Chancery Lane news - Kent Law Society


President's Update Week beginning 7^th May 2012 __________________________________________________________________________________________ Queen's Speech This week the Government made clear their legislative programme for the coming parliamentary year. Major announcements from the Queen's Speech included: · Children and Families Bill containing reforms to family law, including the creation of a six month time limit by which care cases must be completed. · Crime and Courts Bill which will reform the judicial appointments process as well as establish a single County Court System and a single Family Court. · Defamation Bill implementing the draft Defamation Bill. · Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill, which will - among other provisions - overhaul the employment tribunal system, reform the framework for setting directors pay, reduce regulation and repeal unnecessary legislation. We have issued a response to the Government's proposals which you can read by clicking here. At this stage our response is based on the small amount of information made public by the relevant Department but over the coming weeks the timetable by which the bills are announced will become clearer and the Law Society will engage in more detail with the legislative programme. Vice-President's Visit to Qatar and Oman At the start of the week Lucy Scott-Moncrieff attended an international legal form in Qatar to discuss the rule of law and its relevance to promoting a wide range of social, economic and political goals. There were lawyers and judges from over 60 different jurisdictions, with a strong delegation from the UK including Lord Woolf, Lord Judge, and the President of the Supreme Court, Lord Philips. Lucy spoke on a panel discussing legal professionalism and its relationship to the rule of law, highlighting our commitment to a fearless and independent legal profession and access to justice. Lucy also met the Qatari Minister of Justice to discuss ways in which solicitors and Qatari lawyers could develop professional links. After the Forum, Lucy travelled to the inaugural event of the Omani British Lawyers Association, founded to promote fellowship and good understanding between the legal professions in the United Kingdom and the Sultanate of Oman, and support the role of lawyers and the rule of law. Law Society members in both countries expressed appreciation of the support they receive from the Law Society, and I know that Lucy is confident that the contacts she has made will lead to further opportunities for reciprocal training and working arrangements in Qatar and Oman. Launch of our judicial network I was extremely pleased to launch our new Solicitors Judges Division this week at a well-attended event at Chancery Lane, addressed by Sir Gary Hickinbottom, who is currently the only solicitor judge in the High Court. The new division will create a community of solicitor judges in all courts and tribunals, providing support and networking opportunities for those members who aspire to judicial positions. The division has been developed in response to feedback from solicitor judges and I hope that it will serve to strengthen the connections between solicitor judges and the Society. I trust that a welcome by-product of the Solicitor Judges Division will be that more solicitors choose to follow in their footsteps. Membership is free and the division is open to any holder of a judicial appointment in either the courts or the tribunals, who is on the Roll of Solicitors. I hope that many members will find it useful. Regulation Conference I was invited to speak at a seminar on enforcing regulatory standards in a liberalised market, organised by Russell-Cooke and chaired by Lord Neuberger. My task was to respond to a substantial speech by David Edmonds, Chairman of the Legal Services Board (LSB), who spoke about the importance of the consumer interest in legal services regulation, the ability of well managed and efficient firms to thrive in the new legal services market and the likelihood of increased competition, much of which I agreed with. In my remarks. I made the point that much innovation in the future will be driven not by liberalisation but by the growth in the need for legal advice and representation on the part of those people, which will not be publicly funded. I expressed a wish that regulators should react quickly to new areas of risk and take effective mitigation steps to mitigate those areas of risk. I made clear my concern that some foreign Bars will seek to exclude UK ABS from their markets. I disagreed with Lord Neuberger's advocacy of a single regulator for each activity, in particular advocacy. Visit of Paris Bar I hosted a visit to the Law Society by the Batonnier of the Paris Bar and her colleagues, during which we discussed a wide range of issues affecting French avocats practising in England and Wales and solicitors practising in France (of whom there are several hundred in Paris alone), as well as the possibilities for future co-operation between our two bodies. Although there has recently been a change in law which allows minority investment in French law firms by members of certain other regulated professions, no liberalisation comparable to ours is in contemplation and the presence of ABS in France may prove to be controversial. Unsung legal heroes dinner Along with Lucy Scott-Moncrieff, I had the privilege of hosting a dinner at Carey Street for members of the profession who have, over their careers, given so much of their time to work on behalf of the legal profession, while seeking neither recognition or reward. I am aware that these few individuals are representative of many of our members who work tirelessly on behalf of their local community without any public acknowledgment. This dinner was an opportunity to say thank you. John Wotton President of the Law Society of England and Wales	LAW SOCIETY PROFESSIONAL UPDATE The Law Society makes this available to all solicitors on the roll. Click this link to subscribe Update 8.3.12 Update 17.2.12 Update 15.12.11 Update 1.12.11 PRACTICE NOTES Good Practice guidance from the Law Society Bribery Act Bankrupt Beneficiaries OFR Overview PRESS RELEASES 25.1.12 Solicitors and barristers will come closer together, says Law Society President 17.11.11 Sound Off for Justice Campaign 10.11.11 Law Society and SRA agree new governance arrangements 26.9.11 Scrap Telephone Gateway says Law Society as proceedings issued against Ken Clarke SRA HANDBOOK Download your copy via this link. LAW SOCIETY PRESIDENT'S UPDATE - Previous Updates 30th April 2012 23rd April 2012 16th April 2012 9th April 2012 26th March 2012 19th March 2012 12th March 2012 5th March 2012 27th February 2012 20th February 2012 13th February 2012 6th February 2012 30th January 2012 23th January 2012 16th January 2012 9th January 2012 6th January 2012 12th December 2011 5th December 2011 28th November 2011 21st November 2011 14th November 2011 17th October 2011 10th October 2011 3rd October 2011 26th September 2011 20th September 2011 5th September 2011 25th July 2011 18th July 2011 15th July 2011

