Message from new Law Society President Linda Lee
President’s Update: This is my first update as President since I took office at yesterday’s AGM 15th July 2010. Yesterday was a very special day for me, as so many of the friends I have made over the years took time out of their busy schedules to attend.
My own local law societies, Northamptonshire and Leicestershire & Rutland, came to the AGM and I was also very touched to see representatives from Birmingham, Liverpool, West London and from the Sole Practitioners Group, Association of Women Solicitors and the regional law societies of West and East Midlands. A number of my former colleagues and specialist clinical negligence practitioners travelled from across the jurisdiction to be with me. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them again. They have all played a role in helping me to become the lawyer and the person I am today.
I was extremely proud to receive badge of President from my predecessor Bob Heslett. Bob has been a strong leader of the profession, committed to his principles and determined to ensure his vision of the rule of law will be etched in the conscious of the great and the good. He will certainly be a hard act to follow.
For those of you who do not know me, I did not qualify until I was 30 and therefore my perspective may be somewhat different to that of my predecessors. I can say that my view of solicitors has changed a great deal from the days when as a very young mother I bought my first house. Over the years, I have come to appreciate the strengths of the profession and in particular our ethical standards and integrity. I am firmly of the view that preserving a strong and independent legal profession is vital to society and that our interests align with those of our clients.
I have spent the last 2 years meeting with as many of you as possible to discuss the issues facing our profession, whether it be in private practice or in house. I thank all of you who have taken the time and trouble to better inform me, in preparation for this moment. I hope that I will bring about real changes that reflect the concerns you have expressed.
However, I am acutely aware that my presidency lasts for only one year and for me to achieve real change, I must persuade others to take forward the ideas I develop long after my term has ended. I look forward to updating you on my progress in the weeks and months ahead.
My Presidency
To meet the challenges the profession currently faces, the theme for my presidential year will be “Solicitors – adding value - qualified to answer”. We have already launched an advertising campaign promoting the profession to the wider public.
Whilst a recent survey commissioned by the Ministry of Justice indicated that clients had extremely high satisfaction levels with the service given by their solicitor, there is still a wider public perception of solicitors as ‘fat cat lawyers’. As new entrants come into our market, it is particularly important that we challenge these misconceptions and also educate clients and potential clients as to why we should remain the legal advisor of choice.
Clients expect that we will be conscientious, competent and that we will apply our knowledge and skills to their benefit in a timely fashion - as they would with any other professional service they purchase – but they may not realise that we are under a duty to put their interests before our own. All too often I suspect that we are victims of our own success in that our clients often do not understand the complexity of the work we have done or appreciate the considerable skill and talent we have exercised on their behalf.
The profession has also been very misunderstood over the years in that there has been a view that we would wish to protect those who are dishonest or incompetent when of course the reverse is true. Each and every one of us knows that our professional standing depends on our regulator being willing and able protect our professional reputation. It is also important that the regulator concentrates its resources on ensuring that those who do not conform to our high ethical standards should not be allowed to practice but also that the regulator works with us to educate and to improve standards. The profession must be able to trust its regulator and in return the regulator must have trust in the profession.
There is also another dimension to be considered and that is the importance of regulation to third parties such as mortgage lenders and Professional Indemnity Insurers. There has certainly been a lack of confidence expressed by these parties in our regulator. Whilst I have every confidence in Charles Plant, the new chair of the SRA, he does face a difficult task in regaining that confidence. This is particularly critical as we approach the Professional Indemnity renewal season. I have grave concerns regarding the difficulties some firms will face this year as a result. We at the Society will be contacting you very shortly to explain the help we will be offering those firms.
I will launch a number of projects in the autumn to develop thoughts and ideas about how the profession can remain strong and successful, as well as how we as a profession can help those firms facing difficulties. We will also be launching a conveyancing project at the Property Section Annual conference in October. I will be asking local law societies and specialist groups to take part in all of these initiatives.
This type of working together will form a major part of my presidency. I believe that in the current difficult climate, professional solidarity has never been more important and the profession needs more than ever to speak with one voice to, Government, Regulators, Insurers and the society we serve. I passionately believe that only the Law Society can speak for the entire profession and only the Law Society can express that unity.
But the Law Society cannot succeed working in isolation. I am therefore committed to using my presidency to ensure that solicitors know that they can count on all of us – national and local law societies, Boards and the Law Society Council - to fight their corner.
I hope that you will all join with me to help shape the future for our profession.
The Law Society Annual Review
Finally, I would just like to point out that, the Law Society has now published its annual review and financial report 2009 online. This demonstrates the great work the Law Society has done over the past year. It also outlines our aims for the future and how we can help support the profession in the current changing times. Over the next 12 months, we will focus on three key areas: securing a proportionate regulatory system; creating services to meet members’ needs; and promoting solicitors as true professionals. I trust you will find these documents useful.
I wish you all an enjoyable weekend.
Linda Lee
President of the Law Society of England and Wales
