Transforming the Law Society

- Des Hudson, chief executive

PC fee

In 2009 the Council decided reluctantly to increase the 2009/10 PC fee to £1,180. The PC fee funds the work of the SRA, the LCS, the Law Society, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, the LSB and the Office for Legal Complaints (OLC).

The increase was largely due to external factors, notably set up costs for the LSB and the OLC, which must be recovered from the profession under the terms of the Legal Services Act 2007. Other factors included capital spending on an SRA IT project and an expected fall in the number of PC holders. It is our intention to drive down the costs of the PC fee once the initial cost of setting up the OLC and LSB are out of the way.

However we reduced the proportion of the PC fee taken by the representative Law Society to just over one fifth (22%). The Law Society's share of income from each PC fee was £256, LCS £281 and SRA £492. The remainder of the costs are attributable to OLC levy, pension costs and other items.

Controlling costs

During 2009 we paid close attention to actual expenditure against budget, reducing spend to help the Law Society Group meet the overall pressures that it, along with many other organisations, faced. Budgetary discipline and quarterly in-year reviews are now a standard part of the Society's operating procedures to ensure that we are delivering the best possible value for money for our members and allocating resources effectively to meet our members' changing needs.

In common with many other organisations, we have introduced stringent salary disciplines including a pay freeze and, where bonuses are payable to staff in recognition of strong performance, those bonuses are not pensionable. Again, in common with many other organisations, the management of our pension liability is an on-going effort and we now have it well under control.

However, we are also investing sensibly for the future and during 2009 made available £3.2m to the SRA to help it prepare its systems and processes for a new approach to regulation that should deliver better outcomes for the profession.

Even better value for money

I will continue to reshape the Law Society to secure even better value for money for all members, while representing your interests effectively and providing first class services. The Society will continue to evolve into a more effective representative body and will be quick to respond to member demand. Change and innovation will be delivered from operational savings and the ongoing effort to refocus our work. We are undertaking a careful, considered but potentially far reaching programme of change to ensure that the services and support that we offer to the profession are better targeted and more relevant than they have been in the past. This builds on the incremental changes that we have seen in recent years and what we have learned from those changes and more effective engagement with the profession.

Solicitor brand advertising

Promotion of the brand of solicitor has been identified by the profession as a priority for us. During the last three years we have run major advertising and PR campaigns in support of solicitors undertaking private client work. Response from the profession has been extremely positive and I am proud that we have been able to provide this support to our members.

Moving up the Superbrands league

This year I was pleased to announce that the Law Society was voted the strongest brand in the Association & Accreditation sector, securing 75th position overall in the prestigious Business Superbrands 2010 survey and finishing above all other brands in the legal category. The annual survey is compiled by The Centre for Brand Analysis (TCBA), on behalf of the Superbrands organisation, and examines the views of a panel of experts and over 1,700 UK business professionals in order to identify the UK's strongest business brands.

Sitting behind the Law Society in the rankings were Cable and Wireless, CBI, Panasonic, RAC, Goldman Sachs and the Daily Telegraph.