Lord Atkin is considered one of the greatest of all English common lawyers.
He is also regarded as one of the best criminal judges of his generation – which may be a surprise to most lawyers who only know him from the question posed by him in Donoghue v Stevenson –
“Who then in law is my neighbour?”
This biography published in 1983 is an excellent book on Lord Atkin. It devotes a chapter each to two of his most famous judgments. The 2nd judgement in Liversidge v Anderson.
An interesting anecdote from this book is that Lord Atkin for almost his entire career was troubled by financial anxieties. He accepted judicial office a mere 7 years after taking silk. The pay was 5000 pounds a year in 1832 and remained unchanged till 1931 when a 20 % cut was proposed due to the economic crisis! ( see p 16 to 19 )
This reminds me of the observation by Mohd Ali Jinnah that he made sure he has made enough before he entered politics. ( see Hector Belitho ‘s Jinnah). And the observation by Lord Sumption that he left the life of an academic to practice to acquire some wealth. ( Lord Sumption’s Law in a time of crisis)