Six Law Society Council members have put themselves forward to be deputy vice-president at Chancery Lane in 2009/10, a post which leads to the presidency two years later. Nominations have now closed and the successful candidate will be announced on 16 April.

The nominees are: Andrew Caplen, member for Hampshire and Isle of Wight, Helen Davies, West Country and Gwent representative, Nigel Dodds, Northumbria associate, Derek French, constituent for Birmingham and District, Maria Memoli, Solicitors in Local Government member and John Wotton, representative for EU matters. Their election statements are below.

Derek FrenchMy name is Derek French and you don’t know me. The name may be familiar and you may have some vague recollection of a joke candidate who stands for DVP every year and gets embarrassingly few votes but you don’t know me. I am a serious candidate who is standing because I want to be elected and I believe I can make a difference. Why should you vote for me? Please consider what I could bring to the role and vote for me.

  • I have extensive committee experience not just within the Law Society but with the Criminal Law Solicitors Association, Birmingham Law Society and as a founder member of the Criminal Procedure Rules Committee (appointed by the lord chancellor). I know how to work constructively within a committee structure.
  • I have held fee-paid judicial posts for nearly ten years. This has helped refine my abilities to weigh the arguments and to uphold the dignity of office.
  • I have been involved at the higher echelons of the profession for many years and I know the lord chief justice and director of public prosecutions and their predecessors so I am accustomed to dealing with major figures (essential in doing justice to the office of DVP).
  • I would claim to have good social skills and to enjoy good relations with all the current office holders and the chief executive.
  • Lastly, since I now work as a freelancer I have the time and energy to devote to making the DVP a real asset to the Law Society and the profession.

Andrew CaplenOur profession faces many challenges including: These will bring great pressure upon practitioners and undoubtedly result in uncertainty regarding future delivery of legal services.

  • An unpredictable economic climate;
  • The implementation of the Legal Services Act;
  • The future of regulation; and
  • The future of legal aid.

The rule of law and justice itself may also be under threat. The Law Society requires a leader and thinker who can listen and communicate effectively both within and outside Chancery Lane. I believe I have the necessary character, experience and skills to ensure a pro-active response to these challenges – to the benefit of the clients we serve and our members.

My work for a medium-sized general/commercial/legal aid firm combined with my history of involvement in representative organisations ensures that I have broad experience upon which to draw. Experience as an active council and committee member has further deepened my insight.

I am passionate for and about the profession; passionate to ensure that solicitors remain the first point of call for those seeking legal services; passionate regarding the need for the access to justice debate to be effectively led – so all stakeholders recognise the fundamental role that our members have in ensuring this basic human right is maintained.

I will:

  • Be actively involved;
  • Be fully committed;
  • Be approachable; and
  • Offer effective leadership.

And I am confident that I can be a strong advocate for our great profession.

Helen DaviesI want to be a member of a profession led by a council which:

  • Champions the profession in all it does;
  • Seeks new opportunities for all our members, assists those who find change challenging but have plenty to contribute and gives those at the end of their careers a stress-free exit;
  • Engages effectively with the regulators (including the Legal Services Board) to secure proportionate and cost-effective regulation for every part of the profession;
  • Works for value in all it does;
  • Looks outwards; and
  • Attracts the best talent.

Since my election to council in 1995 I have:

  • Worked hard across a broad range of representative and regulatory activities;
  • Striven for change, not always the loudest voice in council but effective and engaged;
  • Chaired a standing committee and the regulatory affairs board (RAB), respecting a broad range of views, encouraging wide contributions and working for consensus on often challenging issues;
  • Served as president of both Plymouth and Cornwall Law Societies and worked to promote vigorous local law societies.

When I stood for the chair of RAB I said: ‘I believe we must We have started on that work. There is still a great deal to do. If elected, I will be tireless in championing a profession of which to be proud.

  • Define our vision of what it is to be a solicitor, part of a largely thriving, competitive, innovative and expanding profession; and
  • Use that vision to achieve a position of powerful influence.’

Nigel DoddsI have been involved with the Law Society at a national level for 30 years, during that time deputising for office holders in many of their roles both at home and abroad and gaining unique experience of its affairs.

I have learnt that as a profession we need to look forward rather than back and I aspire to make ‘solicitors’ a world leading legal brand. The challenges that we face through new business formats, regulation, the recession and, most importantly, to our independence, must be robustly met.

Many things need to be done such as streamlining our decision-making process, joined-up government across the Society, accessibility to the membership and significant image change to the profession and externally.

Most importantly, the Society needs to be able to take the whole profession with it. The president needs to be able to sell the council’s policies to the profession and the outside world.

Most presidencies are defined not by pre-determined plan but by ‘events’. I believe I have the qualities and experience to deal with what may be thrown at us. On leaving local government, I joined a sole practitioner and now am senior partner of the largest firm in our county.

I have higher rights in all courts. I am familiar with the pressures of both commercial and legal aid practice. I have spent the last eight years taking the Law Society Charity through major change and would hope that you would let me respond to this greater challenge.

Maria MemoliWhere is the legal profession now? And where is it going?

The Legal Services Act 2007 is driving away traditional partnership models in favour of new, innovative professional practices, increasing flexibility, choice and competition.

Multi-disciplinary practices are set to hit the streets from the end of March. The new Legal Services Board will become fully operational in 2010, as will the Office for Legal Complaints, with alternative business structures probably coming in a year later. We have Lord Hunt’s review of regulation of the legal profession. That’s the future.

What about the immediate future? Foremost in the minds of practitioners is the credit crunch and its impact on their businesses. But it goes deeper than that. The vulnerable are being denied access to justice particularly in the rural areas, the bidding process for the civil legal aid contract in geographical areas means smaller firms will be unable to compete.

The proposals for Crown Court means testing; litigation funding and family legal aid funding consultation due to end this month; the proposal by the Ministry of Justice to award costs from central funds for acquitted defendants.

What about here and now? The main objective is to survive the downturn. Get our house in order first; come to arrangements with bankers, other financial institutions, deferring payment of tax, brush up on employment law, be up to speed to advise clients. Consider diversifying to increase market share, or flexible approach to pricing.

A few challenges for the Law Society supporting the legal profession.

John WottonI believe firmly in a single, independent solicitors’ profession, united in support of the Law Society. The coming three years will pose exceptional challenges for the Law Society. That is why I am standing now.

I believe the following must be our priorities: demonstrate added value across the whole profession. The Society must show that it can make a difference to firms losing their profitable work and to solicitors and trainees facing unemployment; My experience of more than 30 years in corporate legal practice in a major City firm, including my work with regulators, will be good preparation. By joining Bob and Linda I can bring a City perspective to dealing with the problems that face all solicitors and find solutions that work for the whole profession.

  • Secure support throughout the profession for the new regulatory arrangements. This will need major changes in the SRA, which must get to grips with the widely differing business models throughout the profession;
  • Convince the Legal Services Board of the effectiveness of our regulatory separation and retain the elements of self-regulation allowed under the Legal Services Act. The council, not the LSB, must set the agenda, to maintain professional independence;
  • Make the committees’ work more widely known;
  • Continue to fight for access to justice. I am committed to working for a sustainable future for legal aid.

I am determined to support all solicitors, whether partners, sole practitioners or employees, on the high street, in the City, or in-house.

I ask for your support.