End of the beginning

Michael Napier looks back at the success achieved over the past nine months in getting Law Society reforms off the ground - from the initial proposals to the 'defining moment' last week at the special general meetingChange for the better at Chancery Lane is no longer a myth.

Reform of the Law Society has been talked about for a long time.

Now, at last, it is really happening.

By the annual general meeting in July 2001, the main framework of the radical programme of constitutional and governance reform that I undertook to deliver during my presidency will be a reality.

It has been a team effort and, against the odds given by some, we have come a long way in nine months.

First, last autumn, the Law Society Council pulled together the reform strands developed over previous months.

Then we consulted with the profession on a wide-ranging reform package that won broad support. By January 2001, the council had agreed the overall shape of the reforms - that an enlarged council would set high-level policy and strategy and that day-to-day oversight of the Society would be undertaken by a main board and five subsidiary boards.In March, the council agreed the terms of reference and composition of the boards.

Two boards will have a substantial proportion of lay members.

There will also be seats on them for solicitors who are not members of the council and these will be advertised soon.

The boards will be established by 1 July.The defining moment came last week when a reconvened special general meeting of the Society received the results of the postal ballots of members on the changes to the composition of the council.

The resolutions required, and achieved, a two-thirds majority of those voting.

More than 17,000 members voted.

They confirmed that there is genuine interest in the Law Society as a strong professional body and that the appetite for reform to restore stability was not a myth.Nearly three-quarters of those voting agreed that five lay members should sit on the council.

Advertisements for the lay members, to be appointed by the Master of the Rolls, will appear soon in the national press.We hope to recruit from outside the legal profession to bring a wide range of experience to the council.

We intend that lay members take up appointments after the AGM in July.

The work of the council will be enhanced by having the voice of clients around the table to help ensure that we are reflecting the interests and concerns of the public in balancing our decisions.

The government has a legitimate interest and it was significant that the result of the ballot on lay membership was immediately and publicly welcomed by LCD Minister David Lock.Lay members will add to the Society's credibility as a regulator, and also to its representative work.

The voice of clients will add weight to what we have to say when we are campaigning on law reform issues and when we are negotiating with government on access to publicly funded legal services, to cite but two examples.Members also supported the enlargement of the council to 100 solicitor members.

This will mean additional representation on the council for the various solicitor groups and associations within the large and diverse profession today.

Arrangements to fill the extra seats will be decided by the council in May.

The third resolution, also passed by the required two-thirds majority, was to provide a seat on the council for the Trainee Solicitors Group and for a representative of students on the legal practice course.

These two council members will provide an important voice for younger members of our profession; they are its future.The final aspect of the reform that needs to be decided is how the office holders of the Society are elected in future.

The proposal is that the enlarged council would elect a deputy vice-president each year and, subject to safeguards, that person would normally go on to serve as vice-president and then president.

But, if in any year 500 members request an election among all members, then one will occur.Since members of the profession would no longer automatically directly elect the office holders, it is only right that each member should be given the opportunity to vote on this change.

This is why, even though this resolution was supported at the reconvened special general meeting of the Society on 26 April, I directed that a postal ballot should take place.I strongly urge solicitors to support this crucial change.

The reformed governance structures provide for much greater democratic representation on the council and accountability throughout.

A final, positive step would be to move away from the personality politics that have dogged some of the contested elections over the past few years.The success of the reform programme owes a lot to the efforts of many dedicated people who deserve our thanks.

And the thinking has been joined up - alongside the changes, the Law Society's Chief Executive, Janet Paraskeva, has in her first six months in post set about reorganising the Society's staffing structures and business processes more logically to sit alongside the new governance structures and to provide a more efficient service to members.

The recent battle over criminal contracting shows what an effective Law Society, working in partnership with the profession, can produce.

I expect that, over the next year, as the full effects of the reform and restructuring changes come on stream, we will see many more examples of what can be achieved.With them will come a rise in respect for the Society and the profession among government and the public, so that our members can once more say they are proud to be solicitors.Michael Napier is President of the Law Society