Fred Banning

Pinsent Masons

Warm, witty and wise, Fred Banning has been winning fans among colleagues and even journalists over the past few years for his digital-savvy and imaginative work at Pinsent Masons. He joined McGrigors (later absorbed into Pinsents) in 2010 and rose through the ranks to become head of corporate communications in 2016. Most recently, he has worked closely with senior management to articulate an agenda around organisational purpose, a topic that Pinsents has done much to popularise in the legal sector.

But while already an established star in the legal comms world, Banning’s influence has latterly reached a far wider audience. Having been diagnosed with terminal cancer in early 2020, Banning took extended leave from the firm – but never faded from view. In the last months of 2020 he began a campaign with a very simple message: that where safe and appropriate, Covid vaccination should be prioritised for the terminally ill, so they can spend time meaningfully with loved ones. That message resounded loud and clear; what started as a few tweets and an opinion article in The Times in Scotland snowballed into a national talking point, with Banning making appearances on the Today programme among many others, and with early-day motions in the UK and Scottish parliaments.