Marking 100 years

As the Gazette reaches a milestone, editor Jonathan Ames considers a buoyant profession

By almost any definition, 100 years is a long stretch.

For the Gazette, it has literally been a lifetime; for the legal profession in England and Wales, it has been a period of almost total transformation and immense growth.

As it is our centenary, it is only right to pause for a moment and look at the Gazette.

As our deputy editor, Neil Rose, illustrates in his comprehensive article this week, there is little in the 26 June 2003 issue of this newspaper that the solicitor of 1903 would recognise, and probably much about the legal profession that would confuse and even horrify him (it would definitely be a 'him').

The Gazette, which started as a membership newsletter for the Law Society, has become the journal of record for solicitors practising in England and Wales.

It is the only newspaper that attempts to cover every aspect of the broad and ever-specialising legal profession.

From high street residential conveyancing to commercial property, from criminal to corporate, from practice management to personal injury, from CFAs to PFIs - nobody else keeps lawyers informed about all the issues.

Much credit should go to my two immediate predecessors, Sheila Pratt and Evlynne Gilvarry, who started the process of modernising the Gazette.

Today, the Gazette is produced by a highly professional team of journalists, advertising and production staff.

Along the way during the past 100 years, it has become the largest circulation and most profitable weekly for lawyers in both Europe and the Commonwealth.

That it has evolved to such a position of strength is a direct reflection of the success of lawyers in this country.

As part of our centenary commemoration, this week we begin a four-part series tracing the history of the legal profession over the past 100 years.

Today, there are more than five times as many solicitors practising in England and Wales as there were in 1903, with the modern qualifying solicitor more likely to be a woman than a man.

At the beginning of the last century, entry to the profession was effectively restricted to the white middle classes, with aspiring solicitors having to buy their way into articles.

Today, a fully regulated and monitored training system has contributed to the evolution of an ever-more socially and ethnically diverse profession.

Now solicitor-advocates stand shoulder to shoulder with their barrister counterparts, while the solicitors' profession spreads its financial muscle not just domestically but across the globe.

Without doubt much has changed in the legal profession during the past 100 years, but the core principles remain the same.

Regardless of what capacity they practise in, solicitors adhere to the highest principles of justice while acting in the best interests of their clients.

To recognise the success of and success in the profession, the final part of our centenary celebrations this year will be a Gazette awards ceremony, to be held in London this November.

Full details are included in this issue (see [2003] Gazette, 26 June, page 38); for now suffice to say that we have attempted to highlight both the areas that are crucial to modern practice, as well as recognising major contributions to the history and evolution of what is one of the most successful and vibrant professions in the world.

The Gazette hopes to see many of you at that evening in November.