A demanding year

In this, my final column as president, I would like to look back over a demanding year for the profession and for the Law Society.

It has been particularly challenging for those working in the legal aid sector.

There is no doubt the legal aid system is in crisis.

It is right that the Society should be leading the debate about the future delivery of this service and I am pleased that so many members of the profession are taking part in the current consultation.

The challenge is clear - to devise an approach that would enable the government - in partnership with the profession - to re-establish a legal aid scheme that provides equal access to justice for all at a cost that it is reasonable to expect taxpayers to meet.

But at the same time also recognises that lawyers have to be paid a fair and sustainable rate for providing high quality services to those in need.

On a wider scope, the consultation In the Public Interest? - issued by the Lord Chancellor's Department as was - raised profound issues about the future delivery of legal services in England and Wales.

The Society engaged in extensive consultation, both within and outside the profession, to prepare a thoughtful and well-balanced response.

I am satisfied that the Society argued for the proper balance between trying to safeguard the public's access to justice and ensuring proper consumer protection, while allowing for newer models of practice where feasible and desirable.

We expect that in the near future the government will announce the decisions it has reached following the consultation.

Whatever the changes, the Society will lobby hard to ensure that they are workable and in the best interests of access to justice.

Meanwhile, we have continued to work on modernising regulation of the profession.

For example, considerable progress has been made in relation to the Society's review of the Solicitors Practice Rules.

A brief look at the content of the current version of the guide, now nearly 900 pages long, makes it self-evident why a review is overdue.

The new guide, which we hope will be completed in 2004, will contain just one set of rules and interpretative guidance.

It will be the end product of the most radical review of the rules of professional conduct ever undertaken.

I am proud of and keen to publicise the Society's work in law reform and I mention two instances in particular.

We have worked hard on the Criminal Justice Bill to try to ensure a system of justice exists that preserves civil liberties while having proper regard for the needs of victims of crime.

We constantly remind government that the best way of tackling crime is through better resourcing for enforcement, detection and prosecution, not in eroding the foundations of our criminal justice system.

Secondly, I warmly welcomed the government's draft legislation on mental incapacity, and I am particularly pleased that this legislation is being considered in parallel with the Mental Health Bill.

However, I am sorry that the draft Bill does not include measures to protect vulnerable people from abuse.

The Society will continue to make strong representations as this important legislation proceeds through Parliament.

As the first president of the Society to come from Wales for more than 20 years and only the third in 175 years, it gave me great pleasure officially to open the Society's new Wales office in Cardiff.

We are the Society of England and Wales.

The 'and Wales' is not just a tag.

Post devolution we want to ensure that the legal profession in Wales makes a full contribution to the economic and social development of the principality.

I hope that the opening of the new office in Wales - and the enhancement of the Society's presence in the regions of England - will enable us to understand and respond more effectively to concerns of solicitors on the ground.

It will give us a far stronger base for consultation and for gathering views and opinions to inform our policy making and strengthen our links with the local law societies throughout England and Wales, which do such tremendous work.

Planning for the future is crucial if our profession is to flourish.

We need to recognise that young lawyers will practise in a very different world with new demands on the way legal services are delivered.

Many young solicitors also want different and more flexible career options.

We need to listen more carefully to their views.

After all, more than 34,000 practising solicitors are younger than 35 years of age.

I also want to encourage more of them to become more active in local law societies and Society committees.

While the Young Solicitors Group has a designated council seat, I hope more young solicitors will compete for election to other council seats as vacancies arise.

On a personal level, I am grateful for the warm welcome I have received at events throughout the country over the past three years.

I also take this opportunity of recording my thanks to everyone who has supported and encouraged me during the year.

It has been a great honour and privilege to serve my profession as president.

Carolyn Kirby is the Law Society President