David Napley
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| Sir David Napley | |
| Born | July 25, 1915 London, England |
|---|---|
| Died | September 24, 1994 (aged 79) London, England |
| Occupation | Solicitor |
| Spouse | Leah Rose |
| Children | Anne Rosemary Josephine[citation needed] |
Sir David Napley (25th July 1915 - 24th September 1994) was a famous and influential solicitor in England.
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[edit] Background
Sir David Napley was born in London of Jewish ancestry. He began his articles (the equivalent of a modern-day training contract) in 1935 at the age of only 16[citation needed]. He passed his final examinations with honours two years later and in 1937 immediately set up in partnership with Sidney Kingsley, establishing West London law firm Kingsley Napley (which is still in existence). The firm quickly established a good reputation. Over the years his clients would include Jeremy Thorpe, Princess Michael of Kent, Maria Aitken, Sarah Tisdall, Harvey Proctor, Cdr. Trestrail and the Calvi family.
During the Second World War he served in India with the Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) and was demobilised as a captain. On his return from the War he resumed practice as a solicitor and married his fiancée, Leah Rose Saturley, two years his junior. The couple lived in Mill Hill, in North-West London for many years.
The couple's daughter, Anne Rosemary Josephine Napley, was born on 14th August 1946.
David ran an unsuccessful parliamentary campaign as Conservative candidate in 1951 (Rowley Regis and Tipton) and 1955 (Gloucester). From 1963 he was chairman of the Law Society's Standing Committee on Criminal Law. From 1968 to 1977 he was chairman of Mario and Franco Restaurants.
[edit] Miscarriages of Justice
Napley had a particular interest in miscarriages of justice. He was instrumental in setting up the Tom Sargant Memorial lecture and gave the first lecture in 1989. In that lecture he called for an independent tribunal to deal with miscarriage of justice cases. Partly as a result of Napley's reputation and wide-ranging influence, the Criminal Cases Review Commission was eventually established 14 years later.
Napley worked on several suspected miscarriages of justice cases, including the famous Stafford-Luvaglio case in the early seventies and the Jock Russell case in 1982. Napley took the Luvaglio case to the Court of Appeal twice and finally to the House of Lords.
Napley also played a leading part in the formation of the British Academy of Forensic Sciences which supports research into miscarriages of justice.
From 1971 Napley served on the Criminal Law Revision Committee. He was vice-president of the Law Society of England and Wales from 1975 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 1977. Napley was knighted in 1977. In the same year he went to South Africa as an independent observer at the inquest into the death of Steve Biko.
[edit] Working relationship with George Carman Q.C.
Napley was instrumental in bringing famous, charismatic barrister George Carman to the public's attention. For many years, Carman was a well-respected barrister on the Northern Circuit but was relatively unknown in London. However in 1971, shortly after Carman took Silk, the solicitor Napley saw him at the Old Bailey defending a manager of Battersea Funfair. The man was charged with the manslaughter of four children after the Big Dipper collapsed. Carman secured a verdict of Not Guilty. At the time, Napley said "It seemed to me the jury were mesmerised." Napley determined to make further use of Carman; this was only the start of a long professional relationship between them.
Carman was still based in Manchester, however, and Napley briefed him only occasionally during the 1970s. However, in 1978 Napley telephoned Carman to tell him that the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Jeremy Thorpe, was probably going to be committed for trial on charges of conspiracy to murder and that he was going to retain him. It was a case which would make Carman a household name.
[edit] Works
- The Technique of Persuasion, 1971: a seminal work on advocacy and case preparation, still popular with barristers and solicitors.
- Not Without Prejudice, 1982: Napley's memoirs, notable for his outrage at the verdict in the Luvaglio-Stafford case (see above).
