Regeneration begins here

Today the Law Society embarks on an important consultation exercise.

The document, which is included with every Gazette, outlines proposals for reform aimed at regenerating the Society.

The starting point is an acknowledgement that solicitors have a right to expect that their professional body will operate at the highest levels of efficiency.

The Society's objective is to be a formidable presence on the legal landscape, valued by members for the range of its activities and respected by all other stakeholders.

To achieve this, the Society recognises that it must become a model regulator - a respected standard-bearer for the solicitors' profession and a champion of best practice and client care.

It must also become a more effective advocate of its members' interests.

The process will require an overhaul of the Society's corporate governance.

The consultation document proposes a model of governance that is aimed at meeting the single biggest challenge facing complex organisations: how to ensure rigorous accountability without hindering nimble decision-making.

For the Law Society - which balances a regulatory role with a representation role - the challenge is to evolve a system of governance that ensures maximum engagement of solicitors in setting policy while empowering a 'cabinet-style' board, and a chief executive and staff, to oversee and implement that policy.

The process will also mean a fresh look at the way the Society deals with service complaints, which make up 70% of its caseload.

The consultation document outlines a service complaints redress scheme that builds on the recent work done at the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors and incorporates a lay commissioner.

The consultation process is a key step in the reform process - an opportunity for every solicitor to become involved.

It is an opportunity to be grasped.