Congratulations to Brett Dixon on this week becoming the 182nd president of the Law Society of England and Wales. He was welcomed to the role at a swish Chancery Lane inauguration ‘do’ by fellow self-confessed tech geek Sir Colin Birss, shortly to step up from the Business and Property Division to become master of the rolls.
As might be expected, Dixon, who sits on the Online Procedure Rule Committee, used part of his speech to stress the opportunities and challenges of digital justice. ‘As artificial intelligence transforms legal practice and digital justice, I will advocate for clear standards, appropriate regulation and responsible innovation,’ he said.
But tech was not the only theme. Dixon, 52, said his proudest achievement as a procedure-rule drafter was the introduction of a clause setting out how the court is to give effect to the overriding objective in relation to vulnerable parties or witnesses. We can also expect calls for more action on social mobility in the profession and beyond. ‘It is inexplicable to me that there are not more solicitor judges,’ he observed.
The (barrister) attorney general and several (barrister) members of the senior judiciary in the audience were no doubt paying attention.
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