Hugh Laddie

Sir Hugh Ian Lang Laddie (15 April 1946 – 28 November 2008[1]) was a judge of the High Court of England and Wales.[2][3][4] He was a leader in the field of intellectual property law.[5] He was co-author of the Modern Law of Copyright (1980).[6]

Laddie was educated at Aldenham School and St Catharine's College, Cambridge. He studied medicine but changed to law.[5] He became a barrister in 1969.[5] He is credited with having developed the idea of applying for an Anton Piller order[7] while still a junior.[8] After 25 years at the bar, he was appointed a High Court judge in April 1995,[9] and was assigned to the Chancery Division, as one of the Patents Court judges.

He resigned from his post as a judge in 2005, "because he found it boring" and felt isolated on the bench.[9] He became a consultant for Willoughby & Partners, a boutique law firm, UK legal arm of Rouse & Co International,[4][10] a move which was criticised by some.[11] He was thought to be the first High Court judge to resign voluntarily in 35 years, and the first subsequently to join a firm of solicitors.[4] No one since Sir Henry Fisher, in 1970, had resigned from the bench.[2]

He was appointed to a Chair in Intellectual Property Law at University College London, with effect from 1 September 2006.[12] He founded there the Institute of Brand and Innovation Law.[6] The Sir Hugh Laddie chair in Intellectual Property has subsequently been established at UCL.

Personal life

Hugh Laddie married Stecia Zamet in 1970.[6] He died of cancer on 28 November 2008, aged 62.[3]

References
  1. According to The Guardian and Bloomberg, he died on 28 November 2008 (The Guardian, Obituary, 2 December 2008, and Caroline Byrne, Former Judge, London Law Professor Hugh Laddie Dies at 62, Bloomberg L.P., 2 December 2008.).
  2. The Guardian, obituary.
  3. Caroline Byrne, Former Judge, London Law Professor Hugh Laddie Dies at 62, Bloomberg L.P., 2 December 2008. Consulted on 2 December 2008.
  4. Joshua Rozenberg, 'Bored' High Court judge resigns, The Daily Telegraph, 22 June 2005.
  5. The Times, obituary.
  6. Daily Telegraph, obituary.
  7. See, e.g., UCL News ("he is credited with having invented the 'Anton Piller' (search and seizure) order and was described by Lord Denning as the 'enterprising' Mr Laddie."); Rouse Archived 1 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine ("He is widely credited as being the founding father of the Anton Piller Order."); Howard Knopf ("It was he as a young barrister at the age of 29 who developed the remedy known as the 'Anton Piller order' and won the landmark appellate ruling in a judgment written by Lord Denning confirming its historic place in legal history")
  8. He took silk in 1986. TimesOnLine; UCL.
  9. Frances Gibb, Definitely no regrets: there is life beyond the High Court, The Times, 16 May 2006.
  10. A Tribute to Professor Sir Hugh Laddie QC Archived 1 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine, Rouse & Co.
  11. John Walsh: Tales of the city. Where will it end? Ambition, ties and socks are all being left behind in the pursuit of fun The Independent, 23 June 2005
  12. UCL press release Archived 6 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine, 16 May 2006
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