Anthony Grabiner, Baron Grabiner

{{Short description|British lawyer (born 1945)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}} {{Use British English|date=August 2012}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = [[The Right Honourable]] | name = The Lord Grabiner | honorific_suffix = [[King's Counsel|KC]] | image = Lord Grabiner 2015.jpg | image_size = | alt = | caption = Grabiner {{circa}} 2000 | office = [[Master (college)|Master]] of [[Clare College, Cambridge]] | term_start = October 2014 | term_end = October 2021 | predecessor = [[Tony Badger]] | successor = [[Loretta Minghella]] | office1 = [[Member of the House of Lords]] | status1 = [[Lord Temporal]] | term_label1 = [[Life peer]]age | term_start1 = 26 July 1999 | term_end1 = | office3 = Chair of the Governors of the [[London School of Economics]] | term_start3 = 1998 | term_end3 = 2007 | predecessor3 = | successor3 = [[Peter Sutherland]] | birth_name = Anthony Stephen Grabiner | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1945|3|21|df=y}} | birth_place = | death_date =  | death_place = | citizenship = | party = {{ubl|'''Parliamentary affiliation:''' |[[Crossbench]] (2016–present)| [[Non-affiliated members of the House of Lords|Non-affiliated]] (2015–2016) | [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] (1999–2015) |'''Party membership:''' | [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] (since 1999)}} | spouse = | partner =  | relations = | children = | parents = | education = [[Central Foundation Boys' School]] | alma_mater = {{ubl| [[London School of Economics]] | [[Lincoln's Inn]] }} | occupation = | profession = | known_for = | cabinet = | committees = | portfolio = | awards = }}

'''Anthony Stephen Grabiner, Baron Grabiner''', [[King's Counsel|KC]] (born 21 March 1945)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.parliament.uk/biographies/lords/lord-grabiner/2496|title=Lord Grabiner|website=UK Parliament|language=en|access-date=2018-09-06}}</ref> is a British [[barrister]], [[academic administrator]], and [[life peer]]. Between 1994 and 2024, he was head of chambers at [[One Essex Court]], a leading set of [[Commercial law|commercial]] barristers in [[Temple, London|the Temple]],<ref name="oneessexcourt">{{cite web | url=http://www.oeclaw.co.uk/barristers/profile/lord-grabiner-qc | title=Lord Grabiner QC biography at One Essex Court | access-date=19 February 2011 | author=One Essex Court}}</ref> and continues to represent leading corporate and financial clients.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lincolnsinn.org.uk/index.php/about-us/our-membership/officers-of-the-inn |title=Officers of the Inn |website=Lincolnsinn.org.uk |access-date=5 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160324051211/http://www.lincolnsinn.org.uk/index.php/about-us/our-membership/officers-of-the-inn |archive-date=24 March 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> From 2014 to 2021 he was the [[Master (college)|Master]] of [[Clare College, Cambridge]] and, since 2015, he has been the President of the [[University of Law]].

Grabiner was non-executive chairman of Taveta Investments Ltd, the holding company of [[Arcadia Group]] from 2002 to December 2015. He was a non-executive director of Next plc in 2002, and a member of the Bank of England Financial Services Law Committee from 2002 to 2005.<ref>{{Cite web |title=PolicyMogul - Champions of public affairs |url=https://policymogul.com/stakeholders/8412/lord-grabiner |access-date=2025-01-30 |website=policymogul.com |language=en}}</ref> Grabiner was on the boards of Goldman Sachs International and Goldman Sachs International Bank from July 2015 to May 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lord Anthony Grabiner Joins Goldman Sachs International Board |url=https://www.goldmansachs.com/pressroom/press-releases/2015/announcement-7-9-15 |access-date=2025-01-30 |website=www.goldmansachs.com}}</ref>

In 1999, he was made a life peer as '''Baron Grabiner''', and sat in the [[House of Lords]] on the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] benches. In October 2015, he resigned the Labour [[Whip (politics)|whip]] over the direction the party was taking under [[Jeremy Corbyn]]. He now sits in the Lords as a crossbencher.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Contact information for Lord Grabiner - MPs and Lords - UK Parliament |url=https://members.parliament.uk/member/2496/contact |access-date=2025-01-15 |website=members.parliament.uk |language=en}}</ref>

