Honorary Secretary’s Report Summer 2021

Honorary Secretary’s report for Autumn 2021

in my report for the last edition for Summer 2021 i hoped that we would soon be seeing each other in person, whether with or without facemasks.

Unfortunately, our last meeting of the Executive Committee of the Group was at a time when there was an increase in transmissions, and we all agreed to hold that meeting remotely.

The next executive meeting is on 23 September and this time I hope we can now finally meet in person as a prelude to the conference on the 8 – 10th October.

In my Summer Report I gave you a fairly comprehensive resume of the Group’s activities which continue and Penny will have amplified them in her report.

We are moving towards the formalities of the annual general meeting of the Group and nomination of Executive Committee members and officers which has been delayed since the last AGM in summer 2019, to the forthcoming AGM on 9 October 2021.

The present members of the committee comprising 16 members are set out in this edition as always.

We welcome fresh blood and potential new members are welcome to talk to myself or our chair Penny Raby about becoming members of the executive committee, either officially at the next AGM at the conference, or by meeting us at the conference and coming to future meetings as observers and being co-opted onto the committee pending the next AGM election.

I’m sure there will be less need to attend personal meetings as in the future no doubt some meetings will be online or hybrid meetings for those who find it difficult to attend in person.

While speaking of the committee I will endorse what Penny will no doubt say in her report about the serious road accident suffered by our executive committee member David Hinde, and we wish him all the best for his recovery.

Penny has been a very active Chairwoman for her extended term from summer 2019 through to winter 2021 when Joanna will take over. Joanna will need support from the Executive and I am sure she will be happy to talk to potential new Executive Committee members.

Unfortunately, there is no retirement mechanism for the Hon Secretary or Hon Treasurer, although Kem having served us as Hon Treasurer for three years or more will be giving up her post at the conference.

In my last note I reported on the Group’s representation on the Law Society and now Lubna Shuja is well into her post as Vice President of the Law Society with a natural progression to President of the Law Society at the Society’s AGM, probably in October 2022. Both hers and my seats came up for renewal this October.

Whilst up to now, council member representatives of various groups have been accepted by nomination of the respective groups executive committees, obviously on the basis of that committee being democratically elected, the view of the majority of the Society is that council members should in future be elected by all the constituents who they represent, and so in future elections there will be a ballot amongst all the members of the group for the election of council members.

In the meantime, Lubna’s and my Council membership has been extended by one year until there can be a database of sole practitioners to form the basis for a formal election in a year’s time. Accordingly, the procedure on this occasion has been by notification to our members of the opportunity for any member to stand. I have to say that didn’t produce any new names and accordingly on the basis that Lubna and I were prepared to stand for a further year, we were selected again by the Executive Committee and nominated to the Law Society.

I can say that the Law Society have realised the necessity for serving Officers of the Law Society not to be liable to lose their offices during their period in office and a rule is being passed permitting Officers to remain in post for the period of their office regardless of whether they have been re-elected or not.

I hope I have not confused you too much about the election procedure for the Law Society. That for the Group’s Executive Committee is much simpler. Just request a nomination form and get yourself nominated by two members to join the committee. I think constitutionally there is room for 25 committee members and so your nomination will ensure your election to the committee.

Solicitors indemnity fund

The other subject of great concern to sole practitioners is of course the continuance or otherwise of the run-off cover provided by the Solicitors Indemnity Fund. As you saw in the Stop Press to the last edition, the SRA had agreed in principle to the fund remaining open for a further year.

This turned out to be on the basis of a guarantee by the Law Society in respect of any additional liabilities which the fund might suffer. That guarantee has been given and the extension confirmed to 30 September 2022. What I, and I would imagine others did not realise, was that the SRA, having washed its hands of its responsibility for post six-year run-off cover, has now taken on that mantle again and is now in the process of consulting as to how that duty should be discharged.

I have to say we saw the problem as one for the protection of the retired members, but the SRA are now technically looking at it as one for the protection of former clients which may lead to some form of compulsory insurance which will be a very difficult and expensive problem for the insurance industry to handle.

The simplest answer would be for the continuance of the Solicitors Indemnity Fund to be topped up as and when necessary by contributions from the profession bearing in mind that as things stand at the moment any member of the profession could end up requiring run-off indemnity in the long-term.

I fear the days when sole practitioners can sell their practices to a competitor and leave them with the run-off are now disappearing and I would imagine that most of us will have to make some arrangement to cover our ongoing run-off position.

I have also said that in this time of turbulence in the provision of legal services, even the most senior members of important firms could decide that it was in their interest to branch out on their own and become a sole practitioner with the consequent eventual run-off problems.

There are also examples of large firms that have closed and whose members are in run-off even though they may have started alternative practices.

The SRA are now in a “consultation mode” with the terms of the consultation now being discussed and to be put out to the public, hopefully before Christmas to establish the SRA’s position from which, the position of any third party such as insurers and the Law Society can be established, in stepping into whatever framework the SRA says is required.

I fear I can see this procedure going on into next year with a period of concern as to whether the situation will be resolved before there is a further threat to close the fund again.

You will be pleased to know that Lubna as Vice President is currently involved in the working group overseeing Law Society’s response to this problem.

I will keep you up-to-date with this situation through my reports in the winter and spring of next year and by any necessary email notifications.

Finally, how many people got to the end of my last report and found it was dated ‘August 2019’. I have checked my original draft and all I can say is: “not me Guv”. However, if any of you spotted that you deserve a brownie point and a place on the Executive Committee!

Clive Sutton

Honorary Secretary September 2021