CILEX mourns passing of trailblazer Nick Hanning

Nick Hanning, who last year became the first CILEX Lawyer appointed to the post of Recorder, passed away on 31 December from cancer at the age of 60.

Nick is a former CILEX president who led from the front as Chartered Legal Executives were granted rights which put them on a par with solicitors and barristers – he was one of the first to become a partner in a solicitors’ firm, putting his application in the minute they opened, and one of the first CILEX Advocates. He was appointed a Deputy District Judge in 2020.

A Recorder has broadly the same jurisdiction as a circuit judge. The Lady Chief Justice, Baroness Carr, presided over his swearing-in, which was attended by his family.

It was only in 2023 that the government updated the law so that suitably qualified CILEX Lawyers could apply to become Recorders and Upper Tribunal judges, where previously they were unable to apply for posts higher than district judge.

His appointment was an historic milestone for the profession, showing that CILEX Lawyers have the training and skills needed to meet the competencies required for these more senior judicial posts.

CILEX President Yanthé Richardson said: “Nick exemplified the best of CILEX – from his many professional accomplishments to his dedication to pro bono work – but more than anything, he was simply an extremely nice person. He always had time for others, encouraged many colleagues in their careers, and was the perfect ambassador for where a CILEX qualification can take you.

“He bore his illness with the fortitude and humour that characterised him. He will be sorely missed by the CILEX and wider legal community, and we send our deepest condolences to his family and friends.”

Nick Hanning was an experienced and skilled practitioner who specialised in cases involving employment, discrimination and occupational health law. He had particular expertise in cases involving work-related psychiatric injury. He acted for the claimant in the seminal House of Lords case of Majrowski v Guy’s and St Thomas’s NHS Trust, which established the principle of vicarious liability of employers under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997.

He was a founder of Poole law firm Reynolds Williams in 2000, which became RWPS and then Dutton Gregory, which acquired RWPS in 2014. From 2017 until earlier last year, he was an independent consultant lawyer, continuing to work with Dutton Gregory and also renowned London firm Anthony Gold. He also provided advisory services to law firms through strategic and compliance consultancy DG Legal.

Nick was a CILEX Council (now Board) member for ten years and served as president for the year 2012-13. From 2019 until 2021, he sat as a professional member on the board of CILEx Regulation. He was a member of the Civil Justice Council between 2018 and 2021, sat on the Litigant in Person Judicial Engagement Group and served on the Bach Commission on Access to Justice.

He was a dedicated supporter of pro bono work, and chaired the South West Legal Support Trust for many years. He is a former chair of the CILEx Pro Bono Trust and trustee of Advocate (formerly the Bar Pro Bono Unit).

Read his friend and colleague David Gilmore’s tribute to Nick here.