In 1960 he moved to the United Kingdom to study law. He studied at the University of London and was called to the bar at Inner Temple in 1963. He began his legal career working at the chambers of Dingle Foot. At the bar he specialised in crime, and often appeared in trials with a political or civil liberties element. He was involved in many of the famous race trials of the 20th century, including those related to the Mangrove Nine trial, 1981 Brixton riot, 1980 St Pauls riot, Broadwater Farm riot. He was instructed in the Scarman inquiry, chaired the Laudat inquiry into mental health, and sat on the Royal Commission on long term care for the elderly.