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| Mr Justice Leech Author UK Courts and Tribunals Judiciary Licence Open Government V 3 Source Wikimedia |
Mr Justice Leech succeeds Mr Justice Fancourt as Vice-Chancellor of the County Palatine of Manchester today. As the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary announcement states, Mr Justice Leech's title refers to the time when the North West of England had its own equitable jurisdiction known as the Court of Chancery of the county palatine of Lancaster, with its own Vice-Chancellor. That court merged with the rest of the Chancery Division in accordance with s.41 (1) (a) of the Courts Act 1971.
Nowadays, the Vice-Chancellor presides over the Chancery Division in the Northern and North Eastern Circuits, that is to say, everywhere between the Rivers Mersey and Humber and the Scottish border (see Appointment of Supervising Judge of the Business and Property Courts for the Northern & North Eastern Circuits 3 July 2025).
Although he was born in London Mr Justice Leech has a connection with the North of England in that he went to school in Lancaster and lived in Kirkby Lonsdale. He was called to the Bar in 1988, took silk in 2010 and joined the advocacy department of Herbert Smith Freehills in 2014. He became a judge of the High Court in 2022.
As presiding judge he will hear intellectual property cases in the North of England. Unlike his predecessor he is not one of the Patent Court judges. I congratulate the judge on his appointment and wish him well.
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