Yet there was no doubting his powers of communication and persuasion, and his enthusiasm for the law and for teaching were always in evidence to those who knew and worked with him.Philip James was born in Croydon, Surrey, in 1914. He was educated at Charterhouse and at Trinity College, Oxford, graduating in Law with the best double First of his year In 1937-38, he was a Research Fellow at Yale University. The connection with universities in the United States was one which he continued to nurture throughout his career: he went on to become Visiting Professor at Yale and Louisville (1960-61); South Carolina (1972-73) and New York Law School (1981-83).He was called to the Bar at the Middle Temple in 1939, and served in the Royal Artillery from 1939 to 1945, seeing active service in India and Burma and being mentioned in despatches. After the Second World War, he took up a Fellowship at Exeter College, Oxford, remaining there till 1949. In 1952, he joined Leeds University, where he was Professor of English Law and Head of the Law Department.Whilst at Leeds, he published his best-known titles: An Introduction to English Law (currently in its 13th edition); General Principles of the Law of Tort (1959); and A Shorter Introduction to English Law (1969). In 1971-72 he served as President of the Society of Public Teachers of Law ­ another mark of his commitment to law teaching and its development.It was during the 1970s that James became involved in the planning of what was to become the first independent university in the United Kingdom, and in 1975 he was one of the first professors to greet students to the (then) University College at Buckingham. It was under James's guidance, too, that the University College Law School was granted the necessary accreditation by the Bar and Law Society, thus enabling its graduates to proceed to the professional stage of a legal career (the authority to award Bachelors' degrees came some years later, with the grant of a Royal Charter and full university status in 1981).He was also instrumental in attracting the support of a number of highly distinguished lawyers for the new venture, including, in particular, Lord Denning, after whom the Law School's library and journal were named.It was during that period that I first met him, in the summer of 1977, when, very young and nervous, I attended an interview for the post of Lecturer in Law in the fledgling Law School, the chairman of which Philip James had recently become.

I vividly recall being, at the same time, both comforted and unnerved by the fact that James asked me no questions himself, but left my interrogation to his younger colleagues, who, being my own age or thereabouts, seemed rather less formidable. However, he watched and listened most attentively throughout, and when, at the end of my ordeal, I was invited to put my own questions to the panel, it was James alone who spoke in response. It was obvious then that, between James and his colleagues, there was a high degree of mutual respect and trust, and I was delighted to be offered the post ­ which I of course accepted.I was not wrong, for, under James's stewardship, the Buckingham Law School was a place where academics and students worked closely together in an atmosphere of openness, friendship and respect. During the years of his chairmanship ­ it seems inconceivable now ­ we lawyers were able to meet weekly, as a Board of Studies, in order to discuss academic affairs and student progress. James's lightness of touch and almost puckish sense of humour were frequently in evidence, as were his powers of persuasion and his genuine concern for the students.In the College Senate, too, Philip James was highly effective in getting his way ­ but, always, he was motivated by the interests of the college and its students. It was noteworthy that, when our agreement had been unequivocally obtained, he would, correctly, claim the support of "his board" in aid of his case, but where he was less certain of our views ­ which happened from time to time ­ he would refer to us more affectionately as his "boys" (we had no women lecturers in those days). It always worked: there was never so much as a murmur of dissent from "James's boys".James retired from the University College in 1980, a year before it was granted the Royal Charter which saw its transformation into the University of Buckingham.

However, he continued to enjoy close links with the university, and followed its progress with a keen interest. He regularly attended the annual convocation, and was himself awarded an honorary Doctorate in Law in 1985.He continued in his role as a member of the editorial board of The Denning Law Journal, and contributed an article to the special 1999 edition, which marked Lord Denning's 100th birthday. Unfortunately, ill-health prevented James from attending the International Symposium held at the university to celebrate that occasion. The fact that the same was true of Denning himself was, for Philip James, merely ironical ­ after all, he was still only a young 84.Irving Stevens.