusiasm for mediation has been reflected in many judgments and he is now chair of the Civil Mediation Council and is an accredited IFLA arbitrator and CEDR mediator.

Sir Alan is a Privy Councillor, an honorary fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge, served as Treasurer of Gray’s Inn, has had the honorary degree of LL.D. conferred by the University of East Anglia and by the BPP university College and was awarded the International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers’Gold Medal for a Lifetimes’ Contribution to Family Law.

Privy Councillor Honorary Fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge Served as Treasurer of Gray’s Inn

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