Lord Hendy's maternal grandfather was a hereditary peer, the 6th Baron Wynford,[2] whose youngest daughter, the Hon.

[4] He describes his father as "a great fighter for human dignity as a trade unionist" and as being the greatest influence on his life.

He then lectured for a year at Middlesex Polytechnic, before returning to the Bar in 1977 to focus on personal injury and industrial relations cases.

In 1991, Hendy was one of four QCs, along with Michael Mansfield, Geoffrey Robertson and Kevin Garnett,[11] acting for the National Union of Mineworkers against claims that they had handled funds inappropriately during the miners' strike of 1984–85.

[19] Nominated for a life peerage by Theresa May in her 2019 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours,[20] he was created Baron Hendy, of Hayes and Harlington in the London Borough of Hillingdon, on 15 October 2019.