Presidents' and secretaries' conference 2017 5 and 6 May 2017 The Law Society
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Presidents' and secretaries' conference 2017
Programme: Friday 5 May
12:30 - 13:00 Registration and networking Reading room 12:45 - 13:50 Light lunch, exhibition and networking Reading The Law Society marketplace exhibition room Meet the conference sponsors
13:50 - 13:55 Welcome and introduction Common Nick Gurney-Champion, Council member and chair, Membership Board, room The Law Society
13:55 - 14:10 Opening address Common Robert Bourns, president, The Law Society room
14:10 - 14:20 The Law Society: challenges, changes and opportunities Common Paul Tennant, interim chief executive, The Law Society room
14:20 - 14:30 Photo call
14:30 - 14:35 Transfer time
14:35 - 15:20 Concurrent workshop session A A1: Engaging and attracting in-house solicitors Bell room Donna Harris, general counsel – real estate, Aviva Legal Services Tony Steiner MBA, executive director, Devon and Somerset Law Society Natasha Taylor, head of Advocacy, Essex County Council
A2: Media relations: a beginners guide Strand and Ben Davies, head of Media, The Law Society Fleet room Fran Eccles-Bech, chief executive, Manchester Law Society Clive Coleman, legal correspondent, BBC
A3: Sustainability for the future: membership retention and income Old Council generation Chamber Sushila Abraham, past president and Council member, Surrey Law Society Lynne Naylor, president, Swansea and District Law Society Becky Moyce, president, Bristol Law Society
15:20 - 15:45 Refreshments, networking and exhibition Reading room 15:45 - 15:50 Transfer time
15:50 - 16:35 Concurrent workshop session B B1: Engaging and attracting in-house solicitors Bell room Repeat of A1
B2: Media relations: a beginners guide Strand and Repeat of A2 Fleet room
B3: Sustainability for the future: membership retention and income Old Council generation Chamber Repeat of A3
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16:35 - 16:40 Transfer time
16:40 - 17:25 Panel session: How to effectively lobby at a local level Common Chair: Nick Gurney-Champion, Council member and chair, Membership room Board, The Law Society Speakers: Alexandra Cardenas, public affairs manager, The Law Society The Rt Hon Sir Edward Davey, former minister of Energy and MP of Kingston Jeremy Myers, parliamentary liaison officer, Liverpool Law Society
17:25 - 17:30 Day one closing remarks Common Nick Gurney-Champion room
Evening programme: Friday 5 May
19:15 Pre-dinner wine and beer tasting
20:00 Black tie conference dinner
Programme: Saturday 6 May
09:00 - 09:30 Registration, refreshments, networking and exhibition Reading room 09:30 - 09:35 Welcome and introduction Common Nick Gurney-Champion, Council member and chair, Membership Board, room The Law Society
09:35 - 09:50 Opening address Common Joe Egan, vice president, The Law Society room
09:50 - 10:40 Panel Session: How do other professions operate local membership Common bodies? room Chair: Nick Gurney-Champion, Council member and chair, Membership Board, The Law Society Speakers: Karen Brown, immediate past president of Bristol Chartered Insurance Institute and current chair of Education Matthew Fedigan, chair, North West UK Regional Board for Surveyors Susan Smith, president, South Eastern Society of Chartered Accountants Natalie Sykes, regional director, Institute of Directors
10:40 - 10:45 Transfer time
10:45 - 11:30 Concurrent workshop session C C1: Tech tools for running your local law society Old Council Mark Newby, Council member, The Law Society and solicitor advocate, Chamber Quality Solicitors Jordans Peter Wright, Council member, The Law Society and managing director, DigitalLawUK
C2: International activities for local law societies after Brexit Strand and Professor Sara Chandler QC, vice president, Federation des Barreaux Fleet room D'Europe, European Bars Federation
C3: Managing a consultation process Bell room Richard Miller, head of Justice, The Law Society Mark Paulson, head of Public and Criminal Law, The Law Society
11:30 - 11:55 Refreshments, networking and exhibition Reading room 11:55 - 12:00 Transfer time
12:00 - 12:45 Concurrent workshop session D1: Tech tools for running your local law society Old Council Repeat of C1 Chamber
D2: Small and medium sized local law societies: sharing ideas Bell room Jack Dunkley, relationship manager, The Law Society Rhys Jones, development executive, The Law Society
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D3: Large local law societies: sharing ideas Strand and Rav Hothi, head of Relationship Management Midlands and South West, Fleet room The Law Society Claire Quinn, relationship manager, The Law Society
12:45 - 12:50 Transfer time
12:50 - 13:10 Closing address Common Christina Blacklaws, deputy vice president, The Law Society room
13:10 - 13:20 Conference closing remarks Common Nick Gurney-Champion room
Presidents' and secretaries' conference 2017
Delegate list Correct as of 27/04/2017
First name Surname Job title Organisation
Sushila Abraham Council Member, Surrey The Law Society
Devon and Somerset Law Sue Aggett President-elect Society King's Lynn and West Norfolk Sapphire Aldham Honorary Secretary Law Society The Southport and Ormskirk Eve Austin President Law Society Suffolk and North Essex Law Fiona Bailey President Society
John Ballam President Liverpool Law Society
