Keith joined Mellor & Jackson in 1987 after leaving North Chadderton Comprehensive School. He studied part-time to qualify as a Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives in 1996. Keith received a scholarship prize from his college for the best results in the Part 1 Examinations.
In 2002 Keith was admitted by the Law Society as a solicitor after completing further studies at Manchester Metropolitan University.
Whilst at Mellor & Jackson, Keith has only ever undertaken Civil Litigation work and now specialises in Personal Injury, Commercial Litigation and Contentious Probate/Trusts.
Keith is a Senior Litigator with Association of Personal Injury Lawyers and is one of a handful of lawyers in the North West that is a Registered Contentious Trust and Probate Specialist.
In 2003, Keith was elected to the Council of the Law Society initially representing newly qualified solicitors. In 2005 he was appointed as the Law Society Council Member representing the National Young Solicitors Group and also served as the chairman of that group in the year 2005/6. Keith is still a Council Member of the Law Society but now represents solicitors practising civil litigation; his Council Member website can be seen at: www.keithetherington.co.uk
In 2006, Keith was elected as the President of the Oldham Law Association and still serves on the Committee.
In October 2009, Keith was part of a group of lawyers that volunteered for an expedition to a small village in the north of Sabah, Malaysia to install a gravity feed water supply for a village that had no clean water. Photographs of the event can be viewed at www.jldborneo2009.co.uk
Keith is a member of the Law Society's Membership Board, Education and Training Committee and Civil Justice Committee. He also serves on the panel judging the Law Society's Bursary and Diversity Access schemes. He is also a judge of the annual moot competition for the Incorporated Council of Law Reporting.
He has been interviewed on legal topics by local and national media, including (click links to see the articles): The Times , Radio 2, the Manchester Evening News and the Oldham Chronicle. For many years Keith was the legal adviser live on air for Oldham radio station 96.2FM The Revolution. Several of his cases have been reported in local press.
Keith has completed the academic stage of training for the Higher Rights Course and is now a Solicitor Advocate (Civil).
For several years now, Keith has lectured for a private provider on all areas of law and legal practice for students studying for the Legal Executive qualifications.
Notable cases:
Hall v Holker Estate Co Ltd [2008] EWCA Civ 1422 (17 December 2008)
