Solicitors remember Henry Hodge
One of the country's leading solicitors, Sir Henry Hodge, died on 18 June. He was diagnosed with leukaemia in September last year.
One of the country's leading solicitors, Sir Henry Hodge, died on 18 June. He was diagnosed with leukaemia in September last year.
Sir Henry founded the London legal aid firm Hodge Jones & Allen with Peter Jones and Patrick Allen in 1977.
He became vice president of the Law Society in 1995, but narrowly lost the first contested election for president for more than 40 years to Martin Mears.
Sir Henry retired from the firm in 1999 to become a circuit judge and later was the first legal aid solicitor to be appointed as a High Court judge. He was knighted in 2004 and became president of the asylum and immigration tribunal the following year.
In a statement handed out at last week's Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year awards, Allen said: 'Henry was a great lawyer, friend and partner. Without his energy and commitment, we would not have got the firm off the ground.
'He loved the Labour Party, Arsenal Football Club and driving a big motorcycle.'
Allen said that Sir Henry was committed to working in and maintaining a viable legal aid scheme.
'He viewed with dismay the steady erosion of legal aid by various governments and did what he could to resist such changes.'
Sir Henry's wife Margaret is a former minister of state and the Labour MP for Barking.