Frederick Arthur Greer, 1st Baron Fairfield, (1 October 1863 – 4 February 1945) was a British lawyer and judge. Born to a merchant and his wife, Greer became a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

and member of

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 Wale ...

, practicing in Liverpool. In 1910 he became a

King's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

, and in 1919 a judge of the

High Court of Justice The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal (England and Wales), Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Courts of England and Wales, Senior Cour ...

. In 1939 he was elevated to the peerage as Baron Fairfield.

Background and education

Greer was born to merchant Arthur Greer, who lived in Liverpool and the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

, and his wife, Mary Hadfield Greer, (née Moore). He was educated at

Old Aberdeen Old Aberdeen is part of Aberdeen in Scotland. Old Aberdeen was originally a separate burgh, which was erected into a burgh of barony on 26 December 1489. It was incorporated into adjacent Aberdeen by Act of Parliament in 1891. It retains the sta ...

Grammar School before studying mental philosophy at the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...

, where he graduated with first-class honours and won the Fullerton scholarship.

Career

In 1886, he was

called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

after winning the

Bacon Bacon is a type of Curing (food preservation), salt-cured pork made from various cuts of meat, cuts, typically the pork belly, belly or less fatty parts of the back. It is eaten as a side dish (particularly in breakfasts), used as a central in ...

and Arden scholarships, and began practising as a

in Liverpool, where he met Moelwyn Hughes and Rigby Swift among others. His practice steadily grew, and in 1910 he became a

. After continuing his career in London he was appointed a judge of the

( King's Bench Division) by Lord Birkenhead, and given the customary knighthood. In 1927 he became a

Lord Justice of Appeal A Lord Justice of Appeal or Lady Justice of Appeal is a judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the court that hears appeals from the High Court of Justice, the Crown Court and other courts and tribunals. A Lord (or Lady) Just ...

, sitting in the

Court of Appeal of England and Wales The Court of Appeal (formally "His Majesty's Court of Appeal in England", commonly cited as "CA", "EWCA" or "CoA") is the highest court within the Senior Courts of England and Wales, and second in the legal system of England and Wales only to ...

, and was also made a Privy Councillor. In 1932 he served as the British representative to the International Congress of Comparative Law at The Hague, and in 1939 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Fairfield, of Caldy in the County Palatine of Chester. He died at home on 4 February 1945, at which point the peerage became extinct. As a judge, some of his more notable decisions included: * '' Hall v Brooklands Auto-Racing Club'' 9331 KB 205 * '' John Shaw & Sons (Salford) Ltd v Shaw'' 9352 KB 113

Personal life

On 17 August 1901 he married Katherine van Noorden, and the couple had one daughter, Louise Mary Greer, who married Moelwyn Hughes. After the death of Katherine he married Mabel Lily Fraser in 1939. New York Times, Obituary
LORD FAIRFIELD; Former Lord Justice of Appeal, Critic of the British Law, 6 February 1945, p.19,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fairfield 1863 births 1945 deaths Lord justices of appeal Queen's Bench Division judges 20th-century King's Counsel Knights Bachelor Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Barons created by George VI