[2] Born in County Down, Northern Ireland,[2] he attended Harrogate Grammar School and then won an Open Exhibition to St John's College, Cambridge, from where he obtained both an MA in law and an LLM.

[2] He was a summer associate in the Los Angeles office of White & Case in both 1988 and 1989, and after completing his pupillage at Atkin Chambers in Gray's Inn, he remained there in practice until he was appointed to the High Court Bench in 2015.

[2] He practised both in the UK and internationally, including in Hong Kong, China, South Africa, Sweden, Botswana, France, Dubai, Qatar, Oman, Bermuda, and the Bahamas, where he was called to the Bar in 2007.

[5][2] He became a High Court Judge, assigned to the Queen's Bench Division, on 1 October 2015,[3][6][2] and was made a Knight Bachelor in November 2015.

[12] He was appointed as the Chair of the Law Commission of England and Wales, replacing Sir Nicholas Green, with effect from 1 December 2023.