==Early life== Grabiner was born on 21 March 1945 to Jewish parents, Ralph Grabiner and Freda Cohen. He was educated at the [[Central Foundation Boys' School]]. He studied at the [[London School of Economics and Political Science]], where he graduated with a [[first class honours]] [[Bachelor of Laws]] (LLB) in 1966, and with a [[Master of Laws]] (LLM) with distinction one year later. He was further educated in [[Lincoln's Inn]], and was [[called to the Bar]] in 1968.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3NSTvJvIZR4C&q=ralph+grabiner&pg=PA637 |title=The International Who's Who 2004| access-date=19 February 2011 | year=2004 | publisher=Europa Publishers|isbn=9781857432176}}</ref><ref name="bestlawyers">{{cite web | url=http://www.bestlawyers.com/aboutus/AdvisorBio.aspx?Ad_ID=20 | title=BestLawyers.com advisory board official biography | access-date=19 February 2011 | publisher=BestLawyers.com}}</ref>

==Career== Grabiner is a commercial lawyer with a focus on commercial disputes in areas such as banking and finance, energy, oil and gas, civil fraud, competition and merger investigations, and shareholder disputes. He also sits as an arbitrator in domestic and international commercial arbitrations.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Anthony Grabiner KC |url=https://chambers.com/lawyer/anthony-grabiner-kc-uk-bar-14:225668 |access-date=2025-02-27 |website=chambers.com |language=en}}</ref>

From 1976 to 1981, Grabiner was Standing Junior Counsel to the [[Department of Trade]] and the [[Export Credits Guarantee Department]] and Junior Counsel to the Crown from 1978 to 1981. Made a [[Queen's Counsel]] in 1981, he became a [[Bencher]] of Lincoln's Inn in 1989, and a [[Recorder (judge)|Recorder]] of the [[Crown Court]] between 1990 and 1999. Grabiner served as a Deputy High Court Judge from 1994 to 2004.

Grabiner has acted for a wide range of clients such as state institutions, international banks and corporations. Clients have included the [[Bank of England]], [[HM Treasury]], Terra Firma, [[Apple Inc.|Apple Computer INC.]], [[News Corporation]], Cable and Wireless PLC, [[JPMorgan Chase|JP Morgan Chase]], the Society of Lloyd's and Carlton Communications Plc.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lord Grabiner KC - Barristers - One Essex Court |url=https://www.oeclaw.co.uk/barristers/profile/lord-grabiner-kc |access-date=2025-03-20 |website=www.oeclaw.co.uk}}</ref>

Grabiner was non-executive chairman of Taveta Investments Ltd, the holding company of Arcadia Group from 2002 to December 2015.<ref>{{cite web |last=Rankine |first=Kate |date=11 December 2002 |title=Green puts Grabiner in key Arcadia post |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/2836193/Green-puts-Grabiner-in-key-Arcadia-post.html |access-date=5 May 2016 |publisher=Telegraph}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=ARCADIA GROUP LIMITED - Officers (free information from Companies House) |url=https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/00237511/officers |access-date=5 May 2016 |website=Beta.companieshouse.gov.uk}}</ref> He was a non-executive director of [[Next plc]] in 2002, and a member of the [[Bank of England]] Financial Services Law Committee from 2002 to 2005.

In October 2010, Grabiner represented [[Liverpool Football Club]] in the London High Court and won two cases against its then owners.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.independent.ie/opinion/declan-lynch-the-game-is-up-for-players-of-vulture-capitalism-2382902.html|title=Declan Lynch: The game is up for players of vulture capitalism - Independent.ie}}</ref><ref>[http://www.cityam.com/sport/lord-grabiner-qc-steals-show-match-winning-cameo"Lord Grabiner QC steals show", from "Lord Grabiner QC steals show with a match-winning cameo", Frank Dalleres, City AM, 14 October 2010. Last accessed 17 October 2010]</ref>

In July 2011, Grabiner was appointed by [[News Corporation (1980–2013)|News Corporation]] as chairman of the management and standards committee<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2011/jul/18/lord-grabiner-news-international|title=Lord Grabiner: high court hero faces tough new role with News Corporation|last=Neate|first=Rupert|date=2011-07-18|website=The Guardian|language=en|access-date=2018-09-06}}</ref> established by the company in the wake of the [[News International phone hacking scandal]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thelawyer.com/news-corp-appoints-grabiner-qc-to-oversee-phone-hacking-investigation/1008680.article|title=News Corp appoints Grabiner QC to oversee phone-hacking investigation|access-date=21 July 2011|publisher=The Lawyer|date=18 July 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/51857/lord-grabiner-chair-news-international-standards-committee|title=Lord Grabiner to chair News International standards committee|access-date=25 July 2011|publisher=The Jewish Chronicle|date=18 July 2011}}</ref> It was subsequently reported in ''[[The Lawyer]]'' magazine that Grabiner would be receiving a fee of £3,000 an hour for his advice to News Corporation.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thelawyer.com/news-corp-shells-out-£3k-an-hour-for-grabiner/1008731.article|title=News Corp shells out £3k an hour for Grabiner|access-date=25 July 2011|publisher=The Lawyer|date=25 July 2011}}</ref>

