Michael Kerr (lawyer)

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Michael Kerr (1921–2002) was a British jurist, lawyer and author. He was the son of German drama critic Alfred Kerr and brother of author Judith Kerr.

Born in Germany, Kerr and his family were forced to leave their homeland at the end of the Weimar Republic by the emergence of the Nazi party. After 1933, the Kerr family lived in Switzerland, France and finally Great Britain, as noted in his sister's writing. His experience as an immigrant allowed him to perfect skills in not only German but also in French and English. Sponsored by a friend of his father, Kerr was exposed to British private schools. This and his immigration experience may have created a wish to emulate and join the upper class of his new homeland.

Kerr was beginning his studies at the Cambridge when Second World War began. During the war, Kerr was at first perceived and interned as an enemy alien. However he later served as a pilot of the Royal Air Force. After the war, he returned to Cambridge to study law. His career eventually led him to the High Court, where he served as the first jurist not born in England since the 12th century. Later he served on the Court of Appeal, and finally to the International Arbitration Court in London. Kerr was one of the leading lawyers in Great Britain and was also raised into the nobility.

In his autobiography As Far As I Remember he tells of his family, also reflected in books by his sister, and about his career in the British law system. His short, analytic writing is reminiscent of his father's style.