“Chambers is sad to announce the death of William Denny CBE QC”

Jonathan Laidlaw QC writes, “Chambers is sad to announce the death of William Denny CBE QC who died on 10 August, aged 92. To those of us who were then young in Chambers, Bill was something of a God like figure, with a stellar practice, much of it in Hong Kong. There can have been few of his generation who worked so hard and who focused so carefully on preparation. But he also had an astonishing way with juries and in the GEC/Marconi case (one of the biggest SFO cases of its time, when I was his photocopying junior) after Bill had secured the acquittal of the company, I can remember some of the jurors leaving him sweets as presents. Bill was a Master of the Bench of Gray’s Inn, a Recorder of the Crown Court and he was honoured for his work on the Home Secretary’s Advisory Board on Restricted Patients. Away from work he was a devoted family man, an accomplished jazz musician and a keen sailor. Chambers will miss him.”