The Law Society Council – What can I tell you?

SUB-COMMITTEES

The Law Society Council – What can I tell you?

Paul Sharma is immediate past President of Westminster and Holborn Law Society and Council member for the same – now called London Central

As a member of the Society’s governing body, the Law Society Council, I want to tell you what the body is doing and what I’m doing. You ought to be involved to the fullest extent and I want to keep the promise I made when I was elected that I would be accountable to you.

Of course, I have issues that I want to champion, and I want to work on them with other Council members. I believe that The Law Society (TLS) should be all about the members. To bring this about, we need a rethink about our vision, purpose and what we plan to do. We also need to investigate how TLS can better support its members when they appear before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. Your help in these matters would be gratefully received.

But I have to say that being accountable to you ain’t easy. When I receive the agenda, I find most items are confidential and cannot be discussed outside Council meetings. And guess what? This will include those items that are the most important to members. I’d like to talk to you about them, but I’m gagged.

We understand why the public must be excluded from discussion in local authority committees on some sensitive items. They may involve business bidding for contracts and some information about them are commercially sensitive. But what about the Law Society?

A handful of our issues may be commercially sensitive. I have been told that some items will be confidential for tactical reasons – whatever that means. I, though, suspect that items are confidential not because members want that, but rather that’s what the Law Society staff wants.

So, what can I tell you? Because I’ve been gagged – very little! ■

Paul Sharma