Director, Thames Valley Jac Barker Index Property Information Office The Yorkshire Union of Law David Barraclough President Societies Council Member, The Patricia Beeching The Law Society Welsh Marches
Christina Blacklaws Deputy Vice President The Law Society
Director, West Midlands Kate Bould Index Property Information Office
Robert Bourns President The Law Society
Kieran Bowe Honorary Secretary Surrey Law Society
Cambridgeshire and District Grace Brass President Law Society Chichester and District Law Nicola Brown President Society Cheshire and North Wales Mark Brown Honorary Secretary Law Society Bristol Chartered Insurance Karen Brown Immediate Past President Institute Council Member, Andrew Caplen Hampshire and the Isle of The Law Society Wight
Alexandra Cardenas Public Affairs Manager The Law Society
First name Surname Job title Organisation
Relationship Management Cath Carter The Law Society Executive - North Director, London North Gavin Casey Index Property Information West Office Vice President, Federation Professor Sara Chandler QC European Bars Federation des Barreaux D'Europe
James Chaplin Honorary Secretary West London Law Society
Clive Coleman Legal Correspondent BBC
Honorary Secretary and Laura Colville Hertfordshire Law Society Treasurer Sheffield and District Law Natalie Cosgrove President Society Council Member, Lawyers Beverley Cullen The Law Society in Local Government Former Minister of Energy Sir Edward Davey and MP of Kingston Council Member, Paul Davies The Law Society Hertfordshire
Ben Davies Head of Media The Law Society
Cheshire and North Wales Ron Davison President Law Society Cambridgeshire and District Karl Dembicki Vice President Law Society Relationship Manager - Jack Dunkley London, South East and The Law Society East Association of South Western Anthony Earl Vice President Law Societies
Fran Eccles-Bech Chief Executive Manchester Law Society
Joe Egan Vice President The Law Society
Russell Evans President Hampshire Law Society
Council Member, Cheshire Mark Evans The Law Society and North Wales North West UK Regional Matthew Fedigan Chair Board for Surveyors
Nina Ferris Vice President Liverpool Law Society
Cardiff and District Law Richard Fisher Honorary Secretary Society
First name Surname Job title Organisation
Jonathan Foster President Leicestershire Law Society
Relationship Manager - Bhavni Fowler London, South East and The Law Society East Hastings and District Law Debra Frazer Honorary Secretary Society
Lucy Fuggle Honorary Secretary West Cumberland Law Society
Council Member, Central Michael Garson The Law Society and South Middlesex
Mark Gough President Surrey Law Society
Council Member, David Greene The Law Society International Practice Council Member, Ethnic Shama Gupta The Law Society Minorities Council Member, Residential Conveyancing Nick Gurney-Champion The Law Society and Chair, Membership Board
Maurice Guyer Honorary Secretary Middlesex Law society
Jon Hainey President Manchester Law Society
Karen Hall Joint Honorary Secretary Bolton Law Society
Rosemary Hardwicke President Isle of Wight Law Society
Susan Harris President Leeds Law Society
General Counsel – Real Donna Harris Aviva Legal Services Estate Newcastle upon Tyne Law Mark Harrison Past President Society Devon and Somerset Law Chris Hart Honorary Secretary Society
Charles Hawtin Client Service Chancery Pii
Suffolk and Norfolk Essex Law Denise Head Deputy Vice President Society Confederation of South Wales Jonathan Hine President Law Societies
David Hobart Chief Executive City of London Law Society
Janine Hobson President Sunderland Law Society
First name Surname Job title Organisation Head of Relationship Rav Hothi Management - Midlands The Law Society and South West Head of Relationship Mark Hudson Management - London, The Law Society South East and East
Attia Hussain Vice President Hertfordshire Law Society
City of Westminster and Susie Hust Administrator Holborn Law Society
Vanda James President Kent Law Society
Tunbridge Wells and Daldeep Jaswal Vice President Tonbridge District Law Society
Katharine Jones President Dorset Law Society
Council Member, Charlie Jones The Law Society Merseyside and District Relationship Management Rhys Jones The Law Society Executive - Wales Director, Hertfordshire Talal Karama Index Property Information Office Bournemouth and District Law Mark Kiteley Honorary Secretary Society Council Member, Leicestershire, Linda Lee The Law Society Northamptonshire and Rutland Relationship Management Helen Lee The Law Society Executive - City Honorary Secretary and Zoe Lock Cornwall Law Society Treasurer Hastings and District Law Geoffrey Longmire President Society
Rebecca Mace Honorary Secretary Worthing Law Society
Jane MacGregor Senior Manager Leeds Law Society
Head of Relationship Valeria Manchaca The Law Society Management - In-house
Ian Marriott Director, Midlands Office Index Property Information
Bucks Berks Oxon Law Cyrus Medora President Society
Kathryn Meir President Nottinghamshire Law Society
Council Member, Lawyers David Merkel The Law Society with Disabilities Division
First name Surname Job title Organisation
Mike Metters President Worthing Law Society
Richard Miller Head of Justice The Law Society
Becky Moyce President Bristol Law Society
Katherine Moyse Honorary Secretary Bristol Law Society
