After graduating high school, she was conscripted into the Israel Defense Forces, where she served in the military music band of Central Command.

[3] After her discharge from the army, Hayut attended law school at Tel Aviv University, graduating in 1977.

Hayut interned at the law firm of Haim Yosef Zadok, a former Israeli Minister of Justice, where she stayed on to work as an associate lawyer between 1977 and 1985.

[5] Hayut was unanimously elected to replace Miriam Naor as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in 2017 according to the seniority method used in Israel.

[9][10] Justice Hayut retired on 15 October 2023, legally mandated for Supreme Court presidents when reaching 70, with no permanent replacement named.