David Wolfson (Lord Wolfson of Tredegar)

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Not to be confused with David Wolfson, Baron Wolfson of Sunningdale

(born 19 July 1968)


Family

Great-grandfather was naturalised (we found his papers in the National Archive) and converted his Hebrew name into English: “Aaron son of Wolf” became “Aaron Wolfson”. But it wasn’t all good. Great-uncle Jack was born in the middle of an anti-Jewish riot in the town in 1911. He was known as “Jack the Riot Baby”, the first member of the family to be given a title.’ [1]

Background

One of the first decisions David Wolfson made on being elevated to the House of Lords was to honour his roots. For the Liverpool-raised barrister, who was this week made a life peer and appointed junior justice minister, will be known as Lord Wolfson of Tredegar. He chose the South Wales town as it was where his paternal great-grandfather, Aaron, emigrated to from what is now present-day Ukraine. Mr Wolfson told the Jewish Telegraph: “As a Jewish community in Britain, we live in what the Talmudic rabbis called a ‘kingdom of kindness’. “This is a tolerant country where we can practise our religion, and where we have full civil and religious rights. “I wanted to take the name of a place which will remind me of — and also speak to — those issues.

“We came here as immigrants and British society enabled us to thrive as a community. “It is important for me to remember those early days and where our roots are, which, in my case, is in South Wales. “My great-grandfather is buried in Merthyr Tydfil and my great-uncle Jack was actually born in the middle of the 1911 anti-Jewish riots in Tredegar.”

His position at the Ministry of Justice — which puts him on leave of absence from his chambers at One Essex Court — sends him to the Lords, where he will sit as a Conservative peer. Called to the Bar in 1992 and made a QC 11 years ago, London-based Mr Wolfson has worked on various matters for the Government over the past few years. When Michael Gove was Lord Chancellor, Mr Wolfson, who is married to Louise, was involved in human rights issues, and work related to Brexit and jurisdiction.

“I will be dealing with the Ministry of Justice brief in the Lords, introducing bills, answering questions and speaking on legislation,” he said. “In particular, I will be focusing on civil justice and doing all I can to make sure London keeps its place as the pre-eminent litigation and arbitration centre that it is.”

Educated at Liverpool’s King David High School, Mr Wolfson is the son of Rosalind and Bernard Wolfson, who now live in Jerusalem. His father was also a lawyer and district judge. His sisters are Rina Wolfson in London and Hannah Cohn who, with his brother, Jonny, reside in Israel. Mr Wolfson’s paternal grandfather was Rev Sam Wolfson, who served Liverpool’s Greenbank Drive Synagogue for more than 40 years. “My grandfather was a formative influence on me,” he recalled. “I learned with him and he taught me how to leyn.” Mr Wolfson studied at Jerusalem’s Yeshivat Ha-Kotel, before he read Oriental studies, specialising in Hebrew and Aramaic, at Selwyn College, Cambridge. He started his law career at 3 Verulam Buildings, where he spent five years, before moving to One Essex Court.
Mr Wolfson, who is father to 18-year-old Sam, Zara, 16, and 13-year-old Abi, has represented banks, hedge funds and oligarchs — including acting for Russian-Israeli tycoon Arkady Gaydamak when he sued his former business partner Lev Leviev. A lifelong Liverpool Football Club supporter, he will be formally introduced at the House of Lords next month.[2]

Affiliations

Charity Trustee

Company director

Name Company number Company status Correspondence address Role Position Appointed on Resigned on Nationality Country of residence Occupation
Lew Dreamland Limited 14553659 Active 8 Vivian Way, London, England, N2 0AE Role Active Director 21 December 2022 British England Barrister
Benesco Charity Limited 00972762 Active 55 Baker Street, London, United Kingdom, W1U 7EU Role Active Director 20 April 2017 British England Kings Counsel
Jewish Chronicle Trust Limited 00966860 Dissolved 1 Essex Court, Temple, London, England, EC4Y 9AR Role Director 5 October 2011 British United Kingdom Barrister
Cobalt Data Centre 2 LLP Oc361003 Active 1st Floor, Sackville House, 143-149 Fenchurch Street, London, England, EC3M 6BL Role Active LLP Member 31 March 2011 England
Kerem Schools 03391872 Active Kerem School, Norrice Lea, London, England, N2 0RE Role Resigned Director 1 January 2012 23 December 2020 British England Barrister
Bar Mutual Indemnity Fund Limited 02182018 Active 90 Fenchurch Street, London, EC3M 4ST Role Resigned Director 1 January 2005 3 October 2017 British United Kingdom Non-Executive Director
One Britton Street Management Company Limited 03466604 Dissolved Flat 22 One Britton Street, London, EC1 Role Resigned Director 17 April 2003 4 July 2005 British Barrister

Register of Interests

Current as of August 2025.[3]

Category 1: Remunerated employment etc.

Category 2: Shareholdings etc. (b)

Category 3: Land and property

  • Residential property in London (NW11, EC1M), Margate, Switzerland and Israel from which rental income is received

Category 5: Overseas visits

  • Visit to Paris, 16 December 2024, to attend "E3 - Israel strategic dialogue", travel and accommodation costs met by Elnet (organisers)

Resources

Notes

  1. ↑ https://www.counselmagazine.co.uk/articles/-the-political-wheel-turns-i-was-quick-to-get-over-it-lord-wolfson-qc
  2. ↑ Jewish Telegraph, #𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥: 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁-𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗳𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗲
  3. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20250808141747/https://members.parliament.uk/member/4901/registeredinterests
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