The Faculty is delighted to announce the election of Professor Paul Davies to the Downing Professorship of the Laws of England.
The Downing Professorship was founded in 1800 in pursuance of a bequest in the will of Sir George Downing, the founder of Downing College. Previous holders have included Andrew Amos, FW Maitland, Sir William Ivor Jennings, Stanley de Smith, Gareth Jones, Sir John Baker and Dame Sarah Worthington. The most recent incumbent was Lionel Smith.
Professor Davies has written widely on private law. In addition to many articles and book chapters, he is the author of a monograph on Accessory Liability (Hart Publishing, 2015; revised paperback edition, 2017), and two leading texts: Equity and Trusts: Text, Cases and Materials (4th ed, OUP, 2025 (with Graham Virgo)) and JC Smith's The Law of Contract (3rd ed, OUP, 2021). Forthcoming books include Anson's Law of Contract (32nd ed, OUP, 2026 (with Sir Jack Beatson and John Cartwright)) and Principles of Contractual Interpretation (3rd ed, OUP, 2026 (with Richard Calnan)). He is the General Editor of Chitty on Contracts, was previously a contributing editor to Snell's Equity for 15 years, and has co-edited 9 further books. His work has been influential both in academia and beyond; more than thirty of his publications have been cited judicially, including by appellate courts in England and Wales and around the common law world. He is also a Senior Fellow of Melbourne Law School, and a Barrister at Essex Court Chambers.
Professor Davies studied was an undergraduate at Downing College, and started his academic career as a Fellow of Gonville and Caius College and Newton Trust Lecturer in the Law Faculty. He was subsequently a Fellow of St Catherine's College, Oxford, before taking up the UCL Chair in 2017. He was awarded a Philip Leverhulme Prize in Law in 2020.
I very much look forward to working with exceptional colleagues and students, and am excited about contributing to the Faculty's leading role in teaching and research in private law Professor Paul Davies
Reflecting on his appointment, Professor Davies said: "I am thrilled to return to Cambridge as the Downing Professor of the Laws of England. I very much look forward to working with exceptional colleagues and students, and am excited about contributing to the Faculty's leading role in teaching and research in private law."
Responding to the announcement, Chair of the Faculty of Law Louise Gullifer said: "I am delighted that Professor Davies will be joining us in Cambridge as the Downing Chair. As a distinguished private lawyer, we look forward to his academic leadership in this thriving area of Faculty scholarship and teaching."