A big thank you to Andy Slaughter MP, chair of the House of Commons Justice Select Committee for hosting the Law Society's bicentennial reception on the Palace of Westminster terrace last night. 'As a barrister I'm always careful to take instructions from solicitors,' he joked.
The event attracted a high-powered government legal line-up, led by lord chancellor Shabana Mahmood and attorney general Lord Hermer. Law Society president Richard Atkinson was at pains to stress the legal profession's contribution to the economy - and the Society's willingness to be a 'partner to the government in its growth mission'. He was also 'encouraged' that the government had started to invest in a crumbling justice system - but warned that pressure for more investment would continue.
In her turn at the podium, the lord chancellor noted the Law Society's crucial role in creating the legal aid system and promised she would welcome the Society's 'constructive challenges' to the state of affairs now.
As is traditional in parliament, the event was interrupted by a division bell, with the Labour MPs scurrying off to obey a tight whip. Subject of the crucial vote? An Opposition Day motion on the winter fuel payment, lodged by Kemi Badenoch MP.
But our distinguished parliamentarians had time for a couple of witty reflections on the Law Society's history. Mahmood suggested that, over the centuries, there had been 'almost as many Law Society presidents as there had been Conservative lord chancellors'. Slaughter compared the Society with a 19th century construction in his own West London constituency, an edifice which has been closed since 2020 after the discovery of micro-fractures. 'The Law Society is in considerably better condition than Hammersmith Bridge,' he assured us.
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