Mary Howarth Arden, Baroness Mance, , PC (born 23 January 1947), known professionally as Lady Arden of Heswall, is a former Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. Before that, she was a judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales.
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Early life and education
Mary Howarth Arden was born in Liverpool, the daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Eric Cuthbert Arden, of Heswall, Cheshire, a solicitor who had served with the Royal Garrison Artillery, and Mary Margaret (née Smith). Her grandfather was a partner in Gamon Arden and Co., a Liverpool firm of solicitors. Her father and brother, Roger, joined the family firm which merged with Hill Dickinson in 2007. She was brought up in south Liverpool and educated at Huyton College. She read law at Girton College, Cambridge, where she gained a starred first and an LLM, and an LLM degree at Harvard Law School in 1970 as a Kennedy Scholar.
Career
She was called to the bar at Gray's Inn in 1971, and joined Lincoln's Inn in 1973. She practised at Erskine Chambers from 1971 to 1993, mainly in company law. She became a QC in 1986, and served as Attorney-General of the Duchy of Lancaster. She is an Honorary Fellow of Girton College, Cambridge, Royal Holloway, University of London, and of Liverpool John Moores University.