Robert Reed, Baron Reed of Allermuir

Reed was educated at the independent George Watson's College in Edinburgh, and studied at the School of Law of the University of Edinburgh, taking a First Class Honours LL.B. and winning a Vans Dunlop Scholarship. He then took a D.Phil. at Balliol College, Oxford, writing a doctoral thesis on "Legal Control of Government Assistance to Industry",[1] and was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1983.[2][3]

Reed was Standing Junior Counsel to the Scottish Education Department from 1988 to 1989, and to the Scottish Office Home and Health Department from 1989 to 1995. He was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1995, and Advocate Depute in 1996. He was appointed a Senator of the College of Justice, a judge of the Court of Session and High Court of Justiciary, the country's College of Justice, in 1998, with the judicial title, Lord Reed. He sat initially as a Judge of the Outer House, becoming Principal Commercial Judge in 2006. He has been one of the United Kingdom's ad hoc judges at the European Court of Human Rights,[4] and sat in the Grand Chamber judgements on the appeals of the killers of James Bulger in 1999. Between 2002 and 2004, he was an expert advisor to the EU/Council of Europe Joint Initiative with Turkey. He was promoted to the Inner House (First Division) in 2008, and appointed to the Privy Council.[2][3] He sat on the UK Supreme Court during the illness of Lord Rodger of Earlsferry, along with Lord Clarke,[5] and succeeded Lord Rodger.[6]

He has been Chairman of the Franco-British Judicial Co-operation Committee since 2005, and was President of the EU Forum of Judges for the Environment from 2006–08, now serving as Vice-President. He was a member of the Advisory Board of the British Institute for International and Comparative Law from 2001 to 06, and of the UN Task Force on Access to Justice since 2006. He is Convener of the charity Children in Scotland (since 2006) and Chairman of the University of Edinburgh Centre for Commercial Law (since 2008). He has been an Honorary Professor of Law at Glasgow Caledonian University since 2005, and the School of Law of the University of Glasgow since 2006.[2][3]

On 20 December 2011, it was announced that Reed would replace the late Lord Rodger of Earlsferry as a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.[7] He was sworn in on 6 February 2012.[8]

Lord Reed was Convener of the Children in Scotland Board from February 2006-March 2012.

On 18 January 2017, he was appointed as a Non-Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong.[9]

Reed was appointed Deputy President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom in May 2018, succeeding Lord Mance on his retirement. He was sworn into the new position on 6 June 2018.[10]

On 25 January 2019 he was made an Honorary Fellow of The Academy of Experts in recognition of his contribution and work for Expert Witnesses.

On 24 July 2019, the last day of Theresa May in office, the Queen appointed him to serve as President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and declared her intention to raise him to the peerage. He succeeded Baroness Hale of Richmond on 11 January 2020 following her retirement[11] and on the same day was created Baron Reed of Allermuir, of Sundridge Park in the London Borough of Bromley.[12] He was sworn in as president on 13 January and introduced to the House of Lords on 16 January.

In 2015 Reed was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.[13] Lord Reed is High Steward of the University of Oxford and Visitor of Balliol College, Oxford.

He married Jane Mylne, Lady Reed in 1988, with whom he has two daughters. He succeeded Lord Rodger of Earlsferry as the Visitor of Balliol College, Oxford.

• List of Senators of the College of Justice