The Law Society Council is to hold a special meeting in September to decide its future size and role after members last week voted to delay a decision.
The council had been asked to approve recommendations that it should be slashed from the current 100 members to between 30 and 50, mainly elected from geographical constituencies, plus seats representing ethnic minority, disabled and young solicitors. Seats for practitioner associations and practice areas would have come to an end.
However, there was widespread concern that a decision on numbers was being sought before the role of the council in the era of separation from regulation had been settled.
'Form clearly follows function,' said Sue Nelson, who represents the City of Westminster. 'The issue is not the size of the council, but its effectiveness.'
Several members also cast doubt on the result of the 'Have Your Say' consultation in relation to the council size - around 30 members was the most popular option.
It was suggested that solicitors were in fact complaining about Law Society bureaucracy in general rather than the council in particular. Richard Miller, who represents the Legal Aid Practitioners Group, said there is 'very limited knowledge about the workings of council' among the wider profession.
This was despite the council membership committee - which is mainly made up of non-members - warning the council to 'think seriously before it does anything that may be interpreted as disregarding' the consultation. Its chairwoman, former president Carolyn Kirby, told the meeting: 'The committee believes it can construct a representative council of 30 or so members.'
Incoming vice-president Andrew Holroyd, chairman of the governance group that made the proposals, said a council of more than 50 members would be against the wishes of the profession and 'would leave us with very little credibility'.
Neil Rose
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