Four non-judicial members have been reappointed for three-year terms beginning in January 2027
The Lord Chancellor has reappointed four non-judicial members of the Civil Justice Council (CJC) for further three-year terms beginning on 1 January 2027, the Ministry of Justice has announced.
The reappointed members are John Cuss as Solicitor Member, Sue Prince as Lay Representative Member, Laurence Shaw as Legal Executive Member and Elizabeth Smart as Advice Sector Member. Their appointments were confirmed on 10 July 2026 and were made in accordance with the Governance Code on Public Appointments, under arrangements regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments.
The Civil Justice Council is a statutory advisory body established under the Civil Procedure Act 1997. It brings together members of the judiciary, civil servants, legal professionals and representatives from across the civil justice sector to review how the system operates and to advise on its future development. Its statutory role includes reviewing the civil justice system and advising the government, the judiciary, the Civil Procedure Rule Committee and others on improving the accessibility, fairness and efficiency of civil justice. The Council is also empowered to recommend changes and propose research.
For solicitors, the reappointments mean continuity in the Council’s non-judicial membership as it continues its work on reviewing the operation of the civil justice system and advising on future reforms. As the body responsible for making recommendations on the development of civil justice, the Council’s work can influence future procedural changes and wider policy affecting civil litigation practice.
John Cuss continues as the Council’s Solicitor Member. He serves as Legal Services Director at Hudgell Solicitors, where he is responsible for the strategic and technical delivery of legal services across the firm. He is also a former Vice-Chair of the National Law Society Dispute Resolution Committee and a former Senior Adviser to the Association of Consumer Support Organisations (ACSO).
Sue Prince is Professor in the Law School at the University of Exeter, where she has held several senior roles and established the university’s first law clinic. Laurence Shaw is a freelance legal consultant and qualified Chartered Legal Executive with more than 40 years’ experience in personal injury claims, including foreign jurisdiction litigation. Elizabeth Smart is Professor of Legal Education, a practising solicitor and Dean of Law and Social Sciences at Birmingham City University. She also serves as a non-Executive Solicitor Director of the Solicitors Regulation Authority and sits on the Independent Ethics Panel for the Police and Crime Commissioner in South Yorkshire.
The Ministry of Justice said the appointments comply with the Governance Code on Public Appointments and will take effect from 1 January 2027.