Introduction to the Series

The Hon. Dame Linda Dobbs DBE

In October 2004, following a successful career at the Criminal Bar, Dame Linda became the first non-white high court judge in the UK. Whilst on the Bench she was the Senior Liaison Judge for Diversity, Chair of the Magisterial Committee of the Judicial Studies Board and Chair of the International Committee of the Judicial College. Dame Linda is a contributing and consultant editor to a number of legal publications and has been involved in the training of lawyers and judges both in the UK and internationally for over 20 years. She is the Director of Training for the Judicial Institute for Africa (JIFA) based at the law department of the University of Cape Town. She is a Pro Chancellor of the University of Surrey, Senior Fellow at SOAS and holds 6 honorary doctorates. She is President of International Lawyers for Africa, Chair of the UK Sierra Leone Pro Bono Network, patron of a number of charities including two in Sierra Leone and two in South Africa and sits on a number of advisory boards. She has been named in the past as one of Britain’s most powerful black women and has featured regularly in the Power 100 List of Influential Black Britons. In 2013 Dame Linda stepped down from the Bench to pursue her various interests, including training of judges and lawyers internationally, in particular, in the Caribbean and Africa, commercial mediation, and working with the charities with which she is associated.