The Honourable Lord Justice Cobb

Sir Stephen was born on 12 April 1962. His father was the Hon. Sir John Francis Scott Cobb and his mother was Lady (Joan Mary) Cobb. Sir Stephen married Samantha Cowling in 1989, with whom he has had two sons and one daughter.

Sir Stephen was educated at Winchester College and at the University of Liverpool, where he graduated with an LL.B. (Hons) in 1984.

Sir Stephen was called to the Bar by the Inner Temple in 1985. He became a Bencher of the Inner Temple in 2011. Sir Stephen became a Queen's Counsel (now King's Counsel) in 2003. He was Head of Chambers at One Garden Court from 2007 to 2013, and a member of the Family Justice Council (2004–2009) and Chair of the Family Law Bar Association (2010–2011).

Sir Stephen's judicial career started when he was appointed to the part-time post of Recorder in 2004. He was appointed a Deputy High Court Judge in 2008 and subsequently elevated to a full-time Judge of the High Court, Family Division, in January 2013. In that year he was also knighted by the Queen, as is customary for new High Court judges. Sir Stephen was the Family Division Liaison Judge for the North-Eastern Circuit from 2015 to 2021. He was also the Lead Reform Judge from 2021 to 2023.

In June 2024, Sir Stephen was appointed to the Court of Appeal and he first sat in July 2025. He is the first Liverpool graduate since Lord Nicholls of Birkenhead to be appointed to the Court of Appeal. He follows in the footsteps of Lord Nicholls and Lord Justice Sellers.

Sir Stephen has published extensively on family law. He has been consulting editor of the Family Law Reports and was case editor of the Family Law Journal.

The University of Liverpool awarded Sir Stephen an honorary LL.D. in 2019.

Written by Dr John Tribe.