In 2019 Grabiner acted for the Post Office in a procedural application during the group litigation brought by 555 sub-postmasters. He argued that the trial judge in the group litigation should [[wikt:recuse|recuse]] (dismiss) himself due to concerns of apparent bias. The application was based on the assertion that conclusions reached by the judge in the first of three trials could influence his impartiality in the subsequent trials.<ref>{{citation |title=Issues arising in the Conduct of the Bates Litigation |url=https://evidencebasedjustice.exeter.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/WP1-Conduct-of-the-Bates-Litigation-020821.pdf |work=The Post Office Project |author=((The Evidence-Based Justice Lab)) |publisher=University of Exeter |date=2 August 2021 |language=en|id=Working Paper 1 }}.</ref>

===Academic career=== Grabiner was chair of the governors of the [[London School of Economics]] from 1998 until 2007.<ref name="bio - House of Lords">{{cite web|title=Lord Grabiner|url=http://www.parliament.uk/biographies/lords/lord-grabiner/2496|website=Parliament.UK|access-date=24 October 2015}}</ref> In December 2013, it was announced that he had been elected [[List of Masters of Clare College, Cambridge|Master of Clare College]], Cambridge University, to succeed Professor [[Tony Badger]] in October 2014.<ref name="Clare College elects next Master">{{cite web|title=Clare College elects next Master|url=http://www.cam.ac.uk/news/clare-college-elects-next-master|work=News|publisher=Cambridge University|access-date=9 March 2014|date=5 December 2013}}</ref> In August 2015, Grabiner was appointed as the President of the [[University of Law]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Lord Grabiner QC appointed President of The University of Law|url=http://www.law.ac.uk/about/press-releases/2015/lord-grabiner-president/|website=[[University of Law]]|access-date=12 January 2016|date=5 August 2015}}</ref>

===Political career=== On 26 July 1999, Grabiner was created a [[life peer]] with the title '''Baron Grabiner''', of [[Aldwych]] in the [[City of Westminster]].<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=55566 |date=29 July 1999 |page=8180}}</ref> From 1999 to 2015, he sat in the [[House of Lords]] on the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] benches. On 24 October 2015, he announced that he had resigned the Labour [[Whip (politics)|whip]] but would remain a party member.<ref name="BBC - resigns Labour whip" /> He was the second Labour peer to resign the whip over the views of the new party leader, [[Jeremy Corbyn]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Slawson|first1=Nicola|title=Second peer abandons Labour benches in Lords over Corbyn's leadership|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/oct/24/second-peer-abandons-labour-benches-in-lords-over-corbyns-leadership|access-date=24 October 2015|work=The Guardian|date=24 October 2015}}</ref> Grabiner explained his resignation to ''[[The Times]]'': "I have nothing in common whatever with Mr Corbyn — and I don't believe we are ever going to win an election."<ref>{{cite news|last1=Coates|first1=Sam|last2=Gibb|first2=Frances|last3=Elliott|first3=Francis|title=Peer quits Labour whip after claiming Corbyn is vote-loser|url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/peer-quits-labour-whip-after-claiming-corbyn-is-vote-loser-vm9prrc085x|access-date=24 October 2015|work=The Times|date=24 October 2015}}</ref> He has sat in the Lords as a cross-bench member since 2016.<ref name="bio - House of Lords"/><ref name="BBC - resigns Labour whip">{{cite web|title=Second Labour peer resigns party whip|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-34625487|website=BBC News|publisher=BBC|access-date=24 October 2015|date=24 October 2015}}</ref>

Grabiner is the patron of UK Lawyers for Israel, a group referred to the Solicitors Regulation Authority for its alleged use of SLAPPs to intimidate pro-Palestine groups and activities.<ref>https://www.uklfi.com/about-us-2/our-patrons-2</ref><ref>https://www.declassifieduk.org/landmark-complaint-issued-against-uk-lawyers-for-israel/</ref>

===Taveta Investments=== Grabiner was non-executive chairman of Taveta Investments Ltd, the holding company of Sir Philip Green behind [[Arcadia Group]] from 2002 to December 2015.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jul/26/lords-veneer-establishment-credibility-worth-little-bhs-grabiner|title=A lord's 'veneer of establishment credibility' was worth little to BHS {{!}} Michael White|last=White|first=Michael|date=2016-07-26|website=The Guardian|language=en|access-date=2018-09-06}}</ref>

