When I received a job offer in 1985 to work in the Lord Chancellors department and I admitted to never having heard of it, I genuinely never expected at any time in my career to be asked to be President of Derby and District Law Society. I am extremely proud to have been even considered for the role and am somewhat anxious to ensure that I do justice to the position.
I was fascinated to read the long list of previous Presidents, both of Chesterfield and Derby Law Society and latterly Derby and District Law Society which were set out in last month’s bulletin and to have my name added to that list of such esteemed predecessors is an absolute privilege and honour.
I am taking over the role of President at a very unique and somewhat bizarre time. Whilst we all hope that we are now back on the road to something like our previous normal way of life, things may never be completely “normal” again.
I wish to thank Martin Salt for his nomination for this role and for his work over the preceding two year period. I think Martin will go down in the record books as being the only President to have served a two year term and Martin has certainly had numerous obstacles to deal with over his term, including flooding and a worldwide pandemic, but he has coped admirably and I hope that I can do likewise. I am looking forward to the dinner in early November 2021 that Martin will be hosting and I am sure that event will be well supported as we all want the opportunity to go out and hopefully to be able to socialise on a face to face basis. I promise to let Martin have this badge of office back as he didn’t have as many opportunities as he would like to have had to wear it.
I would also like to thank Julia for the invaluable help and support that she has given to me already and for her hard work running the Society and generally organising all of us. I am sure I am going to rely on Julia a tremendous amount over the next 12 months.
I would like to congratulate Manisha Ruperal on becoming Vice President and Oliver Maxwell on becoming Deputy Vice President. Again, I have no doubt that I will be able to call upon them for additional support when required.
In terms of my plans for the next 12 months, I can assure you all that I will give my full commitment to the role of President and will do everything I can to promote and develop the Society. I will attend as many events as I can and will do my best to promote the good work that the local society does. I will try and encourage more chesterfield based lawyers to become more actively involved with the society and remind them that it is Derby and District Law Society. I have already accepted an invitation later this month from the Stephanie Boyce to attend a virtual meeting where representatives from local law societies have been asked to put forward what is the most important issue for their local society. I would welcome all of your views so that I can voice your opinions
I hope to be able to continue to work closely with the University of Derby and as a former Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives now that the University has been approved to deliver training on the Legal Executive course, I would like to offer my support and assistance in promoting the fact that there are a number of alternative ways to access a rewarding career in the law.
Unfortunately, I don’t play golf or cricket and don’t intend to run a marathon or undertake a mammoth bike ride but I hope that this year will see the return of all regular successful events including the quiz, the school debating competition (which I know Julia is already working on) and the triathlon which I have just been involved in for the first time and which I found very enjoyable and was really impressed by the high standard of the participants.
I am working with a barristers chambers in Leeds and hope that later in the year we can organise an event that provides valuable training but also enables members to socialise and possibly raise money for good causes as well! I am hoping to that these events and more besides can take place face to face rather than remotely
I work closely with Chesterfield Law Centre and sit on their management committee as a DDLS representative and I see first-hand the amazing work that they do. I would like to adopt access to justice as a theme and use my year to try and assist those who struggle to secure access to justice and where possible raise funds to assist small local projects raise much needed cash to help those trying to promote this aim.
As you will see, I like to be busy!!
Finally, thank you to all our members and I hope that I can rely on your continued support throughout the year and I welcome any comments or proposals that any members wish to make.
Thank you once again for the honour of this opportunity.