Lord Justice Cobb named new President of Family Division

His appointment follows the retirement of Sir Andrew McFarlane.

Lord Justice Stephen Cobb was called to the Bar, Inner Temple, in 1985 and took Silk in 2003.

He started his judicial career as a Recorder in 2004 and was authorised to hear cases under section 9(1) of the Senior Courts Act 1981 in 2009.

He was appointed as a High Court Judge in 2013 and was assigned to the Family Division. He also sat in the Administrative Court of the Kings Bench Division and was a nominated judge of the Court of Protection.

He was appointed to the Court of Appeal in June 2024, and took his place in 2025. He served as a Family Presiding Judge (North Eastern Circuit) between 2015 and 2021.

The President is the Head of the Family Division of the High Court of Justice and may sit as of right in the Court of Appeal, the High Court and the Family Court either alone or as part of a panel.

The appointment was made by His Majesty The King on the advice of the Prime Minister and the Lord Chancellor following the recommendation of an independent selection panel chaired by Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill, the Lady Chief Justice.

The Lady Chief Justice said: “I am delighted that His Majesty has announced the appointment of Lord Justice Cobb as President of the Family Division.

“His time as Chair of the former President of the Family Division’s Private Law Working Group and experience as Family Presiding Judge for the North Eastern Circuit, along with his leadership role during the HMCTS Reform Programme, make him ideally suited to this position.”