William Francis Finlason (1818–1895) was an English journalist and legal writer.
The son of Thomas Finlason of Camberwell, Surrey, he entered the Middle Temple on 5 January 1841, and for some years practised as a special pleader under the bar, reporting also for several years, as a member of the parliamentary corps of The Times in the Strangers' Gallery of the House of Commons. He was called to the bar on 21 November 1851, and joined the south-eastern circuit. [1]
Finlason was a voluminous writer on legal subjects, and for nearly half a century he held the post of chief legal reporter for The Times. He recorded the cases tried in the Court of Queen's Bench. [1]
A Roman Catholic convert of 1849, at the hands of Frederick William Faber, Finlason wrote for The Rambler and Dublin Review . He was a Catholic apologist, defender of John Henry Newman, and opponent of Whig historians. [2]
Although only a "stuff-gown man" (junior barrister), Finlason was appointed one of the masters of the bench of the Middle Temple. He died on 11 March 1895 at his residence, 12 Campden Hill Road, Kensington, London. [1]
Finlason's works included: [1]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Lee, Sidney, ed. (1901). "Finlason, William Francis". Dictionary of National Biography (1st supplement). Vol. 2. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
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The following outline is provided as an overview of and introduction to law:
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