Solicitors vote in favour of electoral college

Solicitors have consigned to the history books national elections for Law Society office holders by voting overwhelmingly in favour of an electoral college system.By a margin of over four to one, solicitors backed a plan which will see an expanded Law Society council elect annually a deputy vice-president who will go on to become president two years later.

The plan includes a safeguard which allows a nationwide poll if at least 500 members of the Society petition Chancery Lane with an objection to the councils choice, within 14 days of that choice being announced.

The system will come into effect immediately.Some 8,119 solicitors voted in favour of the proposal while 1,954 voted against.

The poll was the second national vote of Society members since April and completes the Societys reform package.

The earlier vote approved plans to expand the councils representation by creating more seats for specialist practitioners and for 5% lay membership.

The council could grow to 125 seats, although it is envisaged that it will initially expand to 105, including five lay members.Advertisements for those lay council members and lay members of the new standards and compliance boards are to appear shortly in the national, specialist and ethnic minority press.

Lay members will receive 3,000 annually plus expenses.