Cherie Blair - Legal Career

Legal Career

A member of Lincoln's Inn, she became a barrister in 1976 and Queen's Counsel in 1995. Until 1988, her head of chambers was George Carman QC. In 1999, she was appointed a Recorder (a permanent part-time judge) in the County Court and Crown Court. She was the 3rd Chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University from 1999–2006, and on 26 July 2006 was awarded the honorary title of Emeritus Chancellor, as well as the university honourarly naming it's new Cherie Booth Building. She is also Governor of the London School of Economics and the Open University. She is a founding member of Matrix Chambers in London from which she continues to practise as a barrister. Matrix was formed in 2000 specialising in human rights law, though members also practise in a range of areas of UK public and private law, the Law of the European Union and European Convention on Human Rights, and public international law.

She specialises in employment, discrimination and public law and in this capacity has occasionally represented claimants taking cases against the UK government.

Cherie Blair has appeared in a number of leading cases. A notable example before the European Court of Justice was concerned with discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation. In November 2007, she expressed interest in becoming a senior judge.