In July 2016, Grabiner was denounced in an official report by Members of Parliament in relationship to his chairmanship of Taveta, for having a "remarkably docile attitude" and representing the "apogee of weak corporate governance".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/work-and-pensions-committee/news-parliament-2015/bhs-report-published-16-17/|title=Leadership failures and personal greed led to collapse of BHS - News from Parliament}}</ref> Furthermore, MPs stated that "He was content to provide a veneer of establishment credibility to the group while happily disengaging from the key decisions he had a responsibility to scrutinise. For this deplorable performance he received a considerable salary".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jul/25/bhs-demise-sir-philip-green-reputation-torn-apart-in-damning-report|title=Sir Philip Green's reputation ripped apart in damning report on BHS demise|first1=Sarah|last1=Butler|first2=Graham|last2=Ruddick|date=25 July 2016|newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref>

==Personal life== Since 1983, Grabiner has been married to Jane Portnoy. They have three sons, including the [[Olivier Award]] winning playwright [[Sam Grabiner]], and one daughter.<ref>{{cite book|editor-first=Charles|editor-last=Mosley|editor-link=Charles Mosley (genealogist)|title=Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage: Clan Chiefs, Scottish Feudal Barons|year=2003|publisher=[[Burke's Peerage]]|isbn=0971196621|page=1616}}</ref>

==Marylebone Cricket Club== Grabiner is a member of the [[Marylebone Cricket Club]]. He was a member of the club's development committee from which, along with [[John Major]], he resigned in protest over the club's failure to properly present members with a development "masterplan" in 2012.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-12-17 |title=Critics hit out at MCC over shelved plans for Lord's |url=https://www.channel4.com/news/critics-hit-out-at-mcc-over-shelved-plans-for-lords |access-date=2025-04-10 |website=Channel 4 News |language=en-GB}}</ref>

== Surrey County Cricket Club == Lord Grabiner is a long-standing member of [[Surrey County Cricket Club|Surrey CCC]]. He sat on the Surrey CCC Management Board between 2011 and 2021, and currently serves as President of the Club.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Officers & Presidents |url=https://www.kiaoval.com/about-surrey-cricket/officers-presidents/#:~:text=Lord%20Tony%20Grabiner%20KC,on%20the%20MCC%20Development%20Committee.%5D |access-date=2025-04-10 |website=Kia Oval |language=en-GB}}</ref>

==Other sources== *{{cite web| url= http://www.dodonline.co.uk/engine.asp?lev1=4&lev2=38&menu=81&biog=y&id=27065| title= DodOnline| access-date= 8 December 2006| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20061208040501/http://www.dodonline.co.uk/engine.asp?lev1=4&lev2=38&menu=81&biog=y&id=27065| archive-date= 8 December 2006| url-status= dead| df= dmy-all}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *{{cite web | url= http://www.oeclaw.co.uk| title= One Essex Court}} *{{cite web | url= http://www.oeclaw.co.uk/barristers/full-cv/lord-grabiner-qc| title= Lord Grabiner's Profile At One Essex Court}} *{{cite web | url= http://www.parliament.uk/biographies/lords/lord-grabiner/2496| title= UK Parliament}} *{{cite web | url= https://www.cam.ac.uk/news/clare-college-elects-next-master| title= University Of Cambridge| date= 5 December 2013}} *{{cite web | url= http://www.law.ac.uk/about/press-releases/2015/lord-grabiner-president/| title= The University Of Law}} *{{cite web| url= http://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/community/people/lord-grabiner| title= Saïd Business School| access-date= 13 December 2016| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161221061722/http://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/community/people/lord-grabiner| archive-date= 21 December 2016| url-status= dead}} {{Arcadia Group}} {{2011 News Corporation scandal}} {{Masters of Clare College, Cambridge}}

{{s-start}} {{s-prec|uk}} {{s-bef|before=[[Baron Kirkham|The Lord Kirkham]]}} {{s-ttl|title={{ubl|[[Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom|Gentlemen]] | ''Baron Grabiner'' }} }} {{s-fol|after=[[Baron Carlile of Berriew|The Lord Carlile of Berriew]]}} {{s-end}} {{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grabiner, Anthony}} [[Category:1945 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:People educated at Central Foundation Boys' School]] [[Category:Alumni of the London School of Economics]] [[Category:English Jews]] [[Category:Labour Party (UK) life peers]]  [[Category:Members of Lincoln's Inn]] [[Category:Masters of Clare College, Cambridge]] [[Category:Honorary Fellows of the London School of Economics]] [[Category:Crossbench life peers]] [[Category:Jewish British politicians]] [[Category:Life peers created by Elizabeth II]] [[Category:English barristers]] [[Category:Presidents of Surrey County Cricket Club]]