| Michael Zander | |
|---|---|
Professor Michael Zander, 1977
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| Born | Berlin |
| Nationality | British |
| Fields | Law |
| Institutions | London School of Economics |
| Alma mater | University of Cambridge |
| Notable awards | QC |
Michael Zander, QC, FBA, (born 16 November 1932[1] in Berlin) is a distinguished British legal scholar and expert on the English legal system, the legal profession, civil justice and criminal justice in particular. He is Professor Emeritus of Law at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and the author of several books known to generations of lawyers and law students alike. Professor Zander was a member of the Royal Commission on Criminal Justice (1991–1993).[2] He is currently a member of the Home Office's PACE Strategy Board.
After attending the Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe from 1946 to 1951, he won an Open Exhibition in English at Jesus College, Cambridge, where he took a Double First Honours Degree in Law, then obtained a First Class in the LLB and was awarded the Whewell Scholarship in International Law. Zander then took an LLM at Harvard University. For a time, he worked with the law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell on Wall Street. After his return to the United Kingdom, he qualified and then briefly practised as a solicitor, before he joined the LSE Law Department in 1963. Zander was appointed to a Professorial Chair in 1977, was Convenor of the Law Department from 1984 to 1988 and again in 1997-98. He was appointed an Honorary Queen's Counsel in 1997 and was elected a Senior Fellow of the British Academy in 2005. Professor Zander retired from the LSE in 1998.[2][3]
For twenty five years, from 1963 to 1988, he was Legal Correspondent of "The Guardian" newspaper, for which he wrote some 2,000 articles. He has frequently broadcast on radio and television, commenting on legal issues.
In 2010, Zander was awarded the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws by King's College, London. The citation stated: "He has devoted a long and active career to the study, teaching, practice and improvement of the law, and has made outstanding contributions in both the academic and public spheres. There is no greater authority in the fields to which he has devoted himself: criminal procedure, civil procedure, legal system, legal profession and legal services. . . The central mission of his professional life has been to make the justice system work better."
He is the son of lawyer and scholar Walter Zander and Gretl Magnus. In 1937, when he was four years old, the family emigrated from Germany to England because of their Jewish background. His brother is the conductor Benjamin Zander.[4]