President’s Review

AUGUST 2020

I knew when I became President of Hampshire Incorporated Law Society that it would come with certain tests along the way, however I was not quite expecting the situation that we have all ended up in. I commend the work of everyone through this time though, not only on the HILS committee but across the profession as a whole. I believe that many firms have made their own way through this and are starting to come out the other side. This is not to say that there will not still be testing times ahead, and some of the most testing may still be to come, but the way the profession is handling the situation, for the most part, seems to be very promising.

For our part, HILS are still working on ways we can help our members and the profession going forward. Discussion are on-going regarding our membership and we hope to make an announcement on this shortly. We have also responded to the National Law Society’s consultation on the practicing certificate fee and many of you may have seen a bit about this in our e-news mailshot sent around recently. We are still here and we are still working for the good of the profession and our members, therefore if there are any queries or suggestions then please do let us know.

For my part personally, this has been a bit of a scaled back year as President. Many events, dinners and conferences I would usually have attended have all been cancelled due to the pandemic but I am sure that the calendar of events will be full again next year and we can drive the society forward. The main thing is that the society is still here, our newly structured sub-committees are in full flow, and we are keeping active for the profession.

In terms of events, we will be holding our annual quiz still and although we cannot get together in person for a few drinks and some good food, we will be holding the same on a video conference platform for all to attend and bring your own food and drink. This will hopefully mean that we can get to see some of our colleagues in the north of the county who are just as an important part of our membership but sometimes find it difficult to make it to events in the south. I look forward to seeing many of you for that.

I wish you all well in the meantime and look forward to seeing you all once more, when we are further down the road of course. ■

James Gleisner

President

Hampshire Law Society