Parliamentary Liaison Jeremy Myers Liverpool Law Society Officer Council Member, West Michael Nathan The Law Society London Swansea and District Law Lynne Naylor President Society
Mark Newby Council Member, Yorkshire The Law Society
Tim O'Sullivan Council Member, Dorset The Law Society
Emma Palmer Honorary Secretary Kent Law Society
Head of Public and Mark Paulson The Law Society Criminal Law
Christine Pick Past President Yorkshire Law Society
Relationship Management Beth Quinn The Law Society Executive Assistant Relationship Manager - Claire Quinn The Law Society North Southport and Ormskirk Law Robert Ratcliffe Honorary Secretary Society Tunbridge Wells Tonbridge Iain Reed Honorary Secretary and District Law Society Council Member, Inner Patrick Richards The Law Society Sussex Relationship Manager - Sarah Richards The Law Society Midlands and South West Council Member, Peter Rodd The Law Society Commercial Property
April Ross Honorary Secretary Isle of Wight Law Society
Martyn Santer President West Essex Law Society
Cerys Sayer Honorary Secretary Sussex Law Society
Cardiff and District Law Rachelle Sellek Senior Vice President Society
First name Surname Job title Organisation Relationship Management James Shepherd Executive - Midlands and The Law Society South West Bournemouth and District Law Nigel Smith President Society South Eastern Society of Susan Smith President Chartered Accountants Peterborough and District Law Kirstie Sowter President Society East Anglian Region Local Graham Spittle Administrator Law Societies
Ariyaratnarajah Sriharan President Middlesex Law Society
Nicola Steadman Honorary Secretary Westmorland Law Society
Devon and Somerset Law Tony Steiner MBA Executive Director Society
Simon Stevens President Derby Law Society
Nathalie Stewart President Hull Incorporated Law Society
Berks Bucks and Oxfordshire Simon Stone Honorary Secretary Incorporated Law Society
Natalie Sykes Regional Director Institute of Directors
Paddy Synnott Client Service Miller Insurance Services
Natasha Taylor Head of Advocacy Essex County Council
Paul Tennant Interim Chief Executive The Law Society
Lucy Theobald President Cornwall Law Society
Jeff Thomas President West Wales Law Society
David Travis Joint Honorary Secretary Manchester Law Society
Clare Tuck Regional Sales Consultant Quill
Council Member, The City Nehal Vasani The Law Society of Westminster
Lorna West Member South London Law Society
Stuart Whaley Director, East Anglia Office Index Property Information
First name Surname Job title Organisation
Jeremy Wilkes Honorary Secretary South East Kent Law Society
Susan Williams President Plymouth Law Society
Council Member, Mike Williams Bedfordshire and The Law Society Cambridgeshire
Dermot Winters Vice President Tees Valley Law Society
Peter Wright Council Member, Yorkshire The Law Society
Tunbridge Wells and Philip Youdan President Tonbridge District Law Society
Presidents' and secretaries' conference 2017
Speaker biographies In alphabetical order
Sushila Abraham, past president and council member, Surrey Law Society Sushila is a past president of the Surrey Law Society standing as president in 2014 to 2015. She is a sole practitioner in Surbiton and has a general practice but her main area of expertise is Family Law. She is a past chairman of the Sole Practitioners Group (2009 to 2010), an executive committee member and is the conference organiser for the group. She was elected as a Council member for Surrey in July 2015.
Christina Blacklaws, deputy vice president, The Law Society and chief operating officer, Cripps LLP Christina studied Jurisprudence at the University of Oxford and qualified as a solicitor in 1991. A family lawyer by background; she has successfully run and managed both large scale high-street and virtual law firms. Christina set up the Co-operative Legal Services family law offering in 2011 and then moved into the role of director of Policy. Christina now holds the role of chief operating officer at a top 100 firm, Cripps LLP and is responsible for strategic change and operational management. Christina has an extensive record of high-profile representative roles, which currently includes a public appointment as an executive member of the Family Justice Council and trustee of the pro bono charity, LawWorks. She is a long-standing member of the Law Society's Council, representing the Women Lawyers Division; the author of numerous articles, a well-known speaker and lecturer and a frequent media commentator.
Robert Bourns, president, The Law Society Robert is the former senior partner at TLT and the president of the Law Society. Robert began his training in 1978 at Osborne Clarke and qualified in 1980. For the first six years as a solicitor he undertook criminal defence work, later moving to employment, partnership and regulatory work. Robert has significant experience managing and developing a growing business across the UK, having been managing partner for six years and more recently senior partner at TLT. He has been involved in local law societies for many years, having been a secretary and president of Bristol Law Society and secretary of the Association of South Western Law Societies. Robert joined Council in 2011 and is an elected member of the Management Board. He is one of five representatives for the City of London constituency, a member of the Law Society's Equality and Diversity Committee and a member of the RAB Regulatory Processes Committee.
