Speaker details

Biography

Richard Atkinson became the President of the Law Society of England and Wales on 9 October 2024, he is a past Chair of the Law Society’s Criminal Law Committee. Richard attended university in Wales where he received a degree in Economics from the University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology before attending the College of Law in London. Richard is the Law Society council member for Kent and he is a past President of Kent Law Society. He is the Managing Partner of the Kent branch of Tuckers LLP, a specialist criminal law practice and has specialised in criminal law for over 30 years (although he has taken a sabbatical for the period of his Presidency and will not be practicing during this time). He is a Higher Court Advocate and has appeared in the Court of Appeal, although now his principal focus is now on litigation conducting his branch’s most serious cases. He was a duty solicitor, for over 30 years only stepping down to take up his role as President of the Law Society. Richard is a member of the PACE Review Board and the Crown Court improvement Group. Richard was a member of the board of Lord Justice Leveson’s Review of Efficiency in Criminal Proceedings, and was on the Expert Panel for Lord Bellamy’s Independent Review of Criminal Legal Aid. He has given evidence to a number of Parliamentary Select and Public Bill Committees. Richard has spoken at criminal law events both in this country and abroad, as well as writing and speaking on criminal law matters in the legal press and the wider media.