The Law Society has announced the members of the new Solicitors Regulation Authority board who will take up their posts on 1 January 2010.

The 13 appointments – seven solicitors and six lay members – have been made by an independent panel, chaired by the former parliamentary commissioner for standards, Elizabeth Filkin.

The new solicitor members are: Martin Coleman, global head of competition law at City firm Norton Rose; Mark Humphries, director of Mark Humphries and a recently retired Linklaters partner; Tom Keevil, general counsel and company secretary at United Utilities; Cindy Leslie, dispute resolution partner at London firm Denton Wilde Sapte; Malcolm Nicholson, recently retired Slaughter & May partner; and Lucy Winskell, partner at Newcastle firm Sintons.

The new lay members are: Tony Hobman, chief executive of the Pensions Regulator; chartered accountant Ian Menzies-Conacher; Sara Nathan, chair of the Home Office Animal Procedures Committee; and Sir Ron Watson, board member of Standards for England.

Three of the current board will be on the new board; solicitor member Yvonne Brown at London firm Yvonne Brown & Co, and lay members Dr Susan Bews, former medical director of a pharmaceutical company and Stephen Whittle, chairman of the Broadcast Training and Skills Regulator.

It is intended that a further two members – a solicitor from a smaller high street firm and a lay person with a business background – will be appointed in the autumn following a further recruitment process.

In June, the Law Society announced that Charles Plant had been appointed to succeed Peter Williamson as chair of the board.

Charles Plant, incoming chair of the board, said: ‘The SRA board, like other legal regulators, faces significant challenges. There is a particular need to ensure that regulation of the whole profession is proportionate and effective for firms of all shapes and sizes; that it enjoys the confidence of both clients and the wide diversity of solicitors who make up the profession; that it establishes an appropriate regulatory framework for firms serving corporate clients; and that the SRA is ready to license ABS firms from 2011. We have assembled a strong board to address these challenges.’

Robert Heslett, Law Society president, said: ‘I'm confident the new board will build on the achievements of the current board and will establish the SRA as an exemplar of best modern regulation. With the breadth of knowledge and experience shared on the board I am sure that it will be forward-thinking, developing its approach to regulation in the best interest of clients, solicitors and the public we serve.’

Antony Townsend, SRA chief executive, said: ‘The wide range of experience among the members of the new board will help lead the SRA in its developing programme of modernisation during a period of intense change and reform.

‘My colleagues and I in the SRA executive look forward to working with the new board to deliver effective and efficient regulation in the public interest.’