Karen Brown, immediate past president of Bristol Chartered Insurance Institute and current chair of Education A member of the Chartered Insurance Institute for more than 30 years, ACII qualified and a Chartered Insurance Broker, in 2010 Karen was the inaugural recipient of Chartered Insurance Broker of the Year from the CII. Karen is the immediate past president of the Insurance Institute of Bristol and has chaired the Education Committee for six years whose responsibility is maintaining the CPD program for almost 4,000 members. In addition to the IIB, during her career Karen has been involved with local institutes in London, Mid-Kent and Sussex. Karen now practices as a civil mediator and lectures on all aspects of negotiation, risk management, fraud awareness and prevention. Outside of work, she is a school governor (20 + years) and is actively involved in several educational trusts and charities as a trustee and in an NED capacity.
Alexandra Cardenas, public affairs manager, The Law Society Alexandra is public affairs manager at the Law Society. She is a dual qualified solicitor in England and Wales, and in Colombia. Prior to the Society, she practiced as a human rights lawyer representing the Colombian government in cases being heard in the Interamerican Commission of Human Rights and the UN Human Rights Committee. She also worked in corporate and commercial law for a medium size law firm. Alexandra currently leads on the development of the external stakeholder engagement strategy for the Society.
Professor Sara Chandler QC, vice president, Federation des Barreaux D'Europe, European Bars Federation Sara is past president of City of Westminster and Holborn Law Society, and South London Law Society, member of the Law Society Human Rights Committee and vice president of the Federation of European Bar Associations. She is also visiting professor at London South Bank University. She has worked for 15 years in law centres, five years in legal aid firms and nine years at the College of Law. Sara is a founder member of Colombia Caravana, an international network of lawyers in 15 jurisdictions, which supports lawyers at risk. Sara trained lawyers in Uganda, Zambia and Nigeria working with local law societies, establishing networks of legal aid providers, and pro bono schemes. In February 2016, Sara was made an Honorary QC.
Clive Coleman, legal correspondent, BBC Clive is the BBC’s legal correspondent, a role he arrived at via a career as a barrister and principal lecturer in law. Clive covers a broad range of domestic and international legal stories and issues. He works across television and radio news, appearing regularly on the Today programme, Radio 5 Live, Breakfast, The News Channel and BBC news bulletins.
The Rt Hon Sir Edward Davey, former minister of Energy and MP of Kingston The Rt Hon Sir Ed Davey was Kingston and Surbiton’s MP (Liberal Democrat) between 1997 and 2015, serving in the Coalition, first as business minister, and then in the Cabinet, as secretary of state for Energy and Climate Change (2012 to 2015). Ed led the UK’s low carbon transition, reforming electricity markets, trebling renewable power, brokering a deal for the EU’s 2030 climate targets and launching policies to boost energy market competition. After the 2015 election, Ed set up a business – Energy Destinations – consulting in the energy space, and is now standing for Parliament again.
Ben Davies, head of Media, The Law Society Ben spent 16 years as a journalist mostly covering politics at Westminster working for the Press Association, BBC then the New Statesman before making the move into media relations. He has run the Law Society’s media team since February 2016 having previously held similar roles in global NGOs including Amnesty International.
Jack Dunkley, relationship manager, The Law Society Jack’s legal experience has predominantly been in family law and wills and Probate, from within a small firm in Buckinghamshire. In 2012 Jack left legal practice to specialise in Court of protection matters and went to work at the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) where he was responsible for the management and oversight of more than 90 Court of Protection Visitors and a professional panel of 70 solicitor deputies. As the senior executive involved in ensuring the compliance of solicitor deputies, Jack was asked to contribute to the Law Society's Private Client Section magazine (PS Magazine) and his article 'In their Shoes' was published by us on 19th January 2016. Two months later Jack came to work for the Law Society.
Fran Eccles Bech, chief executive, Manchester Law Society Fran joined Manchester Law Society as a secretary 29 years ago, (she tells people she was a child prodigy!), and became its chief executive in 1996. Fran is a powerful advocate for her members. With her detailed knowledge of, and contacts in the legal profession, and the wider business community, under her leadership, Manchester Law Society is a dynamic and respected organisation. Her hobbies include walking the dog, gardening but only in the summer, shopping (NOT window), cooking for friends, reading when she gets a minute, trying to ride her motorbike (but she is a fair-weather rider and, she says, “only when I can fit into my leathers”) and very sadly, reality tv shows.
Joe Egan, vice president, The Law Society Joe was admitted in 1982 and set up his own firm in 1986, specialising in criminal law. Joe became the first solicitor in Bolton to achieve the right to appear in the Crown courts when he was granted higher rights in 1995. Based in Bolton, his firm has expanded to include matrimonial, personal injury, civil litigation and property work.
For over 15 years, Joe has been joint honorary secretary of Bolton Law Society, where he was also a past president. Since 1996, he has represented solicitors in Lancashire and Greater Manchester on the Law Society's Council. Joe is a member of the Bolton College Audit Committee and is chair of Citizens Advice Bolton.
