Major law firms should allow junior partners to seek part-time judicial appointments as part of their pro bono activities, the lord chief justice said last week.

‘We must find a way of tapping into the talents of the brightest and best solicitors,’ Lord Judge told a conference on diversity hosted by city firm Clifford Chance.

Although solicitors have been eligible for judicial appointment since 1990, only ‘a slow trickle’ of candidates come forward, he said. This is partly a generational problem, he suggested. ‘Many of those in their forties and fifties entered the profession at a time when a judicial career did not seem to be open to them at all. I suspect that those brought up then are reluctant to allow their younger partners time off to gain judicial experience as part-time judges, a necessary step before contemplating an application for full-time appointment,’ he said.

Only 89 of the 653 circuit judges are former solicitors. Solicitors are much better represented on the district bench and in the tribunals.

Judge also pointed to the under-representation of women and members of ethnic minority communities in the judiciary as an issue to be addressed. However, he rejected quotas as ‘unacceptably patronising’, and emphasised that appointment has to be based solely on merit.