Neate wins through in poll to become IBA president-elect

Top City solicitor Francis Neate is set to become the first English lawyer to lead the International Bar Association (IBA) in 30 years after winning a crucial vote last weekend.

Mr Neate won the backing of the IBA council at its meeting in Dublin to become the next vice-president later this year.

He will almost certainly become president in 2004.

Mr Neate, a former Slaughter and May partner who is now group legal adviser at merchant bank Schroders, was up against Ben Greer, a partner at US firm Alston & Bird and the IBA secretary-general.

Although Mr Neate did not quite reach the 60% voting threshold, he was ahead of Mr Greer, who then backed out of the race.

This is the exact opposite of what happened in 2000 when the two contested the secretary-general post.

The final vote will be at the IBA's general meeting in October; the meeting usually follows the council's lead.

The last solicitor to head the IBA was former Law Society President Sir Denys Hicks in 1970-4.

Argentinian lawyer Emilio Cardenas, a former ambassador to the United Nations, is set to become the next IBA president.