Matthew Fedigan, chair, North West UK Regional Board for Surveyors Matthew’s role as director of Domec Professional Services is predominantly focused around delivering a portfolio of asset and FM optimisation, safety and commercial premises related services for leading clients within the logistic, commercial, banking and public sectors. Matthew has had a wide and varied career to date, leading a variety of multidisciplinary teams in both the UK, Europe and UAE on well recognised and nationally significant projects. Matthew is chair of RICS North West UK board representing the views of circa 10,000 professionals and has contributed to a range of industry related and award winning research. He is a member of Liverpool John Moores University Industrial liaison panel and in November 2016, Matthew won both the RICS international young facilities management surveyor of the year award and the overall RICS international Young surveyor of the year award in London. Matthew is a regular commentator and presenter on industry and business related issues at conferences and in industry related media and publications.
Nick Gurney-Champion, Council member and chair, Membership Board, The Law Society Nick Gurney-Champion is managing partner of Gurney-Champion & Co, a general high street firm with offices in Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight. He specialises in residential and commercial property law and various other areas of general legal practice. He is the Law Society Council member for residential conveyancing and chair of the Membership Board. Nick is a past president of Hampshire Incorporated Law Society and sits on its executive committee. He is currently President of the Southern Area Association of Law Societies.
Donna Harris, general counsel – real estate, Aviva Legal Services Donna has worked in-house for Aviva ( formerly Norwich Union) for 25 years having worked in private practice in Norwich before that. Her in-house career has covered a wide range of work including corporate restructures, data protection and legal risk management. She is currently head of the in-house team of real estate lawyers who provide support to Aviva Investors property holdings, and leads on professional conduct and regulatory issues for the wider Aviva in-house legal team. She is a member of the In-house Committee of the Law Society.
Rav Hothi, head of Relationship Management Midlands and South West, The Law Society Rav has worked for the Law Society since 2005, with a background in the law he has represented the members in a variety of roles across the country as part of the relationship management team. In 2013 Rav was appointed regional manager, Midlands based in the region and responsible for managing the Society’s relationships with the 12,500 members in the area. Most recently Rav was appointed head of relationship management (Midlands/Southwest) in 2016, responsible for setting and delivering the Society’s strategic engagement with the Society’s members in these areas.
Rhys Jones, development executive, The Law Society Rhys grew up in South Wales and studied LLB Law at Cardiff University before completing the Legal Practice Course at Swansea University. He worked at a number of firms in Cardiff before joining the Law Society in April 2012 as the development executive at the Wales Office. His role is to build relationships with the profession and to represent their views to key stakeholders.
Rhys is a committee member of Reaching Justice Wales, a charity which supports pro bono and advice agencies in Wales. A keen runner, he is in final preparations for the Edinburgh Marathon.
Richard Miller, head of Justice, The Law Society Richard qualified as a solicitor in 1992, and worked for eight years in a small high street legal aid firm in Kent. In 2000, he became the first full time director of the Legal Aid Practitioners Group, where he was responsible for preparing the Group’s policy responses to a whole host of government consultations on changes to the legal aid system. In August 2007, he became head of legal aid at the Law Society, where since 2010 he has led the work against Part one of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill, and has headed up the Society’s Access to Justice Campaign. He has also been engaged for the third time in ten years in the battle against the Government’s attempt to introduce competitive tendering for criminal defence services.
Jeremy Myers, parliamentary liaison officer, Liverpool Law Society Jeremy practices in Husband Forwood Morgan, a five-solicitor firm in Liverpool’s city centre. He conducts a variety of civil and commercial litigation mainly comprising debt recovery and its defence, commercial as well as residential landlord and tenant, inheritance and probate claims, and recently Court of Protection deputyship applications. A lifelong Merseysider, Jeremy was educated at Merchant Taylors’ School, Crosby, and Liverpool University (LLB Hons). He attended the College of Law, Chester, and was Admitted in 1991. Jeremy’s role as Liverpool Law Society’s parliamentary liaison officer since 2015 is in the context of having been the Conservative Party’s European Parliamentary candidate for Merseyside West (1996 By-Election), and its Parliamentary candidate in West Lancashire (2001 General Election).
Lynne Naylor president, Swansea and District Law Society Lynne was born in Yorkshire, migrated to South Wales to read Economics at Swansea University, and then decided to be a solicitor. Initially her practice was criminal defence and she supported the Law Society as a member of the Criminal Law Committee and Crown Court Rules Committee. She joined the Law Society Children’s panel at its inception providing training to practitioners. She is the current president of the Swansea and District Law Society, and is engaged with Swansea University in setting up a Children’s Legal Centre in Wales.
Mark Newby, Council member, The Law Society and solicitor advocate, Quality Solicitors Jordans Mark Newby is a solicitor advocate and principal member of QualitySolicitors Jordans, Doncaster . He practices miscarriage of justice law / complex crime. Mark is a Council member for the Yorkshire Constituency and also sits on the Criminal Law and Scrutiny, Performance and Review Committee. He is the immediate past president of Doncaster Law Society and guided the Society from closure to a rapidly growing and progressive society. Mark previously was the national secretary of the National Association of Round Tables and has experience in implementing website projects from simple sites to substantial website provision.
Mark Paulson, head of Public and Criminal Law, The Law Society Leading the Law Society's policy work in AML, children, criminal, housing, human rights, immigration, mental health and capacity law and practice, along with (for the time being) company, competition, employment, financial services, family, intellectual property, tax, EU and private client law and practice.
