David Isaac, Baron Isaac
David Isaac, Baron Isaac, is a British solicitor and Provost of Worcester College, Oxford, where he took office in July 2021. He chairs the Court of Governors of University of the Arts London and the Henry Moore Foundation. He is also a trustee of Cumberland Lodge.
Isaac was a partner at law firm Pinsent Masons. He chaired the LGBTQ rights charity Stonewall from 2003 to 2012 and chaired the contemporary art gallery Modern Art Oxford for almost two decades. He was also a director of the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fund, the Big Lottery Fund and was a trustee of 14-18 NOW. Isaac was appointed as the chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission in 2016, serving in that capacity until August 2020.
Early life
Isaac was born in Wales 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.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.In 2021 Isaac claimed that the Equality and Human Rights Commission was "being undermined by political pressure" by the Second Johnson ministry.