Sir Robert Finch is a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 businessman, former lawyer, and former Lord Mayor of the City of London.

Born in British India

British Raj

British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...

, Finch was educated at Felsted School

Felsted School

Felsted School, an English co-educational day and boarding independent school, situated in Felsted, Essex. It is in the British Public School tradition, and was founded in 1564 by Richard Rich, 1st Baron Rich who, as Lord Chancellor and Chancellor of the Court of Augmentations, acquired...

 and the College of Law

The College of Law

The College of Law of England and Wales is a private educational institution in England and a registered charity which provides legal education for students and professionals.-20th century:...

. He joined Linklaters

Linklaters

Linklaters LLP is a global law firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom and a member of the 'Magic Circle' of leading UK law firms. Linklaters is the world's fourth largest global law firm by revenue. In 2009/10 it received total revenues of £1.18 billion and profits per equity partner of £1.2...

 in 1969, progressed to partner

Partner (business rank)

A partner in a law firm, accounting firm, consulting firm, or financial firm is a highly ranked position. Originally, these businesses were set up as legal partnerships in which the partners were entitled to a share of the profits of the enterprise. The name has remained even though many of these...

 in 1974, and head of real estate from 1997 to 1999. Linklaters' most senior partner, he left the firm on 1 July 2005 to become chairman of the property developer Liberty International

Liberty International

Liberty International plc was a British property investment company. It switched to Real Estate Investment Trust status when REITs were introduced in the United Kingdom in January 2007...

, overseeing its transition to a REIT

Real estate investment trust

A real estate investment trust or REIT is a tax designation for a corporate entity investing in real estate. The purpose of this designation is to reduce or eliminate corporate tax. In return, REITs are required to distribute 90% of their taxable income into the hands of investors...

 when the status was first introduced.
He is an alderman

Alderman

An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...

 of the City, representing Coleman Street

Coleman Street

Coleman Street is a street and one of the 25 ancient wards in the City of London.- The Ward :Warren Stormes Hale, Lord Mayor of London in 1864, was the Ward’s most notable civic dignitary...

 ward

Wards of the United Kingdom

A ward in the United Kingdom is an electoral district at sub-national level represented by one or more councillors. It is the primary unit of British administrative and electoral geography .-England:...

, having been first elected to represent Coleman Street in 1992. He became a sheriff

Sheriff

A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....

 in 1999, master of the Solicitors' Company

City of London Solicitors' Company

The City of London Solicitors' Company is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The Company was formed in 1908; the City granted it Livery status in 1944. The Company received a Royal Charter in 1958. Prior to 1969, when the City of London Law Society was formed, the Company functioned...

 in 2000, and Lord Mayor in 2003.

In 2008, following a change to the voting system for City Aldermen, he was challenged by an unheard-of young lawyer in a close campaign. Finch admitted to having overspent on the campaign, by not declaring the use of Liberty's company car and chauffeur

Chauffeur

A chauffeur is a person employed to drive a passenger motor vehicle, especially a luxury vehicle such as a large sedan or limousine.Originally such drivers were always personal servants of the vehicle owner, but now in many cases specialist chauffeur service companies, or individual drivers provide...

. When challenged, in Finch and another v Richardson (2008), a judge ruled that ignorance of the law could constitute a defence in electoral law: a point that hitherto existed in Scots law

Scots law

Scots law is the legal system of Scotland. It is considered a hybrid or mixed legal system as it traces its roots to a number of different historical sources. With English law and Northern Irish law it forms the legal system of the United Kingdom; it shares with the two other systems some...

 and Northern Ireland law

Northern Ireland law

Northern Ireland law refers to the legal system of statute and common law operating in Northern Ireland since Northern Ireland was established as a separate jurisdiction within the United Kingdom in 1921.-Background:...

, but not English law

English law

English law is the legal system of England and Wales, and is the basis of common law legal systems used in most Commonwealth countries and the United States except Louisiana...

.

Finch was awarded a knighthood in 2004 for services to the City of London.

Footnotes