We record, with great sorrow, the passing of Sir Gavin Lightman, an Honorary Patron of UK Lawyers for Israel and UKLFI Charitable Trust, on 2 March 2020.

Sir Gavin received a First Class Degree in Law from University College, London, and a Masters Degree in Law at the University of Michigan, before being called to the Bar of England and Wales at Lincoln’s Inn, London, in 1963. He was made a Queen’s Counsel in 1980. After a very successful career as a barrister, he was appointed a Judge of the Chancery Division of the High Court of Justice, where, from 1994 to 2008, he decided many significant cases.

Sir Gavin became a Bencher of Lincoln’s Inn in 1987 and its Treasurer in 2008. His shield hangs in the Great Hall of Lincoln’s Inn, with his motto standing out proudly in Hebrew among the English and Latin of the other shields: Im Ain Mishpat Ain Shalom (If there is no Law, there is no Peace).

Sir Gavin held many senior positions within the Jewish community including Vice-President of the Anglo-Jewish Association, Patron of the Commonwealth Jewish Council and Chairman of the Education Committee at Hillel House. He was also Chairman of the Legal Friends of the University of Haifa and became a Consultant to Asserson Law Offices, a well-known firm practising English law based in Tel Aviv.

We send our deepest condolences to Sir Gavin’s widow Naomi, son Daniel and daughter Sarah (an artist who painted the portrait of her father hanging in Lincoln’s Inn). We wish all the family long life.