MARTIN KEMP - OBITUARY

Martin was a well-known and well-regarded solicitor working in practice with Few & Kester from 1983 (latterly Kester Cunningham John) until retirement in 2005. He was also a lawyer with a considerable hinterland and a belief in access to justice for all.

Having read law at St John’s College, Cambridge, Martin qualified in a London firm and later worked for a Westminster firm before in 1983 joining prominent Cambridge firm Few & Kester as a litigation solicitor and becoming a partner shortly thereafter. He became senior partner in 1999 and held that position until Few & Kester merged with Cunningham John in 2004. He retired from the partnership in 2005. At Few & Kester, Martin developed a reputation for handling high value or complex cases. He was particularly interested in copyright and cases involving the arts and music industries. His general approach to resolving disputes was to avoid unnecessary conflict and seek compromise, where that was possible. He was particularly interested in avoiding parties having to go to court to resolve their disputes and was an advocate of mediation as a dispute resolution mechanism.

He was passionate about the law as a means of improving society and therefore worked to improve access to justice for women, immigrants and people with limited means. For example, he worked with Chiswick Women’s Aid and the Inter-Action Advisory Service as well as co-authoring the report Battered Women and the Law (1975). In professional practice, he took on legal aid work and pro bono work, because he believed strongly in the need for access to the law for everyone.

Martin was an accomplished musician, who played (amongst other instruments) the clarinet and saxophone to a high standard. He played with the Cambridge Philharmonic, the Cambridge Orchestra, the City of Cambridge Symphony Orchestra, the Ely Sinfonia and others. He also wrote a vast array of musical arrangements from early to classical music, jazz and swing. Perhaps more significantly and importantly, Martin developed a love for music in many others from all walks of life and at all ages, but especially the young. Of particular note was his work with Cambridgeshire County Council, the National Youth Jazz Collective, the National Association of Youth orchestras as well as local schools and colleges including Parkside Community College and Comberton Village College.

In retirement, Martin continued to use his skills for the benefit of the local community in the resolution of disputes, but had more time to enjoy his other interests including history, literature, food and wine, hill walking in the Lake District among many others. What Martin understood more than most is that lawyers are privileged members of society and have an obligation to improve their communities and the lives of those around them.