This is my penultimate podium – and while I have a busy diary for the month ahead, I am naturally starting to think about all that has taken place at Chancery Lane since I became president last July.

There has been no quiet time during my presidential year.

The actions of the Legal Services Commission, the design of alternative business structures and outcomes-focused regulation, and changes to professional indemnity insurance, as well as the decision by the government to cut legal aid, are just some of the headline issues faced over the past 12 months.

Along with the implementation of Lord Jackson’s proposals and the removal of some firms from lenders’ panels, my focus has been set squarely on taking the concerns of the profession to the right people and working hard to achieve acceptable solutions.

We have done this by providing the government with alternative savings contained in our ‘access to justice’ report, and achieving compromise on extended reporting period proposals and transitional PII arrangements.

We have had some notable triumphs, including our victory in the High Court, when judgment was passed that the family law tender process had been unlawful, recognising that solicitors who had been excluded by the process were doing difficult and demanding work for little or no reward, and concluding that the Law Society had been motivated by the need to protect the vulnerable.

We were successful in the Court of Appeal, protecting legal professional privilege for qualified lawyers and, although it will be challenged in the Supreme Court, we were pleased with the court’s original decision that reaffirmed our belief that legal advice privilege does not attach solely because of the nature of the advice, but because the advice emanates from members of the legal profession whose first duty is to the court.

Our campaign to oppose the government’s proposals on legal aid and the Jackson report is ongoing and has received significant coverage in the national media, as well as support from high-profile campaigning organisations.

I have spoken extensively on these and other issues across national and local television and radio, and in publications as diverse as the Financial Times and women’s magazines.

I am delighted that the Conveyancing Quality Scheme is making excellent progress and has gained the support of key organisations.

Nearly 1,000 firms have applied for CQS accreditation and new applications continue to flow in.

The scheme was designed to strengthen the position of good conveyancing firms in the market – and we have received excellent publicity from local and regional media, which is helping to drive the scheme’s success.

Our campaign to ensure that will-writers are properly regulated, and to seek a review of the outdated definition of legal services to embrace all activities where the public is at risk and need quality-assured advice from our members, has continued to gather pace.

In the face of increasing competition from other service providers, and against the backdrop of marketing hype in online media, all of these individual achievements have helped to cement the idea in the minds of the public that solicitors are the first and natural choice for legal advice.

Behind the scenes there have been other significant – but not quite so headline-grabbing – activities, including the successful wind-down of the Legal Complaints Service, on time and on budget, thanks to the efforts of the LCS board and staff and their collaborative work with us.

I have been keen to empower our Law Society boards to make better and more effective policy, and launched thought leadership projects on outsourcing, regulation and addressing consumer criticism.

We have welcomed delegations from across the world to Chancery Lane, in an effort to reach new audiences and new markets for our services.

I have been privileged to visit other jurisdictions across the world to encourage the liberalisation of their legal services markets, and help to ensure that there are opportunities available for English and Welsh solicitors and firms overseas, where they want to take them.

I have spoken out about the importance of the rule of law to protect human rights and I have raised the issue of access to justice and the importance of state-funded legal representation with bar associations around the world.

I can speak from experience when I say how highly regarded English and Welsh solicitors are overseas and am always proud to represent the profession.

A continual highlight has always been the opportunities that I have had to meet so many of our members.

If I have not made it to every one of the 112 local law societies, then I can only apologise because I have done my best!

I have enjoyed attending dinners, AGMs and conferences with many special interest groups such as the Society of Asian Lawyers, the Black Solicitors Network, Solicitors in Local Government, as well as my now regular attendance at the Sole Practitioners Conference.

I hope that an enduring legacy from my presidency will be a closer relationship between the national law society and local law societies as we are all working to achieve the same objective.

I have striven to make the profession feel closer to Chancery Lane and vice versa – and I hope that many of you feel that I have in some small way achieved this.

Admitting new solicitors to the profession has also provided me with the opportunity to reinforce the essential message of pride in the profession to the next generation in order to foster and inspire their future efforts.

However, despite all the change, one thing has remained constant, and that is the utter pride I have in belonging to such a great profession, committed to helping others who are in great need.

But the challenge continues, and will continue long after I have left, to ensure that the principles and commitments that we live our lives by are recognised by politicians and the public alike for the value that they can bring.

Linda Lee is president of the Law Society