Ten steps to successJanet Paraskeva outlines a battle plan to make The Law Society more effective and efficientSix months into any job is time to take stock.

When I started at the Law Society in October last year, I said that the...Six months into any job is time to take stock.

When I started at the Law Society in October last year, I said that the process of change might take between 18 months and two years - and that process of change is certainly under way right now.

An essential element in the change was getting the council's agreement to a high- level strategic plan for the next five years - a strategic plan which would outline the Law Society's mission and goal - promoting solicitors as an independent and effectively self-regulated legal profession.

It gained the council's approval to ensure that the Law Society strives to guarantee: l Access to high-quality legal services for the public, and; l Vigorous promotion of solicitors' interests.

To deliver that strategic plan, we needed to change the way in which we structure the organisation.

The council has also agreed major reforms in relation to its governance.

With senior managers, I have worked out the necessary changes in the way we structure the staffing of the organisation to ensure that we achieve our goals.

So, why a blueprint for change now? As I say, six months in it is important to take stock of what we have already achieved and what we need to do.

Change is healthy - all good professions change as society changes.

And the Law Society must strive to give the public confidence to go to any solicitor knowing that they will get good quality independent advice.

The Law Society needs to strive to represent the interests of the whole profession and safeguard its standards and reputation.

To raise standards and ensure that we are fulfilling our duties to the public and to the profession, we now have a 10-point plan of activities to implement - or at least to begin to implement over the forthcoming months.

These 10 steps will help us to deliver the council's strategic plan.

This commits the Society to take account of the following points: consumer demand for more accountability; government calls for more competition, transparency and consumer orientation; economic, technological, social and demographic change; the development of increasingly differentiated sectors within its membership; and the implementation of the Human Rights Act, as it affects the public, the profession and the Society.

The ten-point plan in many ways covers areas of work which are not new to the Society or the profession.

But the plan itself heralds this work as an important checklist for us to deliver a Law Society, which properly represents the interests of the profession it regulates: l Step one - we will scrutinise the standard of qualifications being awarded to those entering the profession; l Step two - we will maintain standards by being tough but fair with practising solicitors who provide a poor service or who are found guilty of misconduct; l Step three - we will ensure that where a member of the public has a complaint about a solicitor, this is dealt with swiftly and efficiently; l Step four - we will take a robust approach in ensuring solicitors comply with the professional rules; l Step five - we will give consumers more say over how solicitors are regulated; l Step six - we will do more to help the public find the right solicitor to advise them; l Step seven - we will strive to make the Law Society more open and transparent.l Step eight - we will redouble our efforts to champion the valuable legal services provided by solicitors here and abroad;l Step nine - we will play an even more active role in shaping the legislative framework to ensure that all law passed is in the interests of the individual citizen and the business community; l Step ten - we will modernise the way the Law Society works, and use technology and expertise to deliver a high quality service to our members and the public.LINKS: www.lawsociety.org.uk Visit the Law Society's Web site for a full copy of the Blueprint for ChangeJanet Paraskeva is Chief Executive of the Law Society