PRESIDENT'S LETTER

THE STORY SO FAR:

Season’s greetings to you all. I took office as your President on 28 September 2022 which, at the point of writing, is 6 weeks ago. In that time I have attended 15 evening events, ranging from the BLS Halloween Quiz night to 4 Law Society Dinners. Events have taken me to London, Liverpool, Bristol, and Warwickshire representing our Society and its members.

The running of the BLS Presidential year changed from its historical commencement in April to late September due to the covid interruption. It means that I have taken office at the start of the Law Society Dinner season. It follows that it’s not only the McDaid family turkey that will be stuffed by Christmas!

Happily, in between the standard presidential duties in far-flung places, I have been able to engage with our membership closer to home including attending the local universities and making early progress on some of the initiatives I have set for my presidential year. By good fortune, in my first week, I was able to participate as a panel speaker in the Online event “Why women leave the profession” hosted by the University of Birmingham. It explored the research paper presented by Professor Bob Lee and I hope those who joined online found it both informative and helpful. Looking for ways to ensure the retention of women in the legal profession is one of my key objectives for the year so it was great timing to have that conversation so early in my term of office.

The following week I attended the 21st-anniversary celebration of the University of Law and was able to witness the presentation of Awards to some outstanding

Alumni who have continued on their upward trajectory since leaving the University.

On 17 October BLS supported the “No Ordinary Lawyer” play at the Birmingham Rep telling the story of Britain’s first Black Judge with a sell-out audience of 300. We were able to host the event free for students thanks to No5 Barristers’ Chambers sponsoring the event.

EDI will continue to remain an important facet of all we do at BLS going forward; further evidenced by my participation in an EDI “In conversation with” at Aston University. Inez Brown, the first Black President of BLS, and Lubna Shuja, the first Asian Muslim woman to hold the office of President at TLS, and I were interviewed on stage about our respective roles, faith, and journey in the legal profession. The engagement with the mostly student audience of future lawyers was a thrill to participate in and the feedback and post-event engagement has been encouraging. My thanks go to Shaid Parveen, Associate Professor, and Senior Tutor at Aston University for inviting me to speak and for her hard work in making the event happen.

The start of November witnessed a collaboration with the West Midlands Irish Business Group and Birmingham City Council Planning Department. At a well-attended breakfast seminar, we heard from Simon DelahuntyForrest, Assistant Director of Development Planning & Development at Birmingham City Council, and property developer Anthony McCourt, Founder and CEO of Court Collaboration. Along with Councillor Ian Ward, they took us through some of the exciting plans for our city over the next 10 years plus. It is our intention to hold further events and I would encourage those who are lawyers in the construction and property sector to attend.

7 November marked the commencement of Pro Bono Week and Elena Goodfellow, Associate at Bevan Brittan and Chair of the Pro Bono Committee, joined me in welcoming in the week’s activities at a Breakfast Meeting for BLS members and pro bono leads. It was also an opportunity for us to further promote “The Climate Crisis is Real – How lawyers can get involved in tackling the climate crisis” event with speakers Lee McBride, Head of Lodders Environmental Law team, Emma Montlake, Head of Casework at Environmental Law Foundation, Fiona Nicholls, Head of Sustainability and Assurance at Gowlings, with Barrister Nina Pindham linked in from COP27 in Egypt.

One of the most important events we facilitated was the inaugural meeting of criminal law firms via DG Legal and Rock. In my inauguration speech, I spoke about the need for the Bar and the Law Society to collaborate when dealing with Government. The recent Bar strike highlighted the issue. We have not for the first time witnessed solicitors and barristers justifiably asking for more money after decades of under-investment. Sir Christopher Bellamy’s recommendation proposed 15% increase across the board. Solicitors were given 9% and the bar 15% with the latter having asked for 25%.

This is not and never has been about a blue or red Government. In 2002 we had a Labour Government; in 2022 we have a Conservative Government and still, those undertaking legally aided work remain undervalued and underpaid. Without investment and

fair remuneration for lawyers, we will not be able to attract talented students to the profession and the system will simply fall apart. We are already witnessing legal deserts in parts of the country with firms moving away from legally aided work in order to survive. This is a massive blow for access to justice and needs to be reversed.

I hope the first meeting of the criminal law firms will result in better communication and positioning moving forward and will later lead to unity with the Bar who should and must, in my view, support solicitor firms seeking the parity they were assured they would receive. The strategy of divide rule and conquer has regrettably worked for the powers that be but not lawyers for the past four decades and it needs a major rethink from both arms of the profession.

Finally, I draw your attention to the article “Compliance Top Ten Topics for 2023”. My thanks go to Jayne Willetts and Bronwen Still for producing it. I encourage you to read it. It is so important and really helpful in a practical way.

The SRA’s annual report on “Antimoney laundering compliance” reveals that only 22% of firms were fully compliant. It issued 29 fines totaling £287,000 as well as letters of advice, rebuke, and warnings. No further spoilers so do take time to digest and act on the tips Jayne and Bronwen have helpfully provided.

I wish you all a very happy and festive break over the Christmas holidays and look forward to engaging with you in any way you see fit throughout 2023.

Tony McDaid President

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