David Isaac (lawyer)

David Isaac CBE is a British lawyer and partner at Pinsent Masons.[1] and was appointed as the chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission in 2016,[2] serving in that capacity until August 2020. He is also chair of the Court of Governors at University of the Arts London (2018–present),[3] a director of Black Mountains College and a trustee of 14-18 Now (2016–2019).[4] He was previously chair of Stonewall from 2003–2012.[5] He was a director of the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fund (2005–2014) and Big Lottery Fund (2014–2018).[6]

Isaac was awarded a CBE in the 2011 Queen's Birthday Honours list for services to equality and diversity[7] and was ranked 36th in the OUTstanding top 100 LGBT executives in October 2018.[8] In July 2020, he was elected as Provost of Worcester College, Oxford and will take office on 1 July 2021.[9]

Early life

Isaac attended King Henry VIII Grammar School in Abergavenny. He went on to study law at Trinity Hall, Cambridge and socio-legal studies at Wolfson College, Oxford. He attended the College of Law in Guildford to pass the Solicitors Final Examination (1979-80).

Pinsent Masons

Isaac is a partner at Pinsent Masons law firm. He was Head of the firm's advanced manufacturing and technology sector from 2014 – 2019 and is Chair of the Pinsent Masons' Diversity and Inclusion group.[10]

Equality and Human Rights Commission

Isaac was appointed as Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission in 2016.[11] He said that the Commission would use its legal powers more,[12] do more for disability rights[13] and make sure that human rights were protected during Brexit.[14]

His tenure came to an end in August 2020, and his initial replacement was interim chair Caroline Waters (previously deputy chair).[15][16][17]

In 2021 David claimed that the Equality and Human Rights Commission was "being undermined by political pressure" by the Second Johnson ministry[18].

Stonewall

During his time as chair of Stonewall, the charity lobbied to secure legislative change, such as the abolition of Section 28 and the introduction of Civil Partnerships.[19]

References
  1. Isaac, David. "David Isaac". Pinsent Masons. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  2. "EHRC appointments". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  3. UAL (2019-01-08). "David Isaac CBE named new Chair of Governors". UAL. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  4. "Team and Board". 14-18 NOW. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  5. "Government nominates former Stonewall chair to head equality commission". PinkNews - Gay news, reviews and comment from the world's most read lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans news service. 2016-03-18. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  6. "Three Big Lottery Fund board members appointed". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  7. "Birthday Honours 2011: CSV - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  8. "The OUTstanding lists 2018: LGBT+ leaders and allies". Financial Times. 2018-10-25. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  9. "Announcement of a new Provost | Worcester College". www.worc.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  10. Isaac, David. "David Isaac". Pinsent Masons. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  11. Sawer, Patrick (2016-03-19). "New equalities head would be biased against Christians, claim campaigners". ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  12. "EHRC has become 'more muscular' on Equality Act enforcement, says chair". Disability News Service. 2019-06-06. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  13. Bowcott, Owen (2016-07-06). "David Isaac: 'Disabled people face huge barriers'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  14. Doward, Jamie (2018-01-13). "Brexit bill leaves a hole in UK human rights". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  15. "Recruitment starts for new EHRC Chair and board members". GOV.UK. 2020-06-29. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  16. Kotecha, Sima (2020-07-28). "Government 'failing to prioritise tackling racism', says watchdog boss". BBC News. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  17. Ng, Kate (2020-08-09). "'Toxic' debate around transgender rights harms the UK, says human rights expert". The Independent. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  18. "EHRC undermined by pressure to support No 10 agenda, says ex-chair". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  19. Sawer, Patrick (2016-03-19). "New equalities head would be biased against Christians, claim campaigners". ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
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