Elizabeth Cooke qualified as a solicitor in 1998. She was a lecturer at the University of Reading from 1993, and a professor of law from 2003 onwards. From 2008 to 2015 she served as Law Commissioner for England and Wales with responsibility for property, family and trusts law. From 2015 to 2019 she was the Principal Judge of the Land Registration Division of the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber); from June 2019 she has been a judge of the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber). She has been a Deputy High Court Judge since 2012.