My friend and former colleague Simon “Spike” Mullings, who has died aged 57 in a kayaking accident, was a self-taught expert in housing law who worked for a London legal firm before moving to the Hammersmith and Fulham Law Centre and co-chairing the Housing Law Practitioners Association (HLPA).
Spike got into legal work when he was employed as an odd-job man at the east London solicitors Edwards Duthie, where I worked, and through that connection developed an interest in how the law operated.
Despite having no legal qualifications or formal training, he learned the law himself by reading and observing cases, and began to work as a paralegal at Edwards Duthie under the supervision and guidance of their lawyers.
Beginning with outdoor clerking – going to court with a barrister, taking notes and liaising with and supporting clients – he gradually became the in-house expert on housing law at Edwards Duthie, and senior members of the commercial property team would frequently seek his opinion for their commercial clients.
As his knowledge grew, in the late 1990s the firm offered to pay the course fees for him to undertake a law conversion course with a view to qualifying as a solicitor – but he turned the offer down, preferring to spend his free time with his young children. Eventually he progressed into delivering training on housing law and began to act as a link between legal aid solicitors, law centres and citizens advice bureaux on housing law issues.
Spike also became involved in the politics of law, including as co-chair from 2020 to 2024 of the HLPA, with whom he lobbied to bring in protection for tenants during the Covid-19 pandemic, including by temporarily halting evictions.
During his tenure at the HLPA he revitalised the association, and his video podcasts during lockdown were a comfort and inspiration to many. In 2020 he won the social welfare lawyer category at the Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year awards.
Spike was born in London to Peter Mullings, who was in the merchant navy, and Gill (nee Collie), a building society systems manager. Growing up in Nelson, Lancashire, he went to Walton Lane high school in the town and then to Leeds Music College, leaving early to play bass with various indie bands, in particular the Snapdragons, who released two albums and a number of singles between 1988 and 1991.
In 1993 he moved to London after meeting Melanie Warner, a teacher in Islington, and did a variety of casual jobs, often with my brother Nick, which was how he ended up at Edwards Duthie.
Spike made friends everywhere and was lovely company. His Christmas Eve parties, organised with Melanie at their house in Forest Gate, east London, were famous for bringing local people together. He was at his happiest though, on the islands and by the lochs of Scotland with his family and friends.
After many years together Spike and Melanie married in 2022. She survives him, as do their children, Maisie and Sonny, and his mother.
