Are we in this together?It is a good question, which begs a couple more.

What exactly is 'this' and do we want to be in it together anyway?Well, 'this' for me, is the time of our lives.

A time when the legal profession has never been needed more, but a time when it has never been harder to practise law.Has the world we work in ever been more complicated, more regulated, more litigious?Have our clients ever been more demanding? Have the expectations of our staff ever been higher? Has technology ever delivered so many threats as well as opportunities?Has the competition ever been tougher? And has it ever been harder to predict the future?How does this make you feel? Do you want to dig a hole the size of your head and check it for size; or do you want to test your ingenuity, your expertise, your experience? Do you want to moan about how bloody unfair life can be; or do you want to take some determined strides into the future and trust your judgement ?I see lawyers of all shapes and sizes, from all backgrounds and all with different reasons for wanting to be lawyers.

I see them in the high street and I see them operate in global markets.

In all of them I always see dedicated, hard working, creative people.

People with integrity, people with so much to offer, who give so much, so readily.Put five accountants into a room and they will come up with ingenious ways to count up to five.

Put five lawyers in a room and you will have several solutions to any number of problems in no time at all, ranging from Mrs Smith's divorce to some international corporate mega-deal, and everything in between.The trouble is, while all this is true, we do not believe it.

I believe passionately there is no better profession in the world.

I also believe that in the next ten years the pace of change will make us or break us.

But it will only break us if we are not ready now to embrace change.You have all the skills you need, all the talent, all the experience.

It is not going to be easy - but where was the fun in anything easy.

So are you going to sit back and let opportunity wash over you like a spring tide until you are submerged and drowned, or are you going to climb aboard a raft made of your own talent and ride the waves of future success?I recently said that the people I represent - in-house solicitors in commerce and industry - were fed up with the lack of support from the Law Society.

I was right, we are under-valued but I am not moaning about it.

I will fight and keep on fighting to get what is right.

In-house solicitors have so much to offer the whole profession and in fighting our corner we want to show that any investment in us will be returned many times over for the benefit of everyone.That is a good thing is it not? Not selfish, not self interested, not negative or destructive.We all need to fight our battles, but let us fight them to win for everyone.The Law Society needs us.

It needs fighters.

It needs brave people to take us forward.

I like the start that has been made by Michael Mathews, Robert Sayer and Kamlesh Bahl.

It is not enough, not yet, not by a long way - but the first steps are the hardest.

Let us keep up and push on.

We are good enough and we have to do it.I want us to be in this together - don't you?