President's Update

Week beginning 7^th May 2012

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Queen's Speech

This week the Government made clear their legislative programme for the coming parliamentary year. Major announcements from the Queen's Speech included:

· Children and Families Bill containing reforms to family law, including the creation of a six month time limit by which care cases must be completed.

· Crime and Courts Bill which will reform the judicial appointments process as well as establish a single County Court System and a single Family Court.

· Defamation Bill implementing the draft Defamation Bill.

· Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill, which will - among other provisions - overhaul the employment tribunal system, reform the framework for setting directors pay, reduce regulation and repeal unnecessary legislation.

We have issued a response to the Government's proposals which you can read by clicking here. At this stage our response is based on the small amount of information made public by the relevant Department but over the coming weeks the timetable by which the bills are announced will become clearer and the Law Society will engage in more detail with the legislative programme.

Vice-President's Visit to Qatar and Oman

At the start of the week Lucy Scott-Moncrieff attended an international legal form in Qatar to discuss the rule of law and its relevance to promoting a wide range of social, economic and political goals. There were lawyers and judges from over 60 different jurisdictions, with a strong delegation from the UK including Lord Woolf, Lord Judge, and the President of the Supreme Court, Lord Philips. Lucy spoke on a panel discussing legal professionalism and its relationship to the rule of law, highlighting our commitment to a fearless and independent legal profession and access to justice.

Lucy also met the Qatari Minister of Justice to discuss ways in which solicitors and Qatari lawyers could develop professional links. After the Forum, Lucy travelled to the inaugural event of the Omani British Lawyers Association, founded to promote fellowship and good understanding between the legal professions in the United Kingdom and the Sultanate of Oman, and support the role of lawyers and the rule of law.

Law Society members in both countries expressed appreciation of the support they receive from the Law Society, and I know that Lucy is confident that the contacts she has made will lead to further opportunities for reciprocal training and working arrangements in Qatar and Oman.

Launch of our judicial network

I was extremely pleased to launch our new Solicitors Judges Division this week at a well-attended event at Chancery Lane, addressed by Sir Gary Hickinbottom, who is currently the only solicitor judge in the High Court. The new division will create a community of solicitor judges in all courts and tribunals, providing support and networking opportunities for those members who aspire to judicial positions.

The division has been developed in response to feedback from solicitor judges and I hope that it will serve to strengthen the connections between solicitor judges and the Society. I trust that a welcome by-product of the Solicitor Judges Division will be that more solicitors choose to follow in their footsteps.

Membership is free and the division is open to any holder of a judicial appointment in either the courts or the tribunals, who is on the Roll of Solicitors. I hope that many members will find it useful.

Regulation Conference

I was invited to speak at a seminar on enforcing regulatory standards in a liberalised market, organised by Russell-Cooke and chaired by Lord Neuberger. My task was to respond to a substantial speech by David Edmonds, Chairman of the Legal Services Board (LSB), who spoke about the importance of the consumer interest in legal services regulation, the ability of well managed and efficient firms to thrive in the new legal services market and the likelihood of increased competition, much of which I agreed with. In my remarks. I made the point that much innovation in the future will be driven not by liberalisation but by the growth in the need for legal advice and representation on the part of those people, which will not be publicly funded. I expressed a wish that regulators should react quickly to new areas of risk and take effective mitigation steps to mitigate those areas of risk. I made clear my concern that some foreign Bars will seek to exclude UK ABS from their markets. I disagreed with Lord Neuberger's advocacy of a single regulator for each activity, in particular advocacy.

Visit of Paris Bar

I hosted a visit to the Law Society by the Batonnier of the Paris Bar and her colleagues, during which we discussed a wide range of issues affecting French avocats practising in England and Wales and solicitors practising in France (of whom there are several hundred in Paris alone), as well as the possibilities for future co-operation between our two bodies. Although there has recently been a change in law which allows minority investment in French law firms by members of certain other regulated professions, no liberalisation comparable to ours is in contemplation and the presence of ABS in France may prove to be controversial.

Unsung legal heroes dinner

Along with Lucy Scott-Moncrieff, I had the privilege of hosting a dinner at Carey Street for members of the profession who have, over their careers, given so much of their time to work on behalf of the legal profession, while seeking neither recognition or reward. I am aware that these few individuals are representative of many of our members who work tirelessly on behalf of their local community without any public acknowledgment. This dinner was an opportunity to say thank you.

John Wotton

President of the Law Society of England and Wales