Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
Dame Nerys Jefford DBE awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Leeds Beckett University
Dame Nerys was called to the Bar in 1986. She was educated at secondary level at Olchfa Comprehensive School, Swansea. She took her first degree in law at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford where she was a scholar in law, before accepting a Fulbright Scholarship to study in the USA, obtaining her Ll.M. from the University of Virginia.
In 1988 Nerys became a member of Keating Chambers, specialising in construction and engineering dispute resolution, and in 2008 was appointed as Queen’s Counsel.
Dame Nerys Jefford DBE said: "I am honoured and delighted to have been chosen by Leeds Beckett University as the recipient of an honorary doctorate from the School of the Built Environment, Engineering and Computing.
"It emphasises the strong and positive relationship between those who develop the law in these areas and those whose activities in the construction and engineering industries are intertwined with the law, and how we all share the aim of promoting safe, sustainable, effectively managed and dispute free construction projects."
For nearly 30 years, Dame Nerys represented clients from the UK and around the world in court, arbitration and adjudication in disputes arising out of a vast range of projects from residential and commercial property to major public works and infrastructure projects, shipbuilding, and offshore structures.
A Bencher of Gray’s Inn since 2006, she is currently the Master of Moots and an advocacy trainer for the Inn. She was formerly Vice Chairman of the Bar Standards Board Education and Training Committee and also served on the Professional Conduct Committee.
In 2016 Nerys was appointed as a Deputy High Court Judge and a High Court Judge, Queen’s Bench Division. She sits in the Technology and Construction Court, Administrative Court, Planning Court, and on some of the most serious Crown Court trials.
In 2022, Nerys was made an honorary life member of the Society of Construction Law, after serving as a Councillor for many years and as its Chairman from 2007 – 2008.
Professor Peter Slee, Leeds Beckett University Vice Chancellor said: "On behalf of all of our staff, students and Governors here at Leeds Beckett University, I would like to congratulate Nerys Jefford on this Honorary Degree.
"I am delighted that the university is recognising her outstanding service to public life. Nerys has also been a strong advocate for education, having lectured on legal issues concerning the construction industry for the likes of the SCL, the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the International Bar Association, among others."