He was called to the Bar in 1969, appointed a family judge in the high court in 1993, and appointed President of the Family Division in 2010.

Nicholas Cusworth QC, chair of the Family Law Bar Association, said: “Sir Nicholas Wall has been the most distinguished family lawyer of his generation. “He was equally at home with cases involving money and children at the Bar, a very rare commodity. As a judge, he was brave in asserting what he saw as the right way, especially where the interests of children were concerned.

“His elevation to the Presidency of the Family Division of the High Court was welcomed universally by the profession, because of his reputation for integrity and probity and the many sound judgements which he delivered during his long career in the Family Division itself and in the Court of Appeal. He was trusted to stand up for the fair administration of family justice against the repeated attempts at cost-cutting by successive governments. It is a great shame that his opportunity to shape family law from the Presidency has been cut short by illness.”