Claire Quinn, relationship manager, The Law Society Claire grew up in the North West of England, and then studied a law degree at King’s College in London. She returned to the North West in 1998 to complete her Legal Practice Course at Chester College of Law, and then commenced a training contract with DLA Piper. Following qualification, Claire practised as a real estate solicitor at DLA Piper in their Manchester office until 2013, before becoming a partner in the Real Estate team at Irwin Mitchell in Manchester.
Claire was a board member at the Hammond School of Performing Arts in Chester. In June 2016, Claire took up the position of relationship manager (North) of the Law Society of England and Wales.
Susan Smith, president, South Eastern Society of Chartered Accountants Susan is a teaching fellow at the University of Sussex tutoring and lecturing on undergraduate and postgraduate modules since 2013. She runs the Sussex Study Experience in Business which aims to widen participation at university across society through giving school students an extended insight through short programme. She is also responsible for embedding a holistic employability strategy within the Business and Management Department. She is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales with a LLB in Law from The University of Edinburgh. She is the president of the South Eastern Society of Chartered Accountants, an area with over 9,000 members working across practice, business, public sector and the third sector. Susan regularly mentors and judges on the ICAEW BASE programme which provides schools with the opportunity to take part in a business challenge and understand what it is like to be a Chartered Accountant. Susan is co-chair of the BAFA South Eastern Area Group and member of the BAFA Executive Committee. She has acted as a reviewer for the Journal of Applied Accounting Research and Accounting Education Journal.
Tony Steiner MBA, executive director, Devon and Somerset Law Society Tony first came to work for Devon and Exeter Incorporated Law Society at the end of 1994 and again in March 1995. He came to help out for a few weeks as a part-time administrative assistant. He graduated in 1994 from the University of Plymouth with a Degree in Law (LLB) and in 2013 from the University of Exeter with a Masters in Business Administration (MBA). He looks after many of the commercial services including the recruitment agency provided by DASLS, he chairs the Education and Training Sub-Committee and supports the Practice Management Sub-Committee and DASLS In-House Lawyers’ Group.
Natasha Taylor, head of Advocacy, Essex County Council Natasha works at ELS the legal department at Essex County Council. She is the head of the Advocacy and Enforcement Team which provides a litigation service to the Council. Areas within the team are diverse ranging from child protection, Trading Standards to environmental matters.
Natasha has worked at ELS for 13 years. Before working for the Council Natasha was a legal advisor in the Magistrates Courts.
Natasha case manages and represents the Council on the more complex issues and enjoys full rights of audience having qualified as a solicitor advocate in both the civil and the criminal Courts.
Paul Tennant, interim chief executive, The Law Society Paul is a senior housing professional with 35 years’ experience, nearly half of which as a chief executive, and the last 14 years as group chief executive of Orbit. He has a passion for finding solutions to the housing crisis and successfully built Orbit into a diverse multi tenure business with 40,000 homes, a turnover of £300m and a loan book of £1.3bn becoming the second biggest developing Housing Association in the country. Paul took an innovative commercial approach to maximising the Housing Association business model using direct development, joint ventures and partnerships to develop market sales, affordable housing and Private Rented Sector homes.
An experienced transformational leader, providing vision, ambition and direction, with a track record of achieving culture change, inspiring and engaging people. An innovative thinker challenging organisations to deliver more and drive changes. Paul led the 2020 Vision work for Orbit and created the transformation programme to deliver the organisations targets.
Paul has experience of influencing government policy and has held a number of external board member and representative roles and was invited to become a member of the Lord Heseltine Regeneration Taskforce. He is currently chair of the Procurement Consortia and a member of the board of the Chartered Institute of Housing in Canada where he also lectures on transformation and culture change. He provides coaching to senior executives and retains an interest in social issues, notably child poverty as a housing ambassador for Child Poverty Action Group. Paul previously represented the housing profession as the President of the CIH and undertook numerous speaking engagements on a range of issues in the UK and abroad, he was awarded an OBE in 2016 for services to housing.
Peter Wright, Council member, The Law Society and managing director, DigitalLawUK Peter is a solicitor and leading expert in data protection, cyber security and social media law. As managing director of DigitalLawUK, he advises clients from across the UK, Europe, Middle East and North America and has a strong following in the creative and digital sector. Peter is author of the Law Society Cyber Security Toolkit published in 2016 and is the immediate past chair of the Law Society's Technology and Law Reference Group and is the Law Society Council member for Yorkshire. Shortlisted in the 2016 Law Society Excellence Awards, DigitalLawUK is the only specialist law firm in the UK to provide advice solely on data protection, cybersecurity, social media law and e– commerce, advising corporate clients on the conduct of their business online. Through the innovative use of smartphone Apps, Podcasts, social media and interactive training & education, DigitalLawUK has pioneered the use of technology to market and deliver legal services to its clients. Peter is a regular speaker at events including the Law Society Risk & Compliance Conference, the British Legal Technology Forum and Computers, Privacy & Data Protection 2017. Peter also produces the regular DigitalLawUK podcast and you can follow him on Twitter on Twitter at @DigitalLawUK.
