Duncan's Bio

Duncan is a widely known and highly accomplished U.K. solicitor with over 30 years’ experience in corporate litigation. He is among the few solicitors named both “Lawyer of the Week” in The Times and “Lawyer in the News” in The Law Society Gazette for major cases he has won.  Duncan was named “the client’s champion” and as “indefatigable” in Legal 500, the leading journal of peer and client reviews, for his successful efforts for clients both large and small. Amongst numerous cases, in 2015 Duncan led a large team of lawyers in a major abuse of market dominant position case against Rolls Royce.

Duncan is the founder and driving force behind Save the Asian Elephants (www.stae.org), a U.K. nonprofit.  As one of many recent initiatives, STAE has led 45 prominent UK charities and advocates in urging governmental leaders and bodies to introduce law to ban UK advertising of “attractions” abroad where baby and adult elephants are brutalised for tourism.  STAE exerts influence on governments, politicians and the tourist industry to adopt solutions it advances. It was asked by Government to draft legislation to ban UK advertising of overseas tourism venues unethically exploiting elephants.

Duncan was Chairman of the McNair Inquiry and Report (2013), an influential study and advocacy work on the welfare of farmed animals.  He is an experienced public speaker who has been regularly invited to address All-Party Groups on Animal Welfare and on Endangered Species in the UK Parliament on the plight of Asian elephants. He has also attracted large audiences at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on STAE’s policies, with a recent speech being described by the Chairman as “dramatic and shocking”. In 2017 Duncan was part of a small, key group representing 220 charities and MPs in presenting a letter to the Prime Minister demanding abolition of the UK ivory trade, immediately following which a proposed ban was announced.

In 2018 he was named Winner of the Animal Hero of the Year award at the inaugural Animal Star Awards, which attracted 850 nominations across the UK.  In 2021 STAE was named amongst the 9 best elephant NGOs in the world for the impact of its work. Duncan frequently publishes on animal welfare issues of national interest and is the author of a series of best selling humour books.