10 of the Most Famous British Lawyers

10 of the Most Famous British Lawyers

William Blackstone by National Portrait Gallery from Wikimedia Commons

Law is one of the most respectable careers that anyone could have. There was a time there were not as many lawyers as today but the famous British Lawyers have paved the way for others who aspire to be in this profession.

Most good lawyers are noble, well-educated and truly stand for what they believe in which is something that a lot of lawyers are lacking. However, the list below will show you the many good British lawyers. 

1. Peter Benenson (1921 – 2005)

Peter Benenson is the most renowned British lawyer, with an HPI of 69.49. On Wikipedia, his biography has been translated into 35 other languages.

Peter Benenson (31 July 1921 – 25 February 2005) was a British barrister, human rights campaigner, and the founder of the human rights organization Amnesty International (AI). For most of his life, he shunned all honours, but in his 80s, he received the Pride of Britain Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2001, partly to appease his family.

2. William Blackstone (1723 – 1780)

Sir William Blackstone (10 July 1723 – 14 February 1780) was an eighteenth-century English lawyer, judge, and Tory politician. His Commentaries on the Laws of England are his most famous works.

Blackstone was born into a middle-class London family and attended Charterhouse School before enrolling at Pembroke College, Oxford, in 1738. He was made a member of All Souls, Oxford, on 2 November 1743, admitted to Middle Temple, and called to the Bar there in 1746 after transferring to and finishing a Bachelor of Civil Law degree.

Blackstone’s work was notably influential in explaining individual rights against government and the preservation of liberty from authorities who sought to censor criticism and limit the press’s power to enlighten the public.

3. Henry de Bracton (1210 – 1268)

Henry of Bracton (c. 1210 – c. 1268), also known as Henry de Bracton, Henricus Bracton, or Henry Bratton, was an English clergyman and jurist. His publications on law, notably Tractatus de legibus et consuetudinibus Anglie (“On the Laws and Customs of England”), as well as his theories on men’s rea have made him famous (criminal intent).

According to Bracton, the commission of a criminal act could only be shown via the investigation of a combination of action and purpose. He also wrote about kingship, claiming that a ruler could only be named king if he ascended to power and exercised it lawfully.

Bracton attempts to clearly forth the law of the royal courts in a logical manner in his works by employing categories borrowed from Roman law, thereby merging various advances of medieval Roman law into English law.

4. George Hadley (1685 – 1768)

George Hadley (12 February 1685 – 28 June 1768) was an English barrister and amateur meteorologist who suggested the Hadley circulation, the atmospheric process by which the trade winds are sustained.

Understanding the trade winds was becoming increasingly important at the time as a critical aspect of ensuring that European sailing vessels reached North American coasts. Hadley was interested in the fact that winds that should have been blowing straight north had a distinct westerly flow, and he set out to explain this puzzle.

5. John Selden (1584 – 1654)

John Selden from Wikimedia Commons

John Selden is the fifth most renowned British lawyer, with an HPI of 57.76. His autobiography has been published in 15 languages.

John Selden (16 December 1584 – 30 November 1654) was an English lawyer who studied England’s old laws and constitution as well as Jewish law. Selden was a polymath, and John Milton praised him as “the foremost of erudite persons esteemed in this realm” in 1644.

6. A. V. Dicey (1835 – 1922)

Albert Venn Dicey by Wikimedia Commons

A. V. Dicey is the sixth most renowned British lawyer, with an HPI of 57.02. His autobiography has been published in 17 languages.

Albert Venn Dicey (1835–1922), sometimes known as A. V. Dicey, was a British constitutional theorist and lawyer. He is well known as the author of the book Introduction to the Study of Constitutional Law (1885). Its concepts are regarded as part of the unwritten British constitution.

He went on to become the Vinerian Professor of English Law at Oxford, as well as one of the first Professors of Law at the London School of Economics and a notable constitutional researcher of his day. Although its use dates back to the 17th century, Dicey popularized the phrase “rule of law.”

7.H. H. Asquith

H. H. Asquith was a British politician and statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916. He was the last Liberal Party prime minister to form a majority government. Under his leadership, the United Kingdom entered the First World War, a decision that has been widely condemned by current critics and academics.

8. Anna Soubry

Anna Soubry is a journalist, lawyer, and former politician from the United Kingdom. Soubry, a vehement opponent of Brexit, resigned from the Conservative Party in February 2019 to join the Independent Group for Change (Change UK). Following the loss of Change UK in the general election in December 2019, Anna Soubry was selected as the party’s leader before the party was disbanded.

9. Max Mosley

Max Mosley by Wikimedia Commons

Mosley began his adult life as a lawyer, studying at Gray’s Inn in London and being called to the bar in 1964. He died last week at the age of 81. Before making the uncharted step to motor racing, he specialized in patent and trademark law.

Max Mosley was a British racing driver and barrister. March Engineering, a Formula One racing team and racing vehicle manufacturer, was founded by him. He was also the president of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), a non-profit organization that promotes the interests of automobile owners and motoring groups all over the world.

10. Cherie Blair

Cherie Booth from Wikimedia Commons

She is the Founder and Chair of Omnia Strategy LLP, a legal company. She specializes in employment, discrimination, and public law, and has defended claimants in disputes against the UK government on occasion. Blair has appeared in several high-profile cases.

Cherie Blair is an accomplished attorney in her own right, in addition to being the wife of former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. She has previously taught at the University of Westminster and is the daughter of actor Tony Booth. She is also involved in philanthropic initiatives such as breast cancer awareness and other issues.

Why are lawyers important? A lawyer defends a person or business in different court processes and aids the client in any circumstance in which the law is discussed. The primary reason for the lawyer’s relevance is that all humans are equal and deserve the same opportunity to attain legal justice.