Judicial life is perhaps one of the most individual – and lonely – of professional callings. On appointment, a judge takes an oath to ‘do right to all manner of people according to law without fear or favour, affection or ill-will.’1 At that moment, she shoulders an individual responsibility to meet the highest expectations of the law.2 This expectation, and concomitant scrutiny, will continue throughout the judge’s career. Legal, political and public commentary may welcome her on appointment, examining the appropriateness of her credentials, experience and political neutrality. There may be ongoing critique of the quality of her judicial conduct in court, her decisions and reasoning, all of which must, subject to few exceptions, be performed in the public eye. Even upon her retirement, her conduct and any transgressions it reveals, may be the subject of critical public comment. In performing her institutional role, the judge is afforded no personal anonymity.