Office holders and chief executive

The Law Society has three elected office holders, who represent the organisation at home and abroad. Learn more about the office holders and our chief executive.

President: Nick Emmerson

Nick Emmerson stands in the Law Society library, London. Nick is a white man with short, wavy brown hair. He wears a black suit, white shirt and navy tie.Nick Emmerson is the 179th president of the Law Society of England and Wales. He took office in October 2023.

Nick is a partner at Lewis Mathys Emmerson LLP and a specialist in international capital markets transactions and cross-border mergers and acquisitions.

He is fluent in Japanese, having spent time working in Tokyo, as well as Hong Kong, Shanghai, Leeds and London.

Nick has also been admitted as a solicitor in Hong Kong and the Republic of Ireland, and as an attorney at law in the State of California.

His international expertise underpins his desire to champion English and Welsh solicitors on the world stage.

Yorkshire born and bred, Nick has represented Leeds on our Council since 2015. He served as president of Leeds Law Society during its 150th anniversary and for the bulk of the pandemic.

Vice president: Richard Atkinson

Richard Atkinson is a white man with short grey hair. He stands amidst greenery wearing a blue striped shirt and navy patterned tie.Richard Atkinson is the vice president of the Law Society. He will become the 180th president in October 2024.

Richard specialises in serious and complex criminal cases. He is a higher court advocate who has appeared in a number of high-profile cases including murders, serious sex offences, fraud and high-value drug cases.

He has over 30 years of experience and was elected Law Society Council member for Kent in 2016. Richard served as president of Kent Law Society for its bicentennial year in 2018.

Richard was a member of our Criminal Law Committee and was its chair for two terms.

He is a member of the Home Office's Police and Criminal Evidence strategy board, the Ministry of Justice’s Criminal Legal Aid Advisory Board and the Crown Court Improvement Group.

Deputy vice president: Mark Evans

Mark Evans is a white man with short grey hair and glasses. He is smiling and wears a navy suit, a white shirt and turquoise tie.Mark Evans is the deputy vice president of the Law Society.

He will become vice president in 2024 and president of the Law Society in 2025.

Mark practised property and private client law for more than 28 years at a cross-border general high street law firm with offices in North Wales and Chester.

Currently, he teaches various courses on real estate, private client and professional skills at the University of Law, based at the Manchester campus.

Mark was a member of our Wales Committee for nine years and acted as chair for four of those years.

He has been on our Council for more than eight years and was a former president and chair of the Cheshire and North Wales Law Society.

Chief executive: Ian Jeffery

Ian Jeffery is a white man with short brown hair. He is smiling and wears a blue shirt and black jacket against a black background.Ian Jeffery joined the Law Society as chief executive in September 2022.

Ian led Lewis Silkin as managing partner and CEO for 15 years.

During this time, he led the growth of the firm domestically and internationally, helping establish a reputation for being one of the most innovative large law firms.

Ian joined Lewis Silkin in 1990 and qualified as a solicitor in 1992.

He has developed extensive experience in information technology and intellectual property law and rose through the ranks quickly, becoming a partner in 1998 and managing partner at the age of 37 in 2005.

Ian has recently acted as an independent consultant, using his extensive leadership experience to advise law firms and professional services organisations.

He also acts as an adviser to high-potential businesses in the legal tech space and has sat on numerous boards across different industry sectors.

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