Law Society Legal News Summary 19 October 2023

Nick Emmerson becomes 179^th President of the Law Society

Local Government Lawyer and Global Legal Post cover Nick Emmerson becoming the 179th President of the Law Society.

“I am eager to lead a profession that is both outward-facing and internationally minded. In an increasingly interconnected world, I have adopted a global approach to my work. I have coupled this approach with both regional experience and time in the City.

"This triangle of experience will allow me to bring a fresh perspective to the Law Society and strengthen the future of the profession.”

“Solicitors play an essential role in our economy and society. During my presidency I look forward to promoting the legal services sector as an economic powerhouse and the profession benefiting local communities and wider society as well.”

Ahead of the government’s Autumn statement, Nick Emmerson called on the government to support regional growth through the economic power of legal services.

He said: “Legal services are an economic powerhouse, worth £60bn annually to the UK economy. A strong legal services sector underpins a strong economy across the board.”

Read our press release on Nick Emmerson becoming president and our Autumn statement asks press release

Updated portraits

The Times (£) covers Nick Emmerson’s inaugural speech as president, where he said that a number of the portraits in Chancery Lane do not reflect the diversity of the solicitors’ profession – more than half are women and many are from ethnic minorities.

His term follows that of our immediate past president Lubna Shuja, who was our first Asian, first Muslim and seventh woman to hold the post and I. Stephanie Boyce, who was our first Black president, first person of colour and sixth woman to hold the post.

Nick Emmerson plans to create an advisory group of art and heritage experts to modernise our portraiture collection.

Social mobility issues

Alice Kinder, one of our social mobility ambassadors, recently took post as the youngest president of Birmingham Law Society in its 205-year history.

She told Legal Futures that she struggled to get work experience at a law firm, having come from a working class family, gone to state school and “lacking the necessary connections.”

She added that it is important to ensure social mobility initiatives covered outreach, progression and retention.

Read about our social mobility ambassadors

Collapse of justice system in Afghanistan

The Gazette Ireland continues coverage of our concerns that the erosion of the justice system in Afghanistan has left countless at the mercy of the Taliban, including lawyers, prosecutors and judges.

Law Society president Nick Emmerson said: "The complete collapse and dismantling of the legal system, which began after the resurgence of the Taliban in 2021, remains a significant worry.

“The Taliban have dismissed all previously appointed prosecutors and judges, as well as abolished the Afghanistan Independent Bar Association and the Attorney General’s Office, which has undermined the rule of law and access to justice.

“Lawyers, prosecutors, and judges have faced harassment, torture, ‘revenge’ attacks, enforced disappearances, and execution. Due to the serious and continuing threats to their lives, many have gone into hiding or fled the country.

“In the absence of an independent legal profession and a functioning legal system, it is clear that countless people are left at the mercy of the Taliban.”

Read our press release

Digitisation of the court system

New Law Journal, Today’s Family Lawyer and LexisNexis (£) cover our new statistics that show how digitisation of the court system has added to delays that plague the civil court system and undermine people’s access to justice.

Law Society president Nick Emmerson said HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has had many successes in its court modernisation programme, “such as the digital uptake of all probate applications increasing to 80% by December 2022 and more than 70% of all courtrooms able to allow parties to join hearings remotely.”

However, “the increased delays and associated uncertainty these portals have created are causing additional stress.”

Responding to our survey, one probate practitioner said: “We have gone from a system that cost £45 and took two weeks to a system that costs £273 and takes 16 weeks! How is this progress?”

Read our press release

Crown Court backlog

Data published by HMCTS last week has shown there are more than 65,004 outstanding cases in the Crown Court in August, up from 60,580 in August 2022.

Law Society president Nick Emmerson told New Law Journal: “Our courts are so overwhelmed with cases that victims and defendants are having to wait years for cases to come to trial. There aren’t enough judges and lawyers to handle the number of cases in the system, and the court estate is crumbling. The only answer is urgent investment across the whole criminal justice system.”

Prison crisis

The Week Magazine and USA News continue coverage of our response to the worsening crisis in the criminal justice system, as prisons reach capacity.
Richard Miller, our head of justice, said that the "crumbling courts and a shortage of judges and lawyers all reflect the urgent need to fund justice.”
Richard Atkinson, our vice president, also spoke to BBC Radio Shropshire (from 1:24:22) about overcrowded prisons and the Justice Secretary’s response to the crisis.

Practising certificate renewal

Registration and practising certificate (PC) renewals take place this month. Today’s Family Lawyer outlines our plans for the year ahead on areas the profession finds important.

These include highlighting the value of solicitors; representing members’ voices and the public interest in key policy issues; and protecting access to justice and the rule of law by channelling the expertise and views of members in response to new legislative initiatives and legal development.