The Legal Services Bill and legal aid will be top of the agenda at the Law Society Conference, say David McIntosh and Charles Fraser

The City of London Law Society and City of Westminster & Holborn Law Society are pleased to be jointly hosting this year's Law Society Conference on 13 October.


It promises a fascinating series of debates on topical issues - the Legal Services Bill, legal aid, information security guidelines, conveyancing, and the plans from the Law Society's representation arm to develop services that support the work, lives and careers of solicitors.


This is the first conference since the publishing of the draft Legal Services Bill and the Chancery Lane's own Have Your Say consultation with the profession. Solicitors told the Law Society that it had to change the way that it operated. The Bill also demanded a separation between the representational and regulatory activities of the national Law Society, so that the Law Society can continue as a front-line regulator and our profession can remain self-regulating.


The Law Society has already changed with the creation since January of the Regulation Board and Consumer Complaints Board. The Society's council is still looking at how it can best represent the profession's interests and deliver what solicitors want from a national body. This year's conference has been significantly altered from previous years' gatherings, and the organisers hope it will be more relevant to all solicitors, whether they come from small high street practices or the larger multinational partnerships.

The long-term future of the entire profession has been significantly shaped by a number of major developments in 2006. The Bill proposes fundamental changes to the way in which the legal profession is regulated and law firms are organised.


The Bill is one of the most significant pieces of legislation affecting the profession for more than 30 years, and it is vital for the future of the profession that the government gets the fundamental principles right - proportionate regulation and an independent legal services board. The Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer, will be part of the conference debate on modernising the legal services market.


While the reality of alternative business structures is still some way off, one of the main conference panel sessions will see solicitors debate how they can benefit from new business models. Some larger firms might want to look at flotation, while others will simply want to share profits with non-solicitor staff.


The conference will also be an opportunity to look at whether the Carter proposals for legal aid can be made to work. This will provide another opportunity to tell government that the reforms will only succeed if the levels of fee on offer are viable.


Another breakout session will examine the emerging issue of creating the security culture. Responding to requests from several firms, the Law Society has devised information security guidelines for solicitors.


At the conference, it will also be analysing the changing conveyancing landscape, providing updates on critical issues such as the government's latest aspirations for home information packs, e-conveyancing developments, and the Law Society's sustained and successful work on improving the stamp duty land tax system.


This year's conference provides an excellent opportunity for solicitors to engage with their national representative body, as our own law societies do.


David McIntosh is chairman of the City of London Law Society and Charles Fraser is president of the City of Westminster & Holborn Law Society