Elkan Rex Makin (20 August 1925 – 26 June 2017) was a

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

who practised in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, England, for over sixty years. He was most noted for his involvement with

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

' early career and subsequently high-profile cases such as the Hillsborough and Heysel Stadium disasters, the Walton sextuplets and the re-opening of the Cameo Murder case. A

freeman Freeman, free men, Freeman's or Freemans may refer to: Places United States * Freeman, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Freeman, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Freeman, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Freeman, South Dako ...

of the City of Liverpool, he also supported the arts and held an honorary

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

ship at

Liverpool John Moores University Liverpool John Moores University (abbreviated LJMU) is a public university, public research university in the city of Liverpool, England. The university can trace its origins to the Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts, established in 1823. This ...

. He also wrote a weekly column in the ''

Liverpool Echo The ''Liverpool Echo'' is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror North West & North Wales – a subsidiary company of Reach plc and is based in St. Paul's Square, Liverpool, England. It is published Monday through Sunday, and is Liverpool's da ...

''.

Early life

Born in

Birkenhead Birkenhead () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic co ...

in 1925, Makin was the only child of Joe and May Makin. His family was Jewish and moved to Liverpool in the 1850s and his great-great grandfather set up shop as a seamens' outfitter in Old Hall Street. His father was brought up on Park Lane in the

Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...

area of Liverpool, where he made and supplied trunks to seamen. Makin studied law at the

University of Liverpool The University of Liverpool (abbreviated UOL) is a Public university, public research university in Liverpool, England. Founded in 1881 as University College Liverpool, Victoria University (United Kingdom), Victoria University, it received Ro ...

, gaining his LL.B in 1945 and

LL.M A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

in 1947.

Career

Makin was the family solicitor to

Brian Epstein Brian Samuel Epstein ( ; 19 September 1934 – 27 August 1967) was an English music entrepreneur who managed the Beatles from 1961 until his death in 1967. Epstein was born into a family of successful retailers in Liverpool, who put hi ...

, who in 1963 sought his advice on setting up a perpetually binding contract between himself and

; however, Makin advised Epstein that such an agreement would be legally indefensible. He has been credited with inventing the term "Beatlemania". Following Epstein's death in 1967, Makin arranged his funeral. Makin was found guilty of gross indecency at Liverpool Magistrates Court and fined £75 in 1982. The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal that followed decided not to bar him from practice or any other penalty but expressed its displeasure, reflecting the homophobic sentiments of the time towards LGBT lawyers . Liverpool Echo 3 Feb 1983

Honours

In 2003 he was appointed a Freeman of the City of Liverpool, the first

to receive that honour. He said at the time

References

;Notes ;Sources
Outrage as city conspiracy hearing slaps ban on Makin (Larry Neild, Daily Post)Rex Makin obituary, The Guardian
11 July 2017. {{DEFAULTSORT:Makin, Rex 1925 births 2017 deaths English solicitors Lawyers from Liverpool Alumni of the University of Liverpool People from Birkenhead English Jews 20th-century English lawyers