Cardiff Law lecturer’s presidency celebrated at annual dinner

David Dixon, Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Professional Legal Studies (CPLS) was recently celebrated at the Cardiff and District Law Society Annual Dinner after being President of the society for the last year.

On the 22nd April at Cardiff’s City Hall, David was joined by his colleagues from the School of Law and Politics to mark the 130th anniversary of the society. Around 300 practising solicitors, barristers, chartered legal executives, law students, and members of the judiciary, plus guests enjoyed an entertaining and informative evening.

David spoke at the event on a range of legal topics including some differences in laws between Wales and England and current proposed changes to legal education and training. With expected good humour, his much applauded speech also contained the titles of 25 Beatles song titles - a feat that will probably not be replicated in legal speeches in the near future.

The guest speaker was Sir Keir Starmer QC MP, a friend of the School who has previously spoken as part of our public lecture series. The former DPP told of his unusual experience as a victim of identify fraud as well as stressing his links to Cardiff.

Professor Julie Price, Head of Pro Bono and Employability, said, “It is a remarkable achievement for an academic to become President of this prestigious Society that serves legal practitioners, so we congratulate David on this and recognise his hard work in nurturing essential links between academia and legal practice”.

Professor Angela Devereux, Director of the CPLS, acknowledged a colleague whose commitment to the integrity of his profession, and the betterment of its new members, remained undimmed after 23 years at the University. Adopting the spirit and style of his speech she said, “David will never ‘Let it Be’, even if he ‘Should Have Known Better’. He'll stay quiet ‘For No One’, that's why ‘This Boy is Something’, and he'll ‘Carry that Weight’, even ‘When I'm Sixty four’.”