01/10/2025
My son Nicholas who died on New Year’s eve would have been 61 today.
He was a wonderful person and a first rate lawyer but of course I am biased since I am his father.
So please read what Joshua Rozenberg wrote about him:
“Nick Hanning, the first chartered legal executive to be appointed as
a recorder, has died of cancer at the age of 60. A recorder is, in
effect, a part-time circuit judge who may sit in the Crown Court, the
family court or the county court.
Hanning’s appointment at the end of September was announced at
a time when he was already gravely ill, though he asked for nothing
to be said about his illness publicly. He was sworn in by the lady
chief justice in November.
Hanning was admitted as a fellow of what became the Chartered
Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx) in 1990. In 2000, when rights
of audience were extended to legal executives, he was in the first
group to qualify as an advocate in civil proceedings. In 2009, when
partnership rights were opened to legal executives, he was
recognised as the first legal executive partner in a solicitors’
practice.
In 2020, Hanning was appointed a deputy district judge, a first-tier
tribunal judge and the first CILEx employment judge. Last year, he
became the first legal executive to be appointed at circuit bench
level. He had been due to complete a series of courses before
sitting for the first time this year.
At his swearing-in, Hanning said:
When I began my legal career, the legal executive route was all that
was available to me to progress in a structured way combining
formal learning with on-the-job practical experience.
My appointments to previous judicial roles, and now recorder, are
evidence of the excellent work that is being done to increase
diversity by ensuring that appointment is not about background and
qualifications but about demonstrating the required competencies
— however they have been acquired.
Hanning had lived for several years with cancer until his death on
New Year’s Eve, colleagues from the At Work Partnership said in a
tribute:
Nick was a specialist legal trainer at our conferences and events,
an important contributor to the Occupational Health at Work Journal
and author of a chapter for our book on discrimination law and
occupational health practice. He had worked with the At Work
Partnership since 2008.
Particularly memorable were his wonderful lectures on the Practical
Occupational Health Law Certificate course and his dedication to
helping occupational health professionals understand employment
tribunal law and procedure. He will be remembered by us all for his
legal ability and lecturing skills, his warmth and his great sense of
humour — and his cats that always appeared at the end of his
lectures!
My condolences to his family — and particularly to his father Jack
and Jack’s wife Fernanda, who were very kind to me when I used to
make regular reporting trips to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg.”
This analysis reached you free of charge. To add a comment — and
receive exclusive posts — please consider becoming a paying
subscriber to A Lawyer Writes
