Peter joined Devereux Chambers, as it later became, in 1971. He built up a specialist employment practice from the outset and also had a wide range of common law and personal injury experience. He was a founding member of ELBA in 1994.
He left Chambers in October 1995 to become a Circuit Judge, and he was the first full-time Circuit Judge to be appointed to the Employment Appeal Tribunal. He sat as a deputy HCJ from 2000, and in 2004/2005 was temporarily seconded as the Designated Civil Judge at Lincoln. He was appointed a Senior Circuit Judge, EAT in 2006 and was a Bencher of Gray’s Inn.
Bruce Carr KC commented: “For the next 22 years until his retirement in March 2017, he produced judgments which were exemplars of common-sense, robust analysis and humanity.
Whether at the Bar or on the Bench, one of Peter’s great gifts was never to take himself too seriously – his self-deprecating sense of humour was ever present for all to see but beneath the razor-sharp wit, was an intellect that invariably got things right and did so for the right reasons.
Peter was one of my pupil supervisors many years ago and his mantra from the first day of my pupillage right up to the present, was always that he had 'taught me all I know'. Whilst that tongue in cheek observation may be just a fraction short of the full story, I, and the many others who have interacted with Peter, all owe him a debt of gratitude for the lessons that he has taught us – not just as lawyers, but as people. We will all miss him terribly and it is difficult to imagine what future Chambers events will be like without him”.
Steve Killalea KC added: “I shared a room with Pete for a quarter of a century. We laughed our way through all the years together. We shared the tough times that life and the bar can sometimes slam at you. Sitting with our feet on our desks joking about something and anything while staring out into fountain court is my abiding memory. Being told off because we were laughing so much it disturbed conferences next door. My income went up 40% when he left to become a judge. I will miss him, but I won’t forget him”.
After his retirement in March 2017, Peter returned as a fee-paid Judge at the EAT to help with the expected increase in work following the Supreme Court ruling that Tribunal fees were unlawful. Peter later returned to Devereux as a member of the mediation / arbitration team and we were delighted to have such a valuable member of Chambers return to us.
We are truly saddened to learn of Peter's passing, and pass on our most sincere condolences to his family at this difficult time.
