President’s Foreword

INTRODUCTION

The President’s Foreword

NOVEMBER 2021

Matthew Allan

I am pleased to welcome you to this edition of Central London Lawyer and my first as President. The Society has been keeping busy since the summer and I know I speak for all our committee members when I say that it has been fantastic to have re-started our in-person events again. It was with some trepidation that we pressed on with one of the first events in the City this August. However, we were buoyed by the response to our summer party held on the (docked) Yacht London, which was received with open arms by our members and friends alike.

Our belated Annual Dinner in October was also an excuse to get out of our dressing gowns and into something less comfortable. In the Victorian grandeur of the National Liberal Club we welcomed friends and new members back to this highlight of our social calendar – one which was last held in the halcyon days of early March 2020.

We also held a ‘hybrid’ Annual General Meeting in October, with members joining us in person and online. The Society bestowed honorary membership on two long-standing members as well as the national Law Society President, I. Stephanie Boyce, who previously served as our Honorary Secretary (pg.9). We expressed thanks to our Immediate Past President, Paul Sharma, who has helped steer us through the turbulence of the last year.

Despite recent hardships, I am happy to report that our Society is in rude health. We continue to grow our membership and build our international networks within key legal centres (pg.12). Most recently we spoke with colleagues at the Cologne Bar Association and Toronto Lawyers Association to discuss mutual opportunities for our members. It is through our relationships that we ensure the future of our Society, and by focussing on what members want we are sure to succeed. We always welcome new ideas for events or sponsors, so do get in touch.

As ever, our sub-committees are working hard to support our members and the wider legal profession. You can see the range of work that they are doing and the forthcoming events they have organised in these very pages. I encourage you to also get involved, whether that is by joining one of our nine sub-committees or simply by coming along to say ‘hi’ at our next event.

After our forced hibernation I have found it invigorating to get back to our roster of events and out meeting our members again. I hope you will consider joining us at one soon.

Until then, as they say back in Canada, keep your stick on the ice. ■

Matthew Allan

President

Westminster & Holborn Law Society