Dame Sarah Jane Asplin, DBE (born 16 September 1959) is a British judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales. She was granted the customary appointment as Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire on appointment as a High Court judge in 2012, becoming the third woman appointed to the Chancery Division.[1]
Lady Justice Asplin | |
|---|---|
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| Lady Justice of Appeal | |
| Assumed office 2017 | |
| Justice of the High Court | |
| In office 2012–2017 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 16 September 1959 United Kingdom |
| Alma mater | Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge |
Education
Asplin attended Southampton Sixth Form College for Girls and read law at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, earning a BA in Law in 1982 (promoted to MA (Cantab) by seniority in 1986).[2] She went on to obtain the degree of BCL at St Edmund Hall, Oxford.[citation needed]
Legal career
Asplin was called to the bar (Gray's Inn) in 1984 and was appointed a Queen's Counsel in 2002.[3] She became the Head of Chambers at 3 Stone Buildings in 2009,[4] and was a deputy High Court Judge until her appointment to the High Court on 1 October 2012 as the Honourable Mrs Justice Asplin. She was the third woman to be assigned to the Chancery Division, after Mary Arden and Sonia Proudman.[5]
On 22 February 2013, she was appointed as Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire.[6]
She was promoted to the Court of Appeal on 7 October 2017.[7]
In January 2019, Dame Sarah's appointment as Chair of the Church of England's Clergy Discipline Commission was announced. She simultaneously became the President of the Tribunals.[8]
Personal life
In 1986, Asplin married Nicholas A. Sherwin, a solicitor with Clifford Chance, who had been a contemporary at Cambridge.[9]