We were delighted to welcome back, Gordon Lingard (OH 1958-1967) who recently to speak to our Senior School Law Society at Hymers. He was pleased to be back at Hymers...

What a privilege to enter through the Main Gates. in my day they were only open to footpassengers!

Last year, Gordon joined us for an Old Hymerian social evening in Leeds and at the time he kindly offered to speak to any aspiring lawyer at Hymers. Pictured is Gordon enjoying Hymers chat with Headmaster, Justin Stanley and Anjon Malik, (OH 1982-1992). 

Gordon's extensive career history:

• Practised as a solicitor in Hull for 20 years, specialising in litigation and family finance
• Appointed District Judge in 1993, sitting in the Keighley, Bradford and Skipton County and Family Courts
• Served for over 10 years as Assistant Secretary and Treasurer of the Association of HM District Judges
• One of the first Nominated Judges of the Court of Protection
• Tutor Judge for the Judicial Studies Board / Judicial College
• Represented the UK three times on the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN) Steering Committee
• Participated in EJTN seminars, Franco-British Judicial Colloques, and completed a two-week judicial stage in La Rochelle
• Retired from full-time judicial office in 2014; continued sitting until December 2023 in County and Family Courts across Yorkshire and remotely in Central London and Newcastle
• Taught civil and family law for the École Nationale de la Magistrature (ENM) since 2000
• Co-taught Legal English in Romania
• Delivered lectures for UNED Madrid and the University of Białystok
• Legal Expert for the European Judicial Training Network since 2018
• Taught for the ENM in Paris and Bordeaux in 2025
• Helped prepare Spanish judges for court visits to England and Scotland in 2025

It was a pleasure to welcome Gordon back to the school and to hear him share his many law career anecdotes with our students. Our Sixth Formers were extremely grateful for his insights and the wisdom he shared about the journey into law, as well as the opportunity to learn more about the role of a Judge. Gordon spoke engagingly about his experience working as a Judge, the skills and professional qualities required for the role, and shared a number of examples from cases he has encountered over the years, which brought the profession to life for our students.

Thank you for your support, Gordon. We greatly appreciated you travelling from West Yorkshire to speak to our Sixth Form students, and the time and thought you put into making the session so valuable.

All the best from Hymers Avenue. We look forward to seeing you again soon.