Presidents' and secretaries' conference 2017
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What our clients say
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“We can’t thank Chancery Pii enough for the professional service that they provide and the personal touch that really sets them above other competitors. Despite being a small Law Firm, they provide all the reassurance that our business is valuable to them. Chancery Pii make the insurance process quick and easy and it is reassuring that we have their level of support.” Sonny Chall, CSB Solicitors Limited
More information www.miller-insurance.com/solicitorspi www.chancerypii.co.uk
Presidents' and secretaries' conference 2017
Exhibitors
Quill Pinpoint Quill is the leading supplier of legal accounts software and outsourced cashiering services in the UK. With some 40 years’ industry experience, and remaining privately owned, Quill is the first choice for many start-ups and small-to-medium sized law firms. Interactive, its hosted accounts and practice management software, is used by nearly 5000 solicitors, cashiers and support staff. Pinpoint, its outsourced cashiering service, is used by over 300 law firms across England and Wales. This unique combination of cutting-edge software development skills and legal accounting expertise means that Quill’s solutions help legal professionals with their SRA Accounts Rules, data protection, money laundering and other regulatory compliance obligations.
T: 0161 236 2910 www.quill.co.uk
LawCare LawCare is the charity that supports and promotes good mental health and wellbeing in the legal community throughout the UK and Ireland. Our key service is a free, independent and confidential Helpline, which is available 365 days a year on 0800 279 6888. A wealth of information, including helpful resources and factsheets, is available to download from our website.
T: 0800 279 6888 www.lawcare.org.uk
SBA The Solicitors’ Charity SBA The Solicitors’ Charity is the benevolent fund for solicitors past and present, and their families. We now use the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s ‘Minimum Income Standard’ to determine access to our services, which include help with career transition, grants and interest- free loans (usually secured), and access to personal insolvency advice.
T: 020 8675 6440 W: www.sba.org.uk
Presidents' and secretaries' conference 2017
Law Society marketplace
Brand and Corporate Communications Team The Brand and Corporate Communications team leads on strategic corporate communications and controls the Law Societies brand. We also produce thought leadership publication such as the Access Denied? LASPO four years on report and member focused publications like the Member Handbook and Key messages leaflets and lead on the annual PC fee consultation.
The team leads the Solicitor Brand campaign promoting the profession and the six key values of the solicitor brand. The campaign - which features our members - includes outdoor and online advertising, as well as videos, animations and infographics for use on a variety of social media platforms leading people to our Find A Solicitor website. The campaign encourages consumers and businesses to use a solicitor by highlighting the expertise and value solicitors bring to resolving their clients problems.
We are working with colleagues and members to promote England and Wales as the global centre for legal services, emphasising that it makes good business sense to choose English and Welsh law as the international law for contracts, choose our courts as the forum for settling disputes and to choose London as a destination for arbitration.
Communities Team We work with teams across the organisation to direct both the day-to-day running of the Sections and Divisions, and their future development. We also manage the Law Society's work around careers in the law.
Our people Barbara Beckles – manages the Law Management Section and Small Firms Division Priya Krishnan - manages the In-house Division Andrew Moroney – manages the Property and Civil Justice Sections Baljit Matharu – manages the Advocacy and Family Sections Denise Murphy – manages the Private Client and Competition Sections Rita Oscar – manages the Law Society's work around careers in the law, from school age to retirement and beyond Yvonne Treacy – manages the Junior Lawyers Division
International The International team of the Law Society of England and Wales works to represent, support and promote the Law Society's members across the globe. We endeavour to ensure that our members are well positioned in the international marketplace to represent their clients and to continue to build their international networks and compete for work in the future. The Law Society remains committed to maintaining the leading position of English and Welsh law firms internationally. We also work to promote the best standards within the profession and represent colleagues suffering discrimination or persecution. We are deeply involved in the promotion of human rights, the rule of law and access to justice for everyone, focusing specifically on the legal profession abroad.
International Objectives and activities:
Represent members to advance liberalisation of the global legal profession and work with member firms wishing to establish in key markets.
Support business development: offer practical support, training, information and advice to member firms exploring international opportunities.
Promote England and Wales as the global jurisdiction of choice for English legal services and the rule of law.
Support the legal profession abroad by upholding the rule of law and international human rights. We developed the rule of law programmes, composed of: lawyers at risk, business and human rights, capacity building of foreign law societies, women and the law, governance (with a focus on anti- corruption).
The International department is composed of 14 members: the head of international, six regional policy advisers focusing on the commercial aspect of the team's work, the international programmes manager, the international human rights policy adviser, the international coordinator and the team administrator.
Legal Policy Working with a wide range of internal and external partners, the role of the Legal and Regulatory Policy directorate is to inform and influence policy, legal reform and legislation in England and Wales and, where relevant, European law, to protect and promote access to justice, and to create a favourable environment for members. Regulation, administration of justice and ensuring fair competition within the legal environment are key areas of focus.
We promote the public interest and solicitors by influencing law and practice through responses to government consultations, submissions to parliament and engagement with stakeholders. We promote professional standards by providing authoritative guidance to members through Practice Notes and informing the development of accreditation schemes associated with our areas of law.
