His Majesty The King has approved the appointment of
Lord Justice Snowden as a Justice of the Supreme Court. The
King made the appointment on the advice of the Prime Minister and
Lord Chancellor, following the recommendation of an independent
selection commission.
Richard Snowden grew up and was educated at a state school in
Redcar in the North-East of England. He studied law as an
undergraduate at Downing College, Cambridge and obtained a Master
of Laws degree from Harvard Law School.
Lord Justice Snowden was called to the Bar by Lincoln's Inn in
1986. He practised from Erskine Chambers, specialising
in company law, corporate insolvency,
financial services and related commercial
litigation. He was appointed Queen's Counsel in
2003.
Lord Justice Snowden's judicial career began when he was
appointed a Recorder of the Crown Court in 2006. He
was appointed a Deputy High Court Judge in 2008 and a High Court
Judge of the Chancery Division in 2015. He served as
Vice-Chancellor of the County Palatine of Lancaster and
Supervising Judge of the Business and Property Courts for the
Northern and North-Eastern Circuits from 2019.
Lord Justice Snowden was promoted to the Court of Appeal in
October 2021. He was appointed to the Transparency and Open
Justice Board on its inception in 2024,
and was appointed Lead Judge for International Relations for
the judiciary in March 2025.
