In praise of … Alison Russell

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/may/22/in-praise-of-alison-russell

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Turn to the judiciary website and, in the section "What do I call a judge?" you could still read on Thursday that correspondence with a female high court judge should be addressed to "the honourable Mrs Justice … (whether married or single)". That absurdity needs consigning to history now, thanks to the determination of Alison Russell QC, who joined the high court this year and who has secured a change in the rules to style herself Ms Justice Russell. As more women belatedly follow Brenda Hale – a Yorkshirewoman like Ms Russell – into the upper ranks of the judiciary, these things are overdue for modernising. When Elizabeth Butler-Sloss became the first woman to sit on the court of appeal in 1988, judicial patriarchy insisted on calling her Lord Justice Butler-Sloss. Only when the late Tom Bingham became head of the appeal court in 1994 was the title Lady Justice permitted. It's a small step for womankind. Well done, Alison.