The Safest Shield: Lectures, Speeches and Essays

"… I have heard him deliver dozens of speeches of welcome and valediction to judges and lord justices of appeal. They have all been little short of miniature works of art, each marvellously crafted and carefully tailored to the honorand and the occasion, expressed with clarity, warmth and wit…he is one of our greatest Chief Justices [who was] responsible for leading the judiciary of England and Wales during a period of unprecedented difficulties and challenges." Lord Dyson, Master of the Rolls 

"At the Conference of Commonwealth Lawyers [he] captivated, charmed, inspired and pricked the conscience of every one of the hundreds of people in that auditorium…As a white baron he addressed a predominantly black, male, African audience on the subject of apartheid and its consequences, especially for women. He commanded their attention and their respect and moved them to tears and to two standing ovations. He spoke with extreme emotion and power." Maura McGowan QC, Chair of the Bar Council 

"Lord Judge was not just any old judge, but was a model occupant of an ancient office that is more than 700 years old." 
Philip Johnston, The Daily Telegraph 

"Though he had an uncanny knack of knowing exactly what the public was thinking – about crime, about sentencing and much else – he was always the judge’s judge …Little wonder then that, when he had delivered his last formal judgment as lord chief justice, he was treated to something I have never before encountered in a court of law: nearly 300 people rising as one and breaking into sustained, whole-hearted applause." Joshua Rozenberg, The Guardian