Masters of the Bench

Sarah Worthington is the Downing Professor of the Laws of England,
University of Cambridge,  and a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. She took her first degrees in Australia, initially in science but followed soon after by an LLB (First Class) at the University of Queensland and an LLM at the University of Melbourne, where she had her first academic appointment.

She undertook a PhD at Wolfson College, Cambridge and continued her academic career at Birkbeck, and then the LSE. In 2011 she moved to Cambridge.

Her main research interests are in the broad areas of commercial equity and corporate law. She is the Director of the Cambridge Private Law Centre. Her books include Equity (Clarendon Law Series), Gower’s Principles of Modern Company Law (with Professor Paul Davies) and the first edition of The Law of Personal Property (with Professors Bridge, Gullifer and McMeel).

Sarah’s research has been stimulated by a series of visiting appointments in Australia, China, South Africa and Hong Kong, and by her work with a wide variety of law reform and advisory bodies in the UK, US, Europe and Australia.

She has combined her research and teaching with a keen interest in governance and strategy issues generally, spending five years
as a Pro-Director at the LSE and holding various board roles in the charity and research sectors, including The British Academy (where she is currently the Treasurer), Cambridge University Press, the London Business School, and the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

Her pursuit of professional legal qualifications came later in her career, but was exceptionally well served by pupillage at South Square (where she was also persuaded to join Middle Temple). She was Called to the Bar and became an Academic Member of South Square in 2005, and was elected a Bencher in 2010, the same year she was made QC (honoris causa). Sarah now combines her academic career with her newest role as
a Deputy High Court Judge.