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11 December 2019 / Grania Langdon-Down
Issue: 7868 / Categories: Features , Profession
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Magic circle ‘lifer’ with a heart: Simon Davis

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Law Society President Simon Davis, a career ‘lifer’ in a magic circle firm, tells Grania Langdon-Down why he is keen to demonstrate Chancery Lane’s relevance to all sides of the profession & the public

As the country wakes up to a new government, Simon Davis, the Law Society’s 175th president, has warned against a ‘kneejerk’ reaction to the London Bridge attack that left two young people dead.

During the election campaign, politicians had been polishing up their law and order credentials with promises of extra police officers. But there was little in the party manifestos that presented a coherent set of policy reforms across the justice system in relation to legal aid, prisons, probation or the court estate. And it took the tragic events on London Bridge to expose what practitioners have been warning for years—that the whole justice system has been systematically starved of funds for more than a decade.

Immediately after the attack, party leaders launched into a ‘blame game’ about who was responsible for Usman

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NEWS
Some employment law controversies never disappear—they merely lie dormant
Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming legal practice, but its successful adoption depends as much on culture as technology
The fallout from Lord Mandelson’s appointment and dismissal as UK ambassador to Washington raises profound questions about constitutional governance, accountability and political appointments
Pastries may be in the firing line while kebabs escape scrutiny, but the reality is far more nuanced
The Supreme Court’s decision in Dillon highlights a central tension in modern public law: rights may be recognised without being fully realised
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