Mrs Justice Joanna Smith has been appointed interim Deputy President of the High Court’s Business and Property Courts, taking up the role on 1 November 2026.
Her appointment comes as the division prepares for a leadership transition, with Sir Colin Birss, the current president, due to become Master of the Rolls, succeeding Sir Geoffrey Vos.
In her interim position, Mrs Justice Smith will oversee the division’s day-to-day operations until a permanent president is appointed. Her responsibilities will include coordinating judicial deployment, managing case allocation, liaising with supervising judges across the Business and Property Courts outside London, and providing pastoral support to judges.
The Lady Chief Justice announced the appointment, highlighting Mrs Justice Smith’s extensive experience in the Business and Property Courts and her ability to support judges during the transition. The new division brings together judges from the former Chancery and King’s Bench Divisions alongside newly appointed High Court judges.
Mrs Justice Smith was called to the Bar in 1990 and took silk in 2009. She became a Deputy High Court Judge in 2017 and was appointed to the High Court in 2021, assigned to the Chancery Division. Since then, she has sat regularly in both the Chancery and King’s Bench Divisions, as well as in the Technology and Construction Court and the Patents Court.
Her wider judicial experience includes chairing the Tribunal Procedure Committee from 2020 to 2024. Since January 2026, she has also chaired the core group of the Online Procedure Rule Committee.
The interim appointment is expected to support continuity in judicial leadership and administration while arrangements for a permanent president are finalised.
