Richard was an outstanding Treasurer of The Law Society, and I was fortunate to have been his Deputy and able to learn so much from him. He initiated an update of the Society’s accounting systems, replaced the Society’s auditors and oversaw a major reconstruction of Law Society Hall with the adding of a new top storey and re-modelling of the basement. The Hall was also redecorated in a manner which reflected Richard's impeccable taste in matters of art, architecture and decoration. The Hall had never looked so good.

My wife and I became friends with Gillie and Richard and they visited us and we them. We attended his Birthday Party in the Old Council Room at the Hall (which birthday was it?) and thereby hangs a tale. The Old Council Room was furnished with a vast oval table which was a replica of the table at which members of the Council in early years sat when attending meetings. The table was magnificent but totally useless because it was impossible to speak to anyone on the other side of the table who could be up to 8 feet away.

After his Party around this table, Richard spoke to me about it and we agreed that it was occupying a room which could have many more uses if the table was not there. It was left to me as Richard's Deputy, to inform the Council that the table (which had cost over £14,000 in the 1990s) was unsaleable because nobody else wanted such a huge piece and that the only course was to dismantle it and to use the wood for a series of smaller tables. I think Richard was quite pleased that he was not giving the message!

He was a great man and if anyone in the modern era deserves the description of polymath, is is he.