Former St Mary’s Head Boy appointed as Circuit Judge

10 Mar 2023

A former Head Boy of St. Mary’s College has reached another significant milestone in a very successful legal career by being appointed as a Circuit Judge.

Paul Burns was sworn in to his new role by The Chancellor of the High Court at a recent ceremony in London attended by his family, friends and colleagues. He is now known as His Honour Judge Burns.

Paul attended St. Mary’s College & Preparatory School between 1980 and 1994, serving as Head Boy in his final year. He subsequently returned to the school as a Governor and later Vice Chair of Governors between 2003 and 2013.

After taking his A Levels at St. Mary’s Paul studied law at Liverpool University and his Bar Finals at the Inns of Court School of Law in London.

He was called to the Bar (Lincoln’s Inn) in 1998 and returned to Liverpool to join Exchange Chambers where he has subsequently had a very successful practice as a barrister, rising to become the set’s Head of Local Government and Social Housing.

Outside his role at the Bar Paul has been very active in other areas, serving as a non-executive Director in the NHS between 2010 and 2017.

He also became a Legally Qualified Chair of Police Misconduct Panels in 2016 and a Legally Qualified Chair of the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service in the following year.

Thanks to his expertise in the housing sector he was also appointed Group Chair of housing associations Liverpool Mutual Homes in 2017 and Torus 62 Ltd last year.

St. Mary’s College Principal, Mike Kennedy, said: “We have watched Paul’s rise through the legal ranks with interest and pride since he left school, from seeing him nominated by the Times newspaper as a ‘Future Star of the Bar’ to being honoured as Liverpool’s Barrister of the Year.

“He has continued to earn plaudits for his expertise in the field of housing and local government law and this latest appointment as a Circuit Judge, which reflects the quality of the representation he has provided over many years, is richly deserved.

“As a school, we are delighted that in what has been an exceptionally busy career Paul found time to provide valuable service as one of our Governors for ten years.”