Membership Services Membership Services, led by executive director Peter Liver, is at the heart of supporting the membership. We focus on delivering products and services to meet the needs of the modern legal profession, ensuring our members have the right tools to deliver world-class legal services.
Education and Learning Our accreditation teams develop and deliver a diverse range of practice area specific accreditations awarded to an individual or a practice, including Lexcel, the legal practice quality mark for excellence in legal practice management and client care. The accreditations promote high standards and ensure clients are easily able to identify legal practitioners with proven competency. The events team organise hundreds of high-quality events throughout England and Wales covering all areas of law and special interest issues. Delivered by expert speakers from around the world, our events provide the latest information and networking opportunities for members. The Professional Development Centre (PDC) is the home for legal learning. Our eLearning portal that was specifically designed to support members with their continuing competence requirements. Our publications team has a growing list of over 170 books aimed at supporting solicitors in their professional practice and keeping them abreast of the latest legal developments.
Knowledge and Information Our library is one of the best legal libraries in England and Wales with an extensive collection of over 55,000 printed law titles and online resources. Our team of experienced law librarians can assist members in finding the information they need. There’s no need to visit the library to use our services; we can be contacted by phone or email and members can leave their enquiry with us. We respond to around 10,000 research enquires per annum, and also deliver documents via our Lawdocs service. The Practice Advice Service (PAS) is a telephone based helpline for members which offers free and confidential support and advice on a wide range of areas of law including anti-money laundering, conveyancing, private client, solicitors’ costs, litigation and much more. The Support Centre provides a first response to enquiries coming into the Law Society. The customer service officers answer a variety of calls and emails on behalf of the business, and where people do need to speak to an expert they connect them to the right team. Our Find a Solicitor telephone helpline supports the online website and provides assistance to members of the public. Our team answer thousands of calls every month and direct members of the public to local solicitors.
The Gazette The Gazette is the most widely read legal magazine with an excellent reputation for providing legal news, features, analysis and commentary. Traditionally a print magazine, the Gazette now has a huge readership online through the website and via the apps designed for iPads and Android tablets. Members can also sign up for our Daily News, to receive the best of the Gazette online, directly via email.
Public Affairs Public Affairs is part of the wider Directorate of the CEO and is made up of the following business units: Westminster Public Affairs Wales Office International - including the Joint Brussels Office of the UK Law Societies
The Westminster Public Affairs team carries out the following functions: Lobbying and influencing Whitehall and Westminster on the priority issues of the Society including Brexit, access to justice, human rights, regulation, and others. Campaigns management and development on justice and legal issues affecting the profession or the justice system. External stakeholder engagement and overall coordination of the Society's high influence/high interest stakeholders. The team is carrying out the following workstreams in relation to: Brexit: o External stakeholder engagement. We lead on the Law Society's engagement work on Brexit and legal services with ministers and officials in the UK and at EU level and coordinate the organisation's written and oral evidence to a number of government departments and parliamentary select committees.
Access to Justice: o External stakeholder engagement. We lead on the Society's engagement with ministers and officials on justice issues. We coordinate regular meetings with the Lord Chancellor and the main officials at the Ministry of Justice and are lobbying against civil justice reforms the Prisons and Courts Bill.
Human Rights and Legal Professional Privilege: o Lobbying on the implementation of the Investigatory Powers Act 2016.. Last year, after lobbying efforts of the Law Society and others, the Government conceded that Legal
Professional Privilege (protecting confidentiality of client-lawyer communications) should be protected on the face of Act. o Business and human rights, including the Modern Slavery Act. We lead the organisation's work in Parliament on business and human rights and the implementation of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. Regulation: o External stakeholder engagement. We lead on the Society's engagement with ministers and parliamentarians on regulatory issues. We support the regulatory affairs team with external stakeholder engagement following the publication of the CMA report.
Research Unit The Law Society's Research Unit is responsible for providing key insights which underpin the work of many functions carried out by the Law Society in delivering its strategic aim to support, promote and represent solicitors. Specifically, the team provides information both internally and externally on; issues facing solicitors and the environments they operate in, the wider legal services market and the drivers of future change in the legal sector.
Risk and Compliance Service The Risk and Compliance Service was established in 2008 to help legal practitioners stay up-to-date with all the regulatory obligations affecting them. Since then we have enhanced our membership service to keep you and your staff up-to-date with relevant news and features, including:
· New website content · Monthly e-newsletters · Four topical and inclusive webinars · Discounts on seminars, conferences and books.
Our aim is to provide our members you with relevant information and valuable tailored advice across a range of regulatory challenges including:
· anti-money laundering · business continuity · client care and complaints handling · continuing competence · cyber security · data protection · outcomes-focused regulation · PI insurance · compliance with the SRA Handbook.
Keeping up with your compliance obligations and safeguarding your business is crucial in the face of ongoing changes to the legal regulatory landscape.
The Risk and Compliance Advisory Service can provide you with more tailored advice, bespoke support and training, relevant to your firm and delivered face-to-face by one of our expert risk and compliance advisors.
We offer a highly trusted source of information and expertise and work with you to understand your current risk profile and to ensure you have what you need to implement any required mitigating measures.
Speaker presentations will be available to download on Monday 8 May.