UCL Laws pays tribute to alumnus Jack Black

Professor Rodney Austin, Honorary Associate Professor at UCL Laws, pays tribute to Jack Black:

Many of us knew Jack, as he was a stalwart and generous supporter of the Bentham Club and Association, and of the Denys Holland Scholarship.  For many years he was Secretary and later Chairman of the Club, roles which he performed with dedication and unwavering good humour and friendship.

Jack was born Jacob Sänger in Hamburg in January 1932, son to Willi and Flora Sänger and brother to Erwin. In 1938 his father Willi, Treasurer of the Hamburg Orthodox Jewish community, was violently attacked in the wave of attacks on Jewish people and buildings known as Kristallnacht. As a result of this event, the family decided to send 6-year-old Jacob to England on the Kindertransport, along with thousands of other children, to keep him safe. The rest of the family sadly couldn’t join him, as his younger brother had Down’s Syndrome, so they had to care for him. Jack never fully recovered from being sent away at such a young age and later hearing that his parents, brother and other relatives had died in the Holocaust.

In England, Jack was taken in by Charles and Sophie Black, who gave him a loving and supportive family life. Initially they had to converse with Jack in Yiddish, but Jack quickly learned English and later other languages, including Latin, for which he had a particular gift which he kept even later in life, studying a Latin for Pleasure course in Highgate.

Jack met his wife Dora, when they were fellow pupils both aged 16, at Hendon County High School, and they were married in 1955, beginning a very special partnership of 66 years until Dora’s death in 2021. Dora, a renowned children’s doctor whose evidence was crucial in a number of child abuse cases, frequently accompanied Jack to Bentham Club and Denys Holland dinners and was great company. Jack and Dora had three children, Andrew, Sophie and David, but is survived by only Andrew and Sophie, David having died in an accident aged only 50.

Jack read Law at UCL while also being articled to a solicitors firm. Jack did his National Service as an Army Officer and used his legal knowledge at Court Martials, where he was reprimanded for getting too many people acquitted! Jack’s career was highly successful, becoming Senior Partner at Heald Nickinson, then Radcliffes, specialising in Copyright and Patent Law and also European Law. He helped to found the British Literary and Artistic Copyright Association, of which he was an active member, and also of the British-German Jurists Association, where he made many links with German colleagues. Among his more famous clients were the philosopher Bertrand Russell, the author John Le Carré, the actress Julie Christie and the composer Lennox Berkeley.

Jack had many interests, including friends and family, travel, music, theatre, astronomy and cricket. He was the Chairman of the Cheltenham Music Festival for many years and was an avid concert-goer, together with Dora and others. He was a member of the British Astronomical Society and owned a telescope, through which he and his family would look at stars and planets from their balcony at home. He played cricket for his law firm and was a member of the Middlesex County Cricket Club, often to be seen at Lords Cricket Ground among the spectators. He was also a prolific reader and enjoyed good food, fine wine and stimulating conversation, especially about politics.

Jack Black was a great supporter of his alma mater, the Faculty of Laws at UCL, and will be remembered by his many friends and colleagues for his warmth, wisdom, wit and humour. We are saddened by his loss, but celebrate a great life.

Image: Jack Black and his wife Dora at the Bentham Association Presidential Address in 2011