Commercial disputes and public law litigator David Greene has taken office as the 176th president of the Law Society, during a tumultuous time for the profession.
Greene, Senior Partner and Head of Group Action Litigation at Edwin Coe, will be familiar to readers as he is a regular columnist and consultant editor at NLJ.
He made legal history immediately by being the first president to have their Chancery Lane inauguration ceremony streamed and pledged to make upholding the rule of law the ‘essential theme’ of his term.
‘The principles that we stand by are reinforced when our members in immigration and criminal practice are attacked for doing their job of upholding the law and rights granted by it,’ Greene said.
‘Completion of the Brexit process continues to present challenges that we must face and deal with. Access to justice remains a priority as under-funding in the justice system and legal aid are exacerbated by the pandemic, with backlogs in the courts leaving defendants, victims and witnesses facing long delays before trials can be heard.
‘I will also focus on supporting lawyers across the world who are persecuted and threatened for their commitment to the system of justice.’
NLJ editor Jan Miller said: ‘Everyone at NLJ is delighted that David is now president. It’s a truly well-deserved honour and recognition of his remarkable contribution to the profession, and to tackling injustice at home and abroad.
‘We are extremely proud of our long association with David, who has been our consultant editor for ten years, and wish him every success in striving for fairness, diversity and the rule of law in the year ahead.’
Edwin Coe’s Managing Partner, David Kinch said: ‘We are delighted that David has been elected to lead the profession. It is well deserved recognition for his contribution to the profession over more than four decades and dedication in campaigning for civil justice and in his pioneering group action litigation work. It is a huge honour for the firm.’
The Law Society leadership team is completed by I.Stephanie Boyce, vice president, and Lubna Shuja, deputy vice president.
