Legal career
Leggatt was called to the bar (Middle Temple) in 1983 and was appointed a Queen's Counsel in 1997. He joined Brick Court Chambers in 1985, where he practised commercial law, including areas such as banking, insurance, sales, and product liability law. [3] He became a recorder in 2002 and was a deputy High Court judge. [4]
On 26 October 2012, he was appointed to the High Court, [5] receiving the customary knighthood in the 2013 Special Honours, [6] and assigned to the Queen's Bench Division. He was appointed as a Lord Justice of Appeal in February 2018. [7]
In July 2019, it was announced Leggatt would become a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom after the retirement of Lord Carnwath. He took the judicial courtesy title of Lord Leggatt and was sworn in on 21 April 2020, in a specially adapted ceremony due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lord Leggatt recited the judicial oath in the presence of The Lord Reed of Allermuir, the President of the Supreme Court, whilst the other Justices watched remotely. [8] [9]
In 2016 Leggatt was elected a Fellow of Eton College. [10]
The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom is the final court of appeal in the United Kingdom for all civil cases, and for criminal cases originating in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. As the United Kingdom’s highest appellate court for these matters, it hears cases of the greatest public or constitutional importance affecting the whole population.
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Sir Andrew Peter Leggatt, PC was a British judge who served as the Lord Justice of Appeal and as a member of the Privy Council. He was noted for his acerbic wit and precise, well-written judgements. As a barrister, his clients included Paul McCartney and Robert Bolt.
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Robinson v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police[2018] UKSC 4 is a leading English tort law case on the test for finding a duty of care. An elderly woman was injured by two police officers attempting to arrest a suspect and she claimed that the police owed her a duty of care not to be put in danger. The UK Supreme Court found that the police did owe a duty of care in this case as there was no general rule that the police are not under any duty of care when performing their duties.
