From the President

As I come to the end of my term as President of the Hertfordshire Law Society, I would firstly like to again say a huge thank you to all of the committee members for their continued support and hard work. In particular, I must thank Judith Gower and Diana Kirsch who have worked tirelessly as Treasurer and Honorary Secretary and Vice President, respectively. A big thank you also to Jeremy Chandler-Smith in continuing to deliver fantastic content for the “Hertfordshire Law Society Gazette”.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my role as President and have tried to attend as many functions and events as possible. I have to admit that I would have liked to have done more (had it not been for clashes and other demands on time) but I do intend to remain an active member of the HLS committee (if Diana will have me!) and to continue to promote the Society and would encourage other members to become more actively involved.

Since my last report I have attended both the Local Law Societies Conference and the Southern Area Association of Local Law Societies (SAALS) in July. In respect of the latter, Lubna Shuja (Vice President of the Law Society of England and Wales) was in attendance and gave an update of the major issues from Chancery Lane. In particular, that the Law Society continues to work tirelessly to mount pressure on the government to provide a meaningful increase in criminal legal aid rates, which has not happened in 25 years. Under current government proposals, solicitors are set to receive only a 9% increase to criminal legal aid funding – 40% less than the bare minimum identified as necessary to keep the system going.

The July SAALS meeting was particularly moving this year as it was the setting for saying goodbye to a SAALS stalwart, Andrew Caplen. Andrew is a past President of the Law Society of England & Wales and a long term representative at SAALS, for the past five years he has served as the Honorary Secretary. On behalf of the Hertfordshire Law Society I would like to thank Andrew for his years of dedicated service to the members of the profession and we wish him well. Andrew’s departure left a vacancy for Honorary Secretary (with very big boots to fill) but I am delighted to confirm that HLS’s own Paul Davies has taken up this important role and we wish Paul every success in his new position.

On the 4th September, a warm and sunny Sunday afternoon, I was delighted to be a guest at Sally Burton the High Sheriff of Hertfordshire’s Garden Party at the wonderful gardens of Knebworth House. Many distinguished guests and charities were in attendance and we were treated to delightful food and drink and a fabulous performance by the Rock Choir.

Not long after I was also then privileged to have been invited to attend Hertfordshire Law School's graduation ceremony at St Albans Abbey on the 13th September, and a huge congratulations to all those students that graduated. We are so incredibly lucky to have the University of Hertfordshire on our doorstep providing skilled law graduates and post-graduates ready for legal practice. A huge thank you to all the staff at the University, and a big thank you in particular to HLS council members Penny Carey and Diana Kirsch who are Dean of the Hertfordshire law School and Associate Dean Enterprise, respectively.

I still have a couple of events to attend before I hand over the role of President. I am looking forward to representing the Society at the Berks, Bucks & Oxfordshire Law Society Annual Dinner on the 14th October and I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible for our AGM on the 22nd November.

It has been a pleasure and a privilege to hold the role as President and has been an opportunity that I never thought I would have. I would like to again convey my congratulations to Diana Kirsch as she takes over as a very deserving President.

Steven Hamilton

President Hertfordshire Law Society

I should also note with immense sadness the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. I am certain that we all appreciate her dedication to this Country over 70 years and on behalf of the Hertfordshire Law Society offer our deepest condolences to her family.