7 minute read
Council Members Report Spring 2025
ADRIENNE EDGERLEY HARRIS, Council Member
YOUR VOICE AT THE LAW SOCIETY
Council Members Report
Spring 2025
Welcome to my latest update on what has been happening since my last report towards the end of 2024.
There have been two Council Meeting, one in December 2024, followed by a 2-day Strategic Planning Meeting in February 2025. The latter was an opportunity for Council Members to identify what is important for TLS to focus on over the period 2025-2028.
TLS Strategic plan for the next 3-years
The key tenets affecting us as Law Society members are
- to support access to justice and the rule of law
- expand the “membership offer”- such as through the Get Involved programme- and supporting the many different segments of the profession, noting that (a) the number of firms is decreasing, whilst the number of solicitors is increasing, particularly in-house solicitors (21% of all solicitors, as compared with 62% in private practice or working as sole practitioners); and considering whether the SQE is fit for purpose (training being an area run solely by the SRA).
- the economic, social and governance impact of our services,
- the impact of emerging technologies, such as AI, on members
The Plan for 2025-2028 will now be formulated taking views in to account from this meeting and from various roundtables that have taken place in recent months.
It will come back to Council for final approval, probably at the next meeting on 7 May 2025.
The SRA
The key headline here is that the Chief Executive, Paul Philip, has tendered his resignation and will be leaving the SRA in October this year. Meanwhile, Anna Bradley, the SRA Board Chair, who was due to step down in December 2024, had her tenure extended until the end of 2026. The reason given for halting the recruitment to her post was the need “to maintain stability” at board level.
What effect the report findings from the Axiom Ince debacle has had on these decisions is difficult to know for sure. Meanwhile, a report is due from the same solicitors on another collapse, of SSB, and the findings will, I anticipate, make for interesting reading.
TLS has submitted a robust reply to the SRA’s consultation on solicitors holding client money, possible safeguards and on proposals to change the way contributions to the compensation Fund are made. We await the SRA’s response.
December 2024 update from TLS President, Richard Atkinson
I set out these points, so you are aware of the level of activity on your behalf:
1. The President had continued to be a vocal advocate for criminal legal aid funding and the announcement of additional funding for police station and Youth Court work was very welcome. Solicitors who worked or commuted to work in areas with fewer than two legal providers, as well as the Isle of Wight, would have their travel reimbursed. The Law Society looked forward to working with the Lord Chancellor as she considered next steps.
2. In recent days the government had announced £20m to increase civil legal aid fees for immigration and housing – the first increase for civil legal aid providers since the mid-1990s. This was encouraging, though a commitment to much-needed investment in other areas of civil and criminal legal aid was also needed. As well as meeting with the Lord Chancellor and Law Officers, the President had met MPs from all parties to build support for increased legal aid and tackling the courts backlog. The General Election had seen a significant number of solicitors entering Parliament, and the President looked forward to working with them. He had also met the new Chair of the Justice Select Committee, Andy Slaughter MP, to discuss his plans as Chair and the key issues facing solicitors.
3. Members of both Houses of Parliament were following the independent review into the SRA’s handling of the Axiom Ince fallout with interest. The report made it clear that the SRA handled the case inadequately and ineffectively. The Law Society continued to believe that the problems identified in the report could be fixed, but the LSB must insist that the SRA puts its house in order and that the SRA’s management and governance concentrates on its core responsibilities. The SRA was currently undertaking a public consultation on potential changes to how and when law firms handle client money and how that money is protected. The Law Society would ensure that solicitors’ views were fully and robustly communicated in its response.
4. The President had promoted his Justice Matters presidential theme at every opportunity. Alongside regular meetings with MPs, he attended a roundtable co-hosted by the Lord Chancellor and the Secretary of State for Business and Trade to discuss the role of legal services in enabling growth. He also attended a Parliamentary dinner on the value of the UK legal sector, where he spoke to the Attorney General and stakeholders.
5. The President championed our legal services sector on visits to Malaysia, Singapore and the Four Jurisdictions meeting with Scottish, Irish and Northern Irish counterparts. He had also spoken about the justice sector in several newspapers and on radio and television.
6. The President had begun engaging with firms and local law societies, including speaking at DAC Beachcroft’s lawyers’ liability conference, and attending the Tunbridge Wells, Tonbridge and District Law Society Annual Dinner. Many planned local law society visits would coincide with the bicentennial tour, starting in 2025, and he hoped to meet many members in the course of it.
7. The President had established relationships with in-house members in the military legal services through meeting with the Director of Army Legal Services and the Head of the RAF Legal Services, and shared with them work on our ethics programme.
8. The President had chaired an event with the Lady Chief Justice and senior members of the profession to discuss judicial opportunities, and the importance of solicitor representation in the judiciary. This work was ongoing.
Support for members appearing before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal
Donna Taylor as Chair [of the special committee of enquiry on this topic] presented the Committee’s first report. The Committee had agreed its terms of reference and had created a workplan and list of key players who, it considered, would provide useful information on the support available and any gaps. Members had drawn up questions which would be sent to organisations and also to various individuals who have worked within this area. The Committee anticipated submitting its final report in October 2025. Council unanimously approved the Committee’s request to seek an additional Council member to join the Committee. Council also unanimously agreed that it was content for the Vice President, Mark Evans, to help with the Committee’s work.
Axiom Ince update
Picking up on the President’s comment above, the latest news on this is that the Legal Services Board is expected to issue directions to the SRA shortly as to what action is to be taken. TLS officers and President will be asked if they wish to comment before they are issued.
Day One after qualification
At the December meeting, a discussion took place as to whether the Society had carried out any studies or sought feedback on ‘day-one’ employment rights and on the recent increase in employers’ national insurance contributions. There was concern in the profession about the possible impact of the increase on law firms’ growth, the difficulty of recruiting and retaining staff, and the possibility of having to make redundancies. These matters had been raised with the government and could be again in the Society’s response to the government’s industrial strategy consultation. Professional and legal services had been identified as one of the potential high-growth areas for the economy.
2025- TLS Bicentenary Year
I am pleased to advise that we will have two events in the South- one on Wednesday, 9th July 2025 in Southampton and the other on Friday, 11th July 2025 on the Isle of Wight. I am in touch with TLS organisers and will advise on the itinerary when it is finalised. The Vice-President Mark Evens is to stand in for the President, who is engaged elsewhere, at the visits.
