Liverpool Law Bulletin December 2013 December 2013 | Page 6

Local News

Samuel Howard Jackson 1937- 2013
In 1961 Howard joined with
Philip Canter to set up Jackson &
Canter Solicitors practising at
Imperial Chambers at 62 Dale St
Liverpool 2. They had a
successful and busy practice
undertaking a wide variety of
legal work concentrating on that
section of Liverpool Society who
had been largely bypassed by
the conventional legal
community. They were the first
legal practitioners to leave the
safety of the City Centre and set
up offices near to where
disadvantaged people lived, first
in Kirkby and then in Liverpool 8
and later in Belle Vale. This was
an example later followed by
many imitators but they were
the first and others followed to
bring legal services out to the
community.
Howard was a lovely human being.
He was always down to earth,
warm, hospitable and friendly. It
was this informal style that worked
with clients. He never put himself
on a pedestal but was you felt he
really was on your side working
with you. He built up a cadre of
loyal clients who always wanted to
see the boss and Howard was
generous in making himself
available.

When I joined in 1975 to work in
the Toxteth office, I took to
Howard straight away. Could it
have been the ‘supposed’
interview over a tot of Jameson’s
when the affairs of the world in
general were discussed and
mulled over? Or was it that I
recognised that commitment to
legal practice that was there to
redress some of the inequalities in
Society? I suspect both.
Howard was an eccentric in his
personal behaviour being
exceptionally scruffy and untidy.
At his funeral his daughter Rachel
recounted how he was positively
proud to have been refused entry
to a pub in Blackpool who
perceived Howard by his
appearance to be a tramp. He was
certainly not the tidiest of people
and his desk was something to
behold. Joe Woolwich recounted
to me how Howard had acted for
him on a house purchase.
Following completion the new
house deeds could not be found.
They did eventually turn up on
Howard’s desk some 6 months
later. Whether this story was true
or not, it was definitely believable.
Philip Canter also recalls how a
time and motion expert visited
Howard and asked him about his

system of working. Well said
Howard, the urgent files are up
there on that shelf and the very
urgent files are down there by the
filing cabinet. The expert soon left
the office and was never heard of
again.
With Howard and Philip, legal
practice was never dull. Whether it
was barring the doors to the
police in hot pursuit of clients who
burst into our rooms in the Rialto
in Toxteth or life after the Riots,
coming to work was always an
enjoyable experience but not
without its challenges. Howard’s
innate legal wisdom was unfailing
in its ingenuity and common
sense. His lightly worn but
substantial intellect always came
to the fore making one
understand how it was that he had
become a formidable National
Bridge player. Above all the
commitment to clients and
improving their lot was never in
doubt

know that it was Howard and
Philip Canter who set the ethos
and philosophy of the firm which
we are proud to carry on. We are
grateful for the help Howard gave
us in the formation of our legal
careers and many many clients in
Liverpool are surely grateful for his
pioneering legal work for them as
individuals and for the people of
Liverpool in general. Our thoughts
are with Clarice, Rachel, Catherine
and Vicki at this difficult time and
also his sister Dorothea.
Andrew Holroyd

All those who knew him at
Jackson & Canter will remember
him with great fondness. We all

Machine Gun Preacher

Employment Law Conference 2013

With a line up of top drawer speakers, we always knew that this year’s
Employment Law Conference (which took place at the Society on
Wednesday 30 October) would be an entertaining day. What we had
not reckoned on was the explosive nature of some of our
presentations, and the intervention of our very own local hero!

Located in Liverpool & Preston, Oriel Chambers is a
dynamic and progressive set, housing some of the most
renowned and experienced practitioners on the
Northern Circuit.
Specialist practice areas include:
Personal Injury
Road Traffic Accidents
Employers’ Liability
Public Liability
Industrial Disease
Clinical Negligence
Employment
Commercial & Chancery
Family & Ancillary Relief
Regulatory
Crime
Mediation

Oriel Chambers @ Liverpool
0151 236 7191
Oriel Chambers @ Preston
01772 254 764

www.orielchambers.co.uk

6

Liverpool Law

Annette Gumbs from St John’s Buildings Chambers kicked matters off with an
analysis of the latest cases on establishing disability, but it was the presentation
of our second speaker, Amanda Daniels of Koogar (a digital marketing company
specialising in website design) which led to our heroic intervention. Amanda’s
presentation fell foul of the IT system and needed to be re-booted. Step
forward Simon Gorton QC who kindly agreed to step into the breach and
present his TUPE update in an “earlier than advertised” time slot. After Simon
had concluded his Man from Milk Tray act and up to the minute TUPE session,
Amanda’s multi-media extravaganza could continue, including the trailer from
the aforementioned “Machine Gun Preacher” and an analysis of the mind
boggling number of social media sites that most of us in the room were not (it
would seem) using to our best advantage.

Rounding off the morning session was Tom Linden QC who gave us a
scintillating summary of the latest cases on identifying the terms of