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Honorary Secretary’s report for Summer 2021
Let’s hope that with a few more delays the pandemic will be over, or manageable with social distancing and possible mask wearing, but that otherwise we will be back to normal and be able to see each other, if not entirely in the flesh, then in person but behind a facemask. Let’s hope that facemasks are not required on the 8 to 10th of October 2021 which is the date now pencilled in for the next SPG Conference and AGM which is to take place near Ascot. Hopefully this will be a central venue which will attract everyone to come to it for both the full conference experience and for day attendance. Penny and her helpers will be providing us with a feast of education and entertainment and I hope we can all get back on track to meet each other again. In the meantime, the SPG has soldiered on with its normal meetings at which I’m back to fulfilling my job as secretary and taking the minutes. However, can I again acknowledge the support of Anika and Sheila as the SPG administrative assistants. This will probably be a shorter report than usual because I will leave space for the much larger Council Members report which Lubna will prepare in her capacity as Vice President of the Law Society. I will tell you now, to save her embarrassment, that although Lubna set out her position as Deputy Vice President as recently as the SOLO winter 2021 edition, things moved quickly after that as the
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president David Greene stepped down because of a professional issue, and that meant that the Vice President Stephanie Boyce moved up to President and Lubna moved up to Vice President. A week in the Law Society is a long time!
President and President. Incidentally there is now a 12 year rule on maximum council membership so that Lubna, in four years, having completed three four-year terms as Council Member will have to stand down.
Lubna has therefore had to accept that her training for President has been compressed considerably but she has risen to the challenge. As things stand Stephanie Boyce will continue as President till October 2022 when Lubna will take over as President. I am sure that will be a very proud moment for members of the Group. I know that Lubna will bring a much-needed breath of fresh air to the office of President and hopefully make it more relatable to its less involved members of the Society.
In the Winter SOLO 2021 report I mentioned the Law Society initiative to investigate the Law Society’s historical connection with the slave trade and colonialism. I have to say that no more reports have been received by the Council Members on this initiative.
Meanwhile the Group continues to improve its status with the Law Society from being a satellite Group to a Group having influence and clout within the Society. The changes that I mentioned in my last report as to the re-election of the Group’s Council Members have come about. As things stand, in a year’s time when the database of sole practitioners can be established to the satisfaction of all parties, all sole practitioners will be balloted for the choice of their sole practitioner members for the two council seats allocated to the Group. In the meantime, however, a peculiar hybrid has been proposed by the Law Society’s Council Membership Committee and agreed recently by Council that whilst the new Council Members should be nominated pending the provision of a database, that nomination should be notified to all members of the relevant Groups allowing all members of any relevant Group to propose themselves for nomination, the nomination be decided by the Executive Committee. Those of you still reading this whilst awake, may wonder how if there is no database, can there be a valid notification to all members of the Group. I can’t answer that. It will be a matter for the Executive Committee to decide on and you may receive notification of the renomination of two members of the Group as Council Members. I trust at least that Lubna will be renominated so that she can continue as Vice
SIF closure The issue that has really exercised myself and Lubna over the last 12 months is the question of the post-six year run-off cover closure of the Solicitors Indemnity Fund. This is something which particularly affects sole practitioners who are not easily able to pass their post-retirement liabilities to another firm, and even if they can they have to rely on that other firm remaining in existence. In the period since I last wrote you it has been established that the Fund operated by the Solicitors Indemnity Fund Ltd under the control of the SRA holds about £33 million of investments of which approximately £10 million is reserved for potential claims. The fund has not declined significantly over the past four years. On that basis the SRA is being lobbied by all parties connected with lawyers, to continue the Fund until a similar formula can be established to use the available funds and to continue the cover on some basis or other. The SRA were to have made a decision on 8 June but have deferred this decision to the week of 14 June and hopefully an updated stop press note can be provided as to the up-to-date position before going to press. I can say that the SPG have felt so strongly about this that they have expended a modest proportion of their assets in obtaining the advice of a QC as to whether a Group such as the SPG could bring a judicial review claim to prevent closure of the fund and the withdrawal of cover.
