It is an immense privilege to be able to write this piece as the new president of the Law Society. I do so not only with an immeasurable sense of pride, but also in the knowledge that the year ahead will be a considerable challenge.

The next year stands to be the busiest in the Law Society’s 164-year history. It will require not only a great deal of hard work from everyone connected with the Society, but also a willingness to make difficult decisions which could affect the future of the profession.

The recession continues to make life very difficult for all solicitors and it will do so for the foreseeable future. The ongoing debate over the manner in which solicitors are regulated will yield answers to a number of outstanding questions, especially in terms of the nature of alternative business structures. The Milburn report has issued a timely reminder of the steep hill that the profession must climb to ensure that access is open to all, and we face the challenge of forging a new future amid the political upheaval and uncertainty of a general election year.

It is because of this confluence of events that I have chosen ‘the rule of law’ as the theme of my presidential year.

Rule of lawThe rule of law is the touchstone of the solicitors’ profession. It is the bedrock and the foundation upon which a solicitor’s work stands. It is therefore right to return to the rule of law to dictate our guiding principles in a time of economic, regulatory, social and political change. As well as offering practical benefit, I believe that it is possible to highlight the contribution made by all solicitors in maintaining the rule of law and giving society its structure in an impartial and orderly manner.

The first principle of the rule of law requires a healthy, independent legal profession capable of providing access to the judicial system for every man and woman in England and Wales.

For the Law Society this means supporting the profession in the current downturn and ensuring that it is properly prepared to adapt and to build upon its achievements in the new legal landscape which will emerge once the recession ends. It means the provision of services which suit the needs of solicitors and the promotion of the work they do.

The performance of the solicitors’ profession and the economic well-being of the country are inextricably linked. The advice given and the action taken by solicitors working in commerce, both before and during the downturn, have been pivotal in enabling many organisations survive the recession and to position them to succeed in its wake. I will be emphasising this contribution during my time as president.

It also means promoting the economic rule of law overseas – breaking new frontiers and opening new markets, providing fresh opportunities for solicitors to export their services and promoting overseas the business that exists here at home. The Society’s international division has enjoyed great success in this regard. It will continue to focus on building new global partnerships for English and Welsh solicitors to exploit, with a special focus on the major developing economies.

Profession-led regulationThe independence of solicitors is reliant upon a system of regulation which suits their needs and protects the public they serve. The coming year will see the publication of Lord Hunt’s independent review of regulation of the profession, as commissioned by the Law Society. Lord Hunt’s recommendations will form a major plank of the Society’s ongoing work to ensure that regulation remains a competitive strength, not a commercial weakness.

The protracted period of consultation, negotiation and implementation of the details and structures created by the Legal Services Act will continue for some time yet. The Society has had to share the cost of establishing the Office for Legal Complaints and the Legal Services Board, which has contributed greatly to the recent increase in the practising fee. In addition, the Society will continue to represent the interests of the profession with regard to the prospective regulation of alternative business structures.

Over the next 12 months, the Society will need to secure the principle of profession-led regulation. When parliament passed the Legal Services Act, it made clear its intention for solicitors to play a significant role in the manner in which they are regulated. Some have since sought to diminish that role and have suggested that the relationships between the Society and the LSB, the SRA and the OLC are too opaque. We will seek to clarify these relationships over the next year to provide the certainty and the balance that a properly functioning system of regulation requires.

Access to justiceThe rule of law is also emblematic of the relationship between the citizen and the state. For centuries, solicitors have been the principle guarantors of this relationship and of the efficient conduct of democracy. As the representative body of all solicitors, the Law Society must play its part to influence that relationship. In our cities and our schools, a generation is growing whose first contact with the rule of law is through the policeman’s tap on the shoulder. As solicitors, I believe that we have a part to play in reaching out to deprived areas and communities to inform and to educate our young people, and the Society will be encouraging firms to focus their pro bono activity in this direction.

The Society will also be holding a comprehensive investigation into the future of access to justice to mark the 60th anniversary of legal aid. The Society played a central role in the creation of the legal aid system and ran it unassisted for nearly 40 years. It is as determined to play a major part in securing effective legal aid provision in 2009 as it was in 1949 and the years before. This inquiry, led by the Society’s access to justice committee, will be the central focus of this promise.

I am honoured to have the opportunity to lead the Law Society in a time of such considerable change. Now the formalities are over, I look forward to getting down to what really matters – rolling up my sleeves and working hard to secure a successful present and future for all solicitors.

Robert Heslett is president of the Law Society