A Jewish solicitor is in line to become president of the Law Society of England and Wales, more than 50 years after the last Jewish person to hold the position.
Jeff Lewis is due to take over as president at the representative body for the legal profession in 2028, after being named this year as the organisation’s deputy vice president.
He will serve a one-year term in this role before moving on to become vice president and then president, in line with the body’s leadership structure.
The last Jewish Law Society president was Sir David Napley, who held office in 1976.
Lewis, who is based in Cheshire, has practised in commercial litigation since qualifying in 1989. Head of litigation at Brabners solicitors in Manchester, where he has worked since 2005, the 61-year-old has told the JC of his pride at becoming the society’s next Jewish president.
“It is a great honour. I am very proud that I am going to be the first Jewish president in over 50 years,” he said.
"It is good that all faiths are represented at the top end of the legal profession, and, in fact, one of my themes will be the promotion of diversity. Having a Jewish president will be part of it.”
The solicitor, who attends Bowdon Orthodox Synagogue in South Manchester, will be a familiar name to some in the community – he previously produced and hosted the long-running BBC Radio Manchester radio show Jewish Hour before it was controversially axed in 2012 as part of a series of cuts.
In addition to his work at Brabners, Lewis works as a part-time judge and mediator, and is also on the Football Association’s judicial panel where he acts as an independent legal chair for regulatory and disciplinary hearings.
He is also the trustee of the charity Manchester Jewish Community Care.
Explaining how he ended up poised to take over the helm of the the Law Society, he said: “I got involved with the Manchester Law Society in 1999 and I rose to become its president in 2011.
“In 2016 there was an opportunity to join the national law society to represent Manchester, so I did and I was re-elected twice. There, I got involved in many committees and projects.
“A number of people suggested to me I should stand to be the deputy vice president but I was originally opposed to the idea. I didn’t know if I would be any good. But as time went on I thought maybe I should stand.”
The selection process was far from easy, Lewis said.
“Every year, these places are fiercely contested. I was up against five other candidates and it was quite a brutal process involving hustings and presentations.”
Lewis emerged as the successful candidate in May and will be inaugurated as deputy vice president at a ceremony in London next week.
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