Jeremy McMullen QC (14 September 1948 – 10 February 2015) was a trade unionist and barrister who went on to be a Circuit Judge. He was an expert on

employment law Labour laws (also known as labor laws or employment laws) are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship between employee, ...

and workers' rights who acted for clients as diverse as Conservative Party politician Dame Shirley Porter and the trade unionist

Arthur Scargill Arthur Scargill (born 11 January 1938) is a British trade unionist who was President of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) from 1982 to 2002. He is best known for leading the UK miners' strike (1984–85), a major event in the history of ...

Early life

McMullen was born on 14 September 1948 in Blackpool, the elder of two children of John, a businessman, and Irene, a teacher. He was educated at

William Hulme's Grammar School William Hulme's Grammar School is a mixed all-through school in Whalley Range, Manchester, England. History William Hulme (1631–1691) of Hulme Hall, Stockport, was the founder of "Hulme's Charity" later known as the Hulme Trust. Follow ...

in Manchester, after which he took a degree in law at Brasenose College, Oxford, and an MSc in Industrial Relations at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...

Career

In 1971, McMullen became a barrister of the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn ...

, then worked in New York until 1973. Subsequently, he worked as a trade union official for 11 years with the then General Municipal and Boilermakers' Union. When his ''Rights at Work'' was published in 1976, his advice to workers that they should organise, not sue, attracted the attention of ''The Times'' who noted his views that the people who administered the law "were unrepresentative, out of touch and antagonistic to workers' demands". He fought for trade union recognition at the Chix bubble gum factory in Slough and during the Grunwick dispute. From 1985, he appeared in several high-profile cases, obtaining an acquittal for officers of

Westminster City Council Westminster City Council is the local authority for the City of Westminster in Greater London, England. The city is divided into 20 wards, each electing three councillors. The council is currently composed of 31 Labour Party members and 23 Cons ...

caught up in the homes for votes

gerrymandering In representative democracies, gerrymandering (, originally ) is the political manipulation of electoral district boundaries with the intent to create undue advantage for a party, group, or socioeconomic class within the constituency. The m ...

scandal. He represented Dame Shirley Porter and the miners' leader Arthur Scargill on several occasions. In 1988, he was one of the first to propose that pupil barristers should be paid while they were training by means of a levy introduced for the purpose. Historically, pupils had paid for the privilege of being trained. McMullen became a QC in 1994, became a circuit judge in 2001, joined the Employment Appeal Tribunal in 2002, and became a senior circuit judge in 2006, and a deputy high court judge in the Queen's Bench division in 2007. He worked as a judge at the High Court, the

Employment Appeal Tribunal The Employment Appeal Tribunal is a tribunal in England and Wales and Scotland, and is a superior court of record. Its primary role is to hear appeals from Employment Tribunals in England, Scotland and Wales. It also hears appeals from decisions ...

and

Southwark Crown Court The Crown Court at Southwark, commonly but inaccurately called Southwark Crown Court, is one of two locations of the Crown Court in the London SE1 postcode area, along with the Crown Court at Inner London. Opened in 1983, the brick building is ...

. His obituary in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' called him "the leading expert of his generation on employment law, which he elevated to a new status".

Personal life

McMullen married an American, Deborah Cristman, whom he met while she was studying town planning at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

, and they married in Connecticut in 1973 and had two children. He was a

rower Rowing, sometimes called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars are attached to the boat using oarlocks, while paddles are not connected to the boat. Rowing is ...

with the

Leander Club Leander Club, founded in 1818, is one of the oldest rowing clubs in the world, and the oldest non-academic club. It is based in Remenham in Berkshire, England and adjoins Henley-on-Thames. Only three other surviving clubs were founded prior t ...

, one of the world's oldest rowing clubs, as well as the Putney Town Rowing Club and took part in the

Vogalonga Vogalonga is a rowing regatta in the Italian city of Venice. On November 11, 1974 a group of Venetians, both amateur and professional rowers, had a race in the island of Burano. They came up with an idea of non-competitive "race" in which any kind ...

regatta of Venice. McMullen was a

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "human ...

and a patron of the

British Humanist Association Humanists UK, known from 1967 until May 2017 as the British Humanist Association (BHA), is a charitable organisation which promotes secular humanism and aims to represent "people who seek to live good lives without religious or superstitious b ...

, saying, "Humanism is the only rational explanation of life. It simply requires us to live compassionate lives, treating others with fairness and respect. It involves us seeing the best in all around us."

Death

McMullen died from oesophagal cancer on 10 February 2015. At least one memorial fund has been started in his name.

Selected publications

* ''Employment Tribunal Procedure: a user's guide to tribunals and appeals'' * ''Rights at Work''.

Pluto Press Pluto Press is a British independent book publisher based in London, founded in 1969. Originally, it was the publishing arm of the International Socialists (today known as the Socialist Workers Party), until it changed hands and was replaced ...

, 1976.

References

External links

BBC article "Interpreters win sacking damages"
{{DEFAULTSORT:McMullen, Jeremy 1948 births 2015 deaths Alumni of the London School of Economics Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford English King's Counsel People educated at William Hulme's Grammar School British barristers 21st-century English judges Members of the Middle Temple 20th-century King's Counsel British humanists Deaths from esophageal cancer People from Blackpool Lawyers from Lancashire