Former President of the Family Division, Sir Nicholas Wall

The Family Law Bar Association (FLBA), reported on Saturday, 18 February 2017 that Sir Nicholas Wall, formerly President of the Family Division, has died aged 71 years old.

Sir Nicholas was called to the Bar in 1969. He took silk in 1988 and became a Bencher in 1993. In 1988, he was appointed an Assistant Recorder and became a Recorder in 1990. He was appointed a High Court Judge in the Family Division in 1993 and to the Court of Appeal and Privy Council in 2004.

From 2001 to 2003, he was a Judge of the Employment Appeal Tribunal and a Judge of the Administrative Court from 2003 to 2004. He was a member of the Lord Chancellor's Advisory Board on Family Law from 1997 to 2001 (Chairman of the Children Act Sub-Committee, 1998-2001).

Sir Nicholas was appointed as the President of the Family Division and Head of Family Justice for England and Wales on 13 April 2010. He was obliged to retire on health grounds in December 2012. 

The FLBA website describes Sir Nicholas as a compassionate judge who thought and cared deeply about the outcome of his cases.