David Lammy MP has joined Doughty Street Chambers as an Associate Tenant
Doughty Street Chambers is delighted to announce that this week, David Lammy MP, the Shadow Secretary of State for Justice and Shadow Lord Chancellor, has joined us at Doughty Street Chambers as an Associate Tenant.
David graduated with a Bachelors of Law from the School of Oriental and African Studies, before becoming the first Black Briton to attend Harvard Law School, where he graduated with a Master of Law degree in 1997. He then practised as a barrister in England and as an attorney in the United States before becoming the then youngest Member of Parliament in 2000, aged 27. Since then he has represented Tottenham as an MP, and he has served for nine years as a Minister in the Blair and Brown governments.
In January 2016, the then Prime Minister, David Cameron, asked David to lead an independent review into the treatment of, and outcomes for, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic individuals in the criminal justice system. The Lammy Review was published in September 2017, and many of its recommendations continue to guide government policy to this day.
David’s work has also included leading the campaign to guarantee the right of Commonwealth nationals impacted by the Windrush scandal, prompting the government to establish the Windrush Lessons Learned Review and compensation scheme; and being at the forefront of the struggle for justice for families impacted by the Grenfell Tower fire, helping to secure an independent inquiry, as well as compensation scheme for victims. In 2018, David was awarded Politician of The Year by The Political Studies Association and GQ Magazine, as well as Campaigner of The Year by The Spectator magazine. More details of his extraordinary career and achievements to date can be found here.
Welcoming him to Doughty Street Chambers, Edward Fitzgerald QC, Joint Head of Chambers, said:
“David’s brilliant work – as a lawyer, in his community and in Parliament - has long been at the forefront of the struggle for access to justice. We look forward to collaborating with him on issues that are very much at the heart of Doughty Street Chambers.”
Baroness Helena Kennedy said:
"David Lammy has been an important voice in the field of criminal justice. A graduate lawyer, he has been a strong parliamentary advocate for legal system reform and an overhaul of the prison system with an emphasis on the institutional failures which sustain racism and other forms of discrimination. He shares Doughty Street Chambers' commitment to international and domestic human rights and we are proud to have him join as a colleague and Associate."
