David Isaac (lawyer)
David Isaac CBE is a British solicitor and Provost of Worcester College, Oxford, where he took office in July 2021. He was previously a partner at Pinsent Masons. He was appointed as the chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission in 2016, serving in that capacity until August 2020. He is also chair of the Court of Governors at University of the Arts London (2018–present). He was previously chair of Stonewall from 2003–2012. He was a director of the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fund (2005–2014), the Big Lottery Fund (2014–2018), Black Mountains College (2019–20 ) and a trustee of 14-18 NOW (2016–2019). Isaac was awarded a CBE in the 2011 Queen's Birthday Honours list for services to equality and diversity and was ranked 36th in the OUTstanding top 100 LGBT executives in October 2018. Early life. Isaac is Jewish and 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 was a partner at Pinsent Masons law firm from  2000 to 2021. He was Head of the firm's advanced manufacturing and technology sector from 2014 – 2019 and Chair of the Pinsent Masons' Diversity and Inclusion group. Equality and Human Rights Commission. Isaac was appointed as Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission in 2016. He said that the Commission would use its legal powers more, do more for disability rights and make sure that human rights were protected during Brexit. His tenure came to an end in August 2020, and his initial replacement was interim chair Caroline Waters (previously deputy chair). In 2021 Isaac claimed that the  Equality and Human Rights Commission was "being undermined by political pressure" by the Second Johnson ministry. 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.