Upper Tribunal judge named President of Property Litigation Association

Judge Elizabeth Cooke has been appointed as the new President of the Property Litigation Association (PLA), as Liz Peace CBE steps down from the role after a five-year term.

Judge Cooke has been a Judge in the Lands Chamber of the Upper Tribunal since 2019. She was admitted as a solicitor in 1988, and was a professor of law at the University of Reading from 2003 to 2015. From 2008 to 2015 she was a Law Commissioner for England and Wales with responsibility for property law reform projects.

She has been a Deputy High Court Judge since 2013, and from 2015 to 2019 she was Principal Judge of the Land Registration Division of the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber).

The judge has authored or co-authored a number of leading texts in the field. At the Law Commission she led projects on easements, rights to light, telecommunications law, and conservation covenants.

Judge Cooke said: “The Property Litigation Association plays a vital role in championing high standards in litigation practice and legal education, and in advocating effective law reform – all immensely important in the aftermath of the pandemic as the real property market recovers and professional relationships are re-examined and rebuilt. I am honoured to have the opportunity to support the PLA as its President and I look forward to working with its members.”

Mathew Ditchburn, Chair of the Property Litigation Association, said: “We look forward to welcoming our amazing new President, Judge Cooke. She is well known to property litigators and highly-regarded by all those who have had the pleasure of dealing with her. With her unique combination of professional, academic and judicial experience, I’m confident she will help us cement the PLA’s position as a major voice in the fields of property law and litigation, and always have our members’ best interests at heart.

“We are incredibly grateful to Liz Peace for her invaluable contribution to the Property Litigation Association as President over the past five years.  Thanks to Liz’s wisdom and guidance, we enter this next chapter of the PLA a better and more relevant association than ever before.”