Lionel Astor Sheridan

Lionel Astor "Lee" Sheridan (21 July 1927 – 24 July 2025) was an English educator and academic who served as the first Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Malaya, and its successor universities, in Singapore. He has been considered the "Father of Legal Education in Malaya". He was educated at Whitgift School, and had at seventeen planned to enter Pembroke College, Cambridge, and study English and French literature. However, he changed his mind and began studying for a Bachelor of Laws degree at the University of London instead, graduating in 1947. In the next year, he was called to the bar. and argued that "examinations should test ability to argue from available legal materials and not the ability to remember what materials are available".

The law library As early as 1957, Sheridan had set about creating a law library for the newly formed faculty to use. A report published by Sheridan in that year stated "we have almost a complete library of Malayan law though lacking some of the more ancient reports". He began subscribing to a range of periodicals from around the world, and made use of local lawyers and experts to source materials for the library.

Later career In May 1963, Sheridan left Singapore and returned to Belfast and became Professor of Comparative Laws at Queen's. In March 1987, he became acting principal of the college, following C. W. L. Bevan's pre-retirement sabbatical leave. During this period, the college was facing high levels of debt and Sheridan was left to attempt to solve the issue by asking staff for short-term loans.

Personal life and death On 1 June 1948, Sheridan married Margaret Helen Béghin: in 1984 they had a daughter (Linda Anne) and a son (Peter Louis).

Selected works Andrew Phang refers to over 170 works published by Sheridan, of which the following are a selection:

Books

Articles Title Time of publication Publication Unique identifier Notes "Federation of Malaya Constitution" 1959 University of Malaya Law Review "The Repatriation of the Common Law" 1965 Current Legal Problems