McFarlane was
called to the bar at
Gray's Inn in 1977 and has been a
Bencher since 2003. He began his
pupillage in London at chancery chambers before moving to 2 Fountain Court in
Birmingham (now St Philips Chambers). While there, he and David Hershman wrote
Hershman and McFarlane: Children Law and Practice. He then moved to 1 King’s Bench Walk in
Temple, London in 1994. and assigned to the
Family Division, receiving the customary
knighthood. McFarlane was the Family Division Liaison Judge for the Midland
Circuit from 2006 until his appointment as a
Lord Justice of Appeal on 28 July 2011, whereupon he received the customary appointment to the
Privy Council. On 28 July 2018, he was appointed
President of the Family Division. He was, until January 2019, the President of Tribunals and Chair of the Clergy Discipline Commission of the
Church of England under the Clergy Discipline Measure 2003. In 2021, McFarlane ordered that the
will of
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh would be sealed for at least 90 years. The original will and its envelope, alongside at least thirty others belonging to various members of the Royal Family now deceased, are stored in a safe and retained in the custody of the
President of the Family Division. ==References==