David Greene becomes Law Society president

Edwin Coe senior partner David Greene has taken office as the 176th president of the Law Society of England and Wales today.

The Law Society welcomed its new president to the role in Chancery Lane’s first ever live-streamed inauguration ceremony.

Greene is a litigator and claimant’s practitioner at Edwin Coe, focusing on commercial disputes and public law. He qualified in 1980, became a partner at Edwin Coe in 1984 and senior partner in 2011.

He is well known for his work on Brexit, having acted for one of the two claimants in the Article 50 litigation.

Greene has been a member of the Civil Procedure Rules Committee and the Civil Justice Council.

Commenting on his appointment, Greene said: “I am honoured to be able to serve as Law Society president. I take on the role at a difficult time for the legal profession, and society as a whole, as the world continues to face the huge challenge of the covid-19 pandemic.”

He added: “Dealing with the Covid-19 crisis, has reinforced the importance of upholding the rule of law, which will be an essential theme of my year. 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. Completion of the Brexit process continues to present challenges that we must face and deal with.”

He went on to highlight access to justice as an enduring priority and said that under-funding has been exacerbated by the pandemic.

Greene pledged to continue with the campaign work carried out by outgoing president Simon Davis for greater diversity and gender equality in the profession.

“It is vital that the profession and the judiciary reflect the modern world we live in. It is essential that barriers to entry are removed to encourage and enhance all people of talent,” he added.

“I also intend to focus on promoting the provision of public legal education to improve citizens’ ability to understand how the law affects them, as well as monitoring the impact of emergency legislation – introduced during the covid-19 crisis – on vulnerable people in our society.

Finally, he said: “I will be working to promote the UK legal sector and the maintenance of the jurisdiction as a global legal centre. Leaving the EU adds to uncertainty but the common law and this jurisdiction continue to provide the certainty necessary for international commerce.”