Fred Banning – “a true mate to the very end”
Karen Snell pays tribute to her former colleague and long-time friend Fred Banning who died in May at the age of 40.
Fred Banning – “a true mate to the very end”
Karen Snell pays tribute to her former colleague and long-time friend Fred Banning who died in May at the age of 40.
I first met Fred in spring 2008. I didn’t know much about this fresh-faced PR guy, but I knew Claire Rodway ran a tight ship at Kysen and I would be guaranteed someone who had been well trained in the art of PR and the world of law firms. I’m glad to say I was right.
From day one Fred brought emotional intelligence and maturity beyond his years. Paired with a hunger for column inches, a rolodex of journalist contacts who all loved him, and an ability to grasp even the most complex of legal issues, he was an instant hit with Lovells’ partners.
He was also a perfect fit for the Lovells’ press office. Along with Nuala Kane, Stephen Rowe, and Claire Holloway we were the A-team - worked hard, played hard, and laughed endlessly. Each one of us brought something different to the mix. The whole was greater than the sum of the parts with each of us reliant on the others for a contact, the review of a document, a sounding board to work through the most challenging issues.
The laughter in the press office was generally driven by some form of mockery. Stephen’s inherent tardiness, Nuala’s legendary hangovers, my chaotic attempt at being a working mum, Claire’s futile attempts to get us all organised. Fred’s sharp wit and observational comedy was at the heart of it all.
In 2010, as the Hogan & Hartson and Lovells merger went live, Nuala decided to move back to her native Ireland. Stephen decided an opportunity at Mishcon was too good to pass. Fred had found love and was relocating to Glasgow. I cried. It was the end of an era and I couldn’t imagine working life without my gang.
I needn’t have worried. We stayed in touch and continued to support each other professionally and personally – advice about a crisis comms situation, commentary about an emerging issue in the sector and how our firms were responding, the goings on in our personal lives - marriages, children, and the not so positive news.
“From day one Fred brought emotional intelligence and maturity beyond his years. Paired with a hunger for column inches, a rolodex of journalist contacts who all loved him, and an ability to grasp even the most complex of legal issues, he was an instant hit with Lovells’ partner.”
“From day one Fred brought emotional intelligence and maturity beyond his years. Paired with a hunger for column inches, a rolodex of journalist contacts who all loved him, and an ability to grasp even the most complex of legal issues, he was an instant hit with Lovells’ partner.”
An email from Fred in February 2020 stopped me in my tracks. “There is really no way to sugar coat this…unfortunately things are too far advanced at this point…”
But in typical Fred fashion he was turning a negative in to a positive by throwing a party, “and not just any party, it was a ceilidh, on the basis that it’s impossible to be maudlin when you’re dancing.”
Just a couple of weeks after the ceilidh the COVID lockdown hit. Fred started to campaign for people with terminal illnesses to be granted priority access to vaccines to maximise their time with loved ones.
He then went on to establish Fifth Day, an organisation aiming to raise the profile of pro-bono work among non-fee-earning professionals in the sector and, crucially, using his communications skills and network to real impact. We were in awe but couldn’t help but continue the office banter: “you’re developing an insatiable appetite for self-publicity Banning, like a Kardashian of the legal world.”
In our email and text exchanges Fred always seemed so upbeat despite everything going on in his life. Three years after his diagnosis he seemed to be going strong. I began to think he might actually beat this, that his strength and positivity would lead to a miracle.
Our last exchange gave no hint that his health was declining, he was simply checking in to see how my new job was going. A true mate to the very end.