New law commissioners

Judge becomes token man among government law reform advisers

There will be just one man among the government’s five independent law reform advisers by September. Until a couple of years ago, supporters of diversity complained ruefully that there were more members of the Law Commission for England and Wales called “Nick” — three out of five — than women.

The commission, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, consists of a chair — currently the appeal judge Sir Peter Fraser — and four other commissioners. Yesterday, two new commissioners were appointed by the lord chancellor to fill vacancies, once of which has been covered on a temporary basis since last year.

(L-R) Professor Lisa Webley and Professor Solène Rowan

Professor Lisa Webley will be the commissioner for property, family and trust law. She is currently the chair in legal education and research and the immediate past head and dean of Birmingham Law School, University of Birmingham. She holds a senior associate research fellowship at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London as well as visiting professorships at other universities in England and Australia.

Professor Solène Rowan will be the commissioner for commercial and common law. She is currently the chair of contract law and vice-dean for students at the Dickson Poon School of Law, King’s College London. She is also an honorary professor at the Australian National University and a visiting professor at Paris Panthéon-Assas University.

Webley and Rowan join two other academics on the Law Commission.

Professor Alison Young was appointed as law commissioner for public law and law in Wales in March 2023. She is the Sir David Williams Professor of Public Law at the University of Cambridge, an academic associate at 39 Essex Chambers and an emeritus fellow of Hertford College, Oxford.

Professor Penney Lewis was appointed as law commissioner for criminal law in January 2020. She was formerly professor of law and co-director of the Centre of Medical Law and Ethics at the Dickson Poon School of Law, King’s College London.

The Law Commission has three non-executive board members:

• Claire Bassett

• Baroness Gohir

• Dr Hannah White

Its two joint chief executives are also women.

By law, the commission’s chair must be a senior judge and the other commissioners must be legal practitioners or legal academics. In addi

tion to academics, the four non-judicial members have previously included lawyers who had practised as solicitors or barristers. Although individual commissioners take the lead in their specialist areas, all recommendations are approved by each commissioner in a process known as peer review.

Fraser said yesterday:

I am delighted to welcome Professor Webley and Professor Rowan to the Law Commission. Their impressive experience and academic records will be invaluable to the teams they lead and the wider commission.

I would also like to thank Nick Hopkins for his many years of committed service as a commissioner and David Hertzell for providing interim support and leadership to the commercial and common law team.