James Meston, 3rd Baron Meston (born 10 February 1950) is a British

hereditary peer The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of September 2022, there are 807 hereditary peers: 29 dukes (including five royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 190 earls, 111 viscounts, and 443 barons (disregarding subsid ...

, a lawyer, and a

crossbench A crossbencher is an independent or minor party member of some legislatures, such as the British House of Lords and the Parliament of Australia. They take their name from the crossbenches, between and perpendicular to the government and oppositi ...

member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

Legal career

Before succeeding to his family title, the Hon. James Meston (as he then was) was called to the Bar in 1973 and practiced as a barrister until 1999, mainly in family law. He

took silk In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

in 1996. Lord Meston was then a Circuit Judge in the Central Family Court from 2000 to 2020, known under the judicial title 'His Honour James Meston KC'. After he retired, he continued to sit as a deputy circuit judge. His chambers are in the Queen Elizabeth Building in

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

House of Lords

Lord Meston succeeded to his family title in 1984, and sat in the House of Lords, as a member of the Liberal Democrats, until the passage of the House of Lords Act 1999, which excluded all but 92 hereditary peers. He made his maiden speech in May 1984 in favour of the Child Abduction Bill. He is recorded in Hansard as having made 779 contributions before his exclusion in 1999. He returned to the upper chamber after being elected in a Crossbencher by-election in

September 2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

, taking the room of Adrian, Lord Palmer. According to his candidature statement, his legislative interests include children, domestic abuse, and divorce.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meston, James Meston, 3rd Baron Living people 1950 births Hereditary peers removed under the House of Lords Act 1999 Hereditary peers elected under the House of Lords Act 1999 Crossbench hereditary peers 20th-century King's Counsel 21st-century King's Counsel British King's Counsel Members of the Middle Temple Liberal Democrats (UK) hereditary peers