'We put our members at the heart of all we do'

In a few weeks, I will have welcomed 1,200 members into our profession at
19 admissions ceremonies. Solicitors have been climbing the steps at 113 Chancery Lane for these proud moments for nearly 200 years.

Our scale makes us the first port of call for government when seeking the views of the profession. Our history and credibility makes our brand respected and listened to across the world. There are other groups that represent specialist areas of law, but government demands a single point of contact and that is us.

We constantly influence parliament and governments in Westminster, Brussels and Cardiff for our members’ benefit and to improve the law through our representation work. We have given evidence to 26 parliamentary committees since last July and represented our members by responding to about 100 consultations.

Upholding the rule of law is the golden thread that runs through our profession. Last year, we represented members by intervening in the Supreme Court case Prudential, successfully defending legal professional privilege, just as
we had nine years earlier
in Three Rivers.

Now we are applying to intervene in the European Convention on Human Rights’ Big Brother case about mass data surveillance, again defending legal privilege. And in Elosta,
we successfully defended the right of detainees to consult
a solicitor.

With many of our members working in family law, our intervention into the Court of Appeal case JG, forcing the Legal Aid Agency to rethink its approach to funding experts in Children Act cases, will resonate. Post-LASPO, we are defending access to justice by backing the Public Law Project to challenge the new civil legal aid scheme.

In all our representations to benefit members, we have held government to account, upheld the rule of law and protected access to justice and the role
of solicitors.

The diversity of the legal landscape is reflected in the committees and working parties at the society, covering access to justice to tax and banking. There is a relevant committee for every member, whether practising family law in Wales or working in the City.

Joining a committee gives members the chance to represent their practice area and contribute to the legislative process. They also get access to ministers, stakeholders, the media and fellow experts.

Our contribution towards free trade and market access to promote our members overseas – achievable only because of the brand’s international prestige and credibility – is valued by our City members. And small and medium firms looking for opportunities in new markets are supported by our international division.

All organisations need to change. We put our members at the heart of all we do. We are embracing the changing ways the profession works and investing in building a digital platform and search engine to connect our members with
new clients.

We are seeking our members’ views to inform our work and the choices we must make. We do our best work when the expertise of practitioners combines with the resources of the society. In the latest council elections, more seats than ever were contested.

Next month, Andrew Caplen will take the baton as president. He is determined to represent, promote and support our members better than ever before and will have a particular focus on access to justice, running alongside a drive to promote solicitors, with autumn seeing the launch of our consumer marketing campaign.

Our success depends on the scale of our membership, expertise and resources and by being the only body that represents the strength and stature of the entire profession. SJ

This article was written in response to ‘Is the Law Society fit for purpose?’ (Vol 158 Iss 21)

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