Sir Morris Finer QC (12 December 1917 – 14 December 1974) was a British lawyer and judge.

Early life

Finer was born in

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in the East End of London northeast of Charing Cross. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heath Road. By ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, the son of Charles Finer, a master tailor, and his wife Ray, née Topper. He was educated at Kilburn Grammar School and 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 ...

, where he read law. He was rejected for military service during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

on account of his poor eyesight, instead serving as an assistant principal in the Ministry of Health. His younger brother was the journalist

Leslie Finer Leslie Finer (10 December 1922 – 10 March 2010) was a British journalist and author who worked for the BBC, the ''Financial Times'', ''The Observer'', the ''New Statesman'', other British news organisations, ''Kathimerini'' and the Canadian ...

Career

Finer was called by

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and W ...

to the

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

in 1943, but due to the inadequacy of his earnings he also wrote leaders for the London ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

''. He became a Queen's Counsel in 1963 and was elected a Master of the Bench of Gray's Inn in 1971, before being made a judge the following year. Finer was noted for his involvement in many campaigns for social reform. In 1967 he chaired a committee on behalf of the Society for Labour Lawyers – which included Anthony Lester, Sir Geoffrey Bindman and

Michael Zander Michael Zander, KC, FBA, (born 16 November 1932 in Berlin) is a British legal scholar. He is Professor Emeritus of Law at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and the author of several books known to generations of lawyers an ...

– that considered improving the accessibility of the justice system by introducing a network of American-style neighbourhood law centres, staffed by trained lawyers; the resulting report was published as ''Justice For All'' in 1968. Furthermore, under Finer's chairmanship the ''Finer Report on One Parent Families'' was published in the early 1970s, and he was subsequently appointed chairman of the Royal Commission on the Press, dying of lung cancer at the age of 57 before its completion. As a commercial lawyer, Finer was involved in several prominent cases, including acting for three of the Beatles –

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

, George Harrison, Ringo Starr – and Apple Corps Ltd over the management of the band in 1971.

Other activities

Finer was chairman of the Cinematograph Films Council and a governor and, later, vice chairman of the board of governors of the London School of Economics. After his death a Morris Finer Memorial Scholarship was established at the LSE in his honour.

Miscellaneous

Additional information about Finer appears in the ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

''. A painting of him by Stephen Finer is in the collection o
Pallant House Gallery
Chichester, Sussex.

Publications

* * ''Company Law'' (1948) * ''Justice For All'' (1968) Society of Labour Lawyers

Notes

References

''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''

External links

Catalogue
of the Royal Commission on the Press papers a

Catalogue
of the Committee on One Parent Families papers a

Morris Finer Memorial Scholarships
{{DEFAULTSORT:Finer, Morris 20th-century English judges English Jews People associated with the London School of Economics People educated at Kilburn Grammar School 1917 births 1974 deaths Governors of the London School of Economics