Legal expert, art lover Lawson Crawford dies at 50

LONDON:

Lawson Crawford, a former senior solicitor with Myers Fletcher and Gordon UK law office and later, a director of legal and company secretary at University College London Business Ltd, passed away in London recently after a short illness. He was 50 years old.

His body is to arrive in Jamaica for funeral services at the University Chapel in Mona, on September 14.

Tributes have poured in since news of his passing not only from the legal fraternity, but also from the art world, as Crawford was also a board member and trustee of the Dulwich Picture Gallery, one of the oldest public art galleries in England.

Born in Jamaica in 1974 to Vivian and Carva Crawford, Lawson attended Campion College and the University of the West Indies before he migrated to the UK on a Myers Fletcher & Gordon legal scholarship and completed his LLM at Cambridge University.

He later worked at MF&G’s UK office in Hammersmith, west London, in the early 2000s and was an active member of the UK Jamaican community, attending many events in London which celebrated the island’s history and its culture.

After leaving MF&G, Lawson worked briefly with international law firm McAllister Olivarius before he joined University College London Business Ltd in 2015 and quickly became a major part of the legal affairs team at the university, advising on corporate and commercial regulatory compliance matters.

Last week, the UCL Business Ltd paid tribute to his work with the organisation. It read in part: “We are deeply saddened to report news of the death of Lawson Crawford, director of legal and company secretary for UCL Business for the last nine years.

“Lawson was dedicated to and passionate about his role. He was instrumental in ensuring that UCLB’s legal and patent requirements were met to exacting standards and led a team responsible for creating and overseeing agreements to protect and commercialise intellectual property for some of the most important innovations and research from world-leading UCL academics.

“He played a pivotal role in some of UCLB’s most significant deals such as Apollo Therapeutics and UCL Technology Fund, which have brought life-changing benefits to people around the world.

“Lawson had extensive UK and international leadership experience at board and senior-management levels in matters including negotiating and advising on corporate and commercial issues, intellectual property, finance, investments, mergers, governance, regulatory compliance, and dispute resolution.

“As company secretary, Lawson was a key part of UCLB’s governance, coordinating our performance reporting and liaising with the board.

“Lawson was a hugely warm and engaging character and went out of his way to make everyone feel valued and a part of the UCLB family. He not only brought professionalism and warmth of character to the workplace, but a tremendous sense of style, too – he was always impeccably dressed no matter what the occasion.

“In addition to extended family in the UK and in his birth country of Jamaica, Lawson had an extensive network of loyal friends in London and a close-knit family of work colleagues, all of whom will miss his sunny smile, infectious laugh, and his warmth of character.”

CONTRIBUTION WAS INVALUABLE

Although well known for his legal work, Crawford was also passionate about art and devoted a great deal of his time to this area. He joined the Board of Trustees of the Dulwich Picture Gallery in south London in 2020 and was fundamental in shaping the legacy of the gallery.

Among those paying tribute was Dame Janet Vitmayer, chair of trustees, Dulwich Picture Gallery.

She said: “We are deeply saddened by the passing of Lawson Crawford, a valued friend and trustee of Dulwich Picture Gallery. We are extremely grateful for his commitment to the gallery, his support for our executive team, his guidance and advice, his dedication to connecting communities with arts and culture.

“He was passionate about art and spoke movingly about the central (role) it played in his life. He used his legal mind to support the work of the gallery but also brought his enthusiasm and love for our paintings. He was so looking forward to hearing about future exhibitions at our next meeting. We are very grateful for everything he did for us, and we are devastated by his loss.”

Also paying tribute was Benedict Brogan, vice-chair, Dulwich Picture Gallery. He said: “Lawson was that essential trustee – committed, thoughtful, and always enthusiastic. He applied his acute legal mind coupled with great empathy to our commercial deliberations, and his contribution was invaluable. This is a terrible loss, but how fortunate we were to have had him with us.”

Lawson Crawford is survived by his father Vivian, a recent Musgrave Gold Medal Awardee for his contribution to leadership in culture and education in Jamaica, mother Carva, sister Sheena, and other relatives.