Alumni Memories: Bernard Quoroll (Law LLB 1970)
From prize-winning Leeds student to local government leader, Bernard Quoroll reflects on legal study, evolving jurisprudence, and a career shaped by public service and changing times.
The School of Law was delighted to hear from Bernard Quoroll (Law LLB ‘70), who shared his reflections on studying at Leeds and a distinguished career in local government law. His memories offer a vivid glimpse into university life in the late 1960s, the intellectual climate of legal education at the time, and a professional journey shaped by public service.
Academic foundations and intellectual curiosity
Graduating in 1970 with a 2:1 and the Margaret Simpson Harrison Prize for Jurisprudence, Bernard reflects on an era when first-class degrees were rarely awarded; “which tells you something about grade inflation,” he notes with characteristic candour.
Jurisprudence at the time centred heavily on HLA Hart’s The Concept of Law, then seen by many as a definitive statement of legal positivism. “It seemed like that was the end of days for the philosophy of law,” Bernard recalls. Yet a return to study decades later, completing a Master’s in Legal and Political Theory at UCL in 2015, revealed how much the field had evolved. While acknowledging the contributions of thinkers such as Rawls and Dworkin, Bernard remained, by his own description, a “black letter lawyer,” reflecting that jurisprudence had moved increasingly into the realm of abstract philosophy. Nevertheless, he emphasises its enduring value in sharpening conceptual thinking.
Teaching excellence and larger-than-life characters
Bernard’s time at Leeds coincided with the presence of some of the School’s most memorable academic figures. Professor Brian Hogan, then Head of School, is vividly remembered sitting “gargoyle-like” on his desk while lecturing, captivating students without any reference to notes.
In contrast, Professor James (still teaching Tort at the time) adopted a markedly different style, carefully and “excruciatingly” enunciating case law as students diligently recorded every word. Together, these contrasting approaches exemplified the richness of legal education at Leeds.
From Leeds to public service
Upon graduating, Bernard was offered articles of clerkship in Leeds without interview, for the modest sum of £10 per month; likely, he reflects, the result of close relationships between the Law School and local firms. However, he chose a different path.
Determined to serve in the public sector that had funded his education, Bernard joined a London Borough, where he could earn a (just about) living wage while contributing to public life.
As one of a small proportion of young people able to attend university at the time, he felt a strong sense of responsibility to give back.
His career progressed rapidly. Within a few years, he had become head of a law department, and later went on to serve as Town Clerk, subsequently Chief Executive, as the role evolved. Working in local government law offered opportunities to engage with complex legal issues far earlier than might have been possible in private practice, albeit with more modest financial rewards. “But that was my choice,” Bernard reflects.
A changing workplace
Bernard paints a striking picture of professional life in the 1970s. Senior officers wore white linen jackets in summer, and male staff were required to seek permission to remove their ties; permission that was never granted.
Administrative life was equally formal. Typists worked together in a single long room under the supervision of a “head girl,” whose goodwill was essential if one hoped to have work completed efficiently. Bernard recalls sharing an office with a legal executive trained in the traditional art of drafting deeds by hand on parchment, who also taught him practical skills such as stitching case papers for Counsel’s opinions.
Training systems reflected a different era too. Articled clerks overlapped by a year, ensuring knowledge was passed directly from one trainee to the next. Bernard himself was something of “an experiment”; the first articled clerk in his organisation not to come from Oxbridge, marking a shift in recruitment and expectations.
Technology, meanwhile, was virtually non-existent. “The only technology available was the Dictaphone,” he recalls. Later, his first computer (a Commodore PET) had just 32KB of memory, enough “to play ping pong on the screen.”
Life beyond the lecture hall
Arriving in Leeds marked a significant transition. Moving 200 miles from home, Bernard encountered new experiences that many students today would take for granted. “I had never eaten in a restaurant before,” he notes, nor lived independently, despite having taken a year out to work and save money; at a time when “gap years” were neither common nor affordable.
A lasting impact
Reflecting on the influence of Leeds, Bernard highlights the breadth of the curriculum, which enabled him to draw on multiple areas of law in tackling complex problems; a contrast, he suggests, to today’s trend towards early specialisation.
More fundamentally, his experience instilled vital professional skills, including the ability to ask what he calls “naïve questions” and quickly identify the core of an issue; abilities that proved essential in his later leadership roles.
Above all, Leeds gave him confidence and perspective:
It gave me the understanding that I could carve my own path in the world, if I could only imagine it.
Stay connected and share your story
Do you have your own memories of studying at the School of Law? We would love to hear from you. Share your story and help celebrate the rich history of our alumni community. Please contact Beth Hastings-Hirst.
