By Caroline Hill
Tributes are pouring in for Richard Newton, founder of echo.legal and co-founder of Business Integrity/Contract Express, who very sadly died at the weekend, 16 months after being diagnosed with aggressive brain cancer.
Echo.legal, which Richard founded in 2018 after selling Business Integrity to Thomson Reuters, made the announcement on LinkedIn yesterday (16 August), saying: “It is with great sadness that we have to announce the death of Richard Newton, the founder of echo. He was much loved by many people and he will be sorely missed.”
They added: “As many of you will know, Richard was a passionate fly fisherman, a keen cyclist and a collector (and drinker!) of scotch whisky. Most importantly, he enjoyed engaging with people and his warmth and good humour means that he has many dear friends. Sadly he was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour in April 2021 and died on 14th August 2022.”
On a personal note, Richard was someone I trusted implicitly. He was a kind soul who I (and in fact anyone) could ask for advice. More than once I called him and interrupted him fly fishing, and he was always extremely gracious; effortlessly making time for conversation. He made you feel as if you were important and as if he valued your advice and input, which is a gift in our fast-paced world. And he was a genuine visionary in the world of automation, often calling me to share his latest win, innovation or idea. I can’t believe it’s so long since we last spoke.
Those to comment on the LinkedIn post include Andy Wishart, who co-founded Business Integrity with Richard, and said: “It is hard to find the words to express my love and gratitude of having Richard as a friend and colleague. He instilled so much knowledge, confidence and positivity into all of us that worked with him and he shaped a culture at Contract Express that put people first. I have so many great memories of fun work events, stories of fishing in Scotland, and his legendary boat trips on the river. My thoughts are with Jane, Will & George and all his friends, colleagues and family. I will miss him enormously.”
Catherine Bamford, founder of document automation company BamLegal, said: “I owe my career to Richard. He gave me my first big break by asking me to speak at a conference Contract Express were sponsoring almost ten years ago. There I met KM leaders from many firms and opportunities started coming my way that led me to quit my job at Pinsents and set up BamLegal. I will always be grateful for that start and the many, many, many other intros and helps he gave me along the way. The whiskey drinking evenings were always fun too, though perhaps not always the wisest to sit up drinking whiskey in Amsterdam til 3am when having a 9am presentation the next day 🤣. This is a sad day. I feel so grateful to have been lucky enough to have known Richard.”
To read the long and well-deserved list of tributes, and add your own click here: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/echo-legal_it-is-with-great-sadness-that-we-have-to-activity-6965092220462845952-7ULI?utm_source=linkedin_share&utm_medium=member_desktop_web
RIP Richard, you will be sorely missed.
caroline@legaltechnology.com
The request from the family is for no flowers to be sent please but support for Brainstormcharity.co.uk, a brain cancer charity, is welcome. Funeral arrangements will be announced in due course.