Dame Catherine Fiona Woolf, DBE, DStJ, DL[1] (née Swain; born 11 May 1948) is a British corporate lawyer.

[citation needed] In 2001–02 Woolf was awarded a Senior Fellowship at the Harvard Kennedy School's Center for Business and Government.

[8] Woolf is an Honorary Bencher of Middle Temple, a life position which recognises contributions to the legal profession.

[20] She is a Trustee of the Science Museum[21] and Honorary President of the Aldersgate Group[22] On 5 September 2014 it was announced that Woolf would chair the independent panel inquiry that would examine how the UK's institutions have handled their duties to protect children from sexual abuse.

Lord Brittan had been Home Secretary in 1984 when ministers were handed a dossier on alleged high-profile paedophiles; he has insisted that the proper procedures were followed.

The BBC reported that survivors of child abuse were increasingly concerned about her apparent links to Lord Brittan, and Labour MP Simon Danczuk, who campaigned for the inquiry, said he thought Woolf should resign.

Woolf made the disclosures to MPs ahead of her appearance before the Home Affairs Select Committee, saying she was aware of "speculation gaining traction on social media" about her links with the Brittans and she wanted to: On 22 October, the BBC reported that it had seen a judicial review application launched by a victim of historical child sexual abuse which challenged the choice of Woolf as the chair of this inquiry on the basis that she was not impartial, had no relevant expertise and might not have time to discharge her duties.

Knowledge Economy and Invisible Earnings"[1] in 2002 and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2015 New Year Honours for "services to the legal profession, diversity, and the City of London", in recognition of her longstanding commitments in public life.