Presidential year plan 2025/26
Introduction
The presidential year 2025/26 will be an important year for our profession, the legal services sector and the justice system.
This plan aims to supplement the delivery of our business plan 2025/26, the corporate strategy 2025/28 and our member offer.
There are a range of ongoing priorities facing solicitors in the coming year, alongside wider changes in the national landscape. This includes:
Delivering our strategic plan
We remain ambitious and committed to promoting, protecting and supporting solicitors, the rule of law and justice.
Our new corporate strategy, launching in November 2025, will set out our vision for the next three years and highlight the way we plan to address the priorities that matter most to our members.
Launching our 'Get Involved' strategy
It’s crucial that more of our members feel able to get involved with our work, in a way that suits them.
We all stand to benefit from a Law Society which is truly representative of our profession. A champion for all solicitors regardless of their background, and a voice for our members from London to Llandudno.
The launch of our Get Involved strategy will give more members more opportunities to participate in our work in different ways.
This greater engagement across the diversity of our profession will strengthen solicitors’ collective voice and give our members opportunities to grow their expertise.
Solicitor wellbeing
Solicitors score lower than the UK average on all positive measures of wellbeing and are more likely to rate their anxiety levels higher. These numbers are exacerbated for juniors, women, ethnic minorities and disabled solicitors.
While there’s growing awareness and recognition of wellbeing and mental health concerns in the legal community, many solicitors still face barriers to engaging with support services in the workplace. Changing this will require leadership on an institutional, organisational and individual level.
LawCare, the mental health charity for the legal community, is due to publish the ‘Life in the Law’ Survey in October 2025, which will provide momentum to further conversations around wellbeing in the legal profession.
Justice in Wales – a distinct system
Our ‘Reimagining Justice by 2030’ discussion papers, published in 2024, set out the unique challenges facing the Welsh legal sector, and identified opportunities for growth amidst the wider political context.
With Senedd elections taking place in 2026, this is an opportunity to address some of the long-standing problems currently facing the justice system in Wales.
Presidential year themes
Our core vision is to promote, protect and support solicitors, the rule of law and justice in England and Wales. This plan supports those objectives.
Its success will demonstrate that the Law Society is a champion of our profession and its members, supportive on issues like wellbeing, ethics and climate change, and focused on promoting the economic growth of legal services alongside a focus on better regulation.
The plan considers the diversity of the profession, aligning with the president’s ongoing and longstanding support for solicitors from underrepresented groups. Each theme speaks to the ongoing development of our profession, addressing the challenges they face and making sure that the Law Society remains a credible and persuasive voice on the rule of law and access to justice.
The three key themes are:
- A profession fit for the future
- Championing our members
- Supporting solicitor wellbeing
A profession fit for the future
The legal profession is constantly evolving and growing, with 33,000 more solicitors predicted to be admitted by 2027.
We’re seeing greater diversity across our membership, both in terms of background and practice area – and we’re in a prime position to support those entering the profession, making sure that every solicitor feels like they belong in the legal field.
As a current lecturer in law, the president meets and engages with those hoping to enter the profession every day. This has led to a deep understanding and commitment to making sure aspiring solicitors are given the tools they need, and that the profession is ready to use the range of skills and talents that new solicitors can bring.
The president is committed to enhancing the quality and standards of legal education and training, and to fostering a culture of lifelong learning and professional development.
The president will use his platform to highlight the breadth and diversity of the profession, sharing stories of solicitors’ journeys into law, to inspire and motivate those pursuing a legal career. He’ll have a particular focus on solicitors who are working outside of private practice.
He’ll continue his support of the Law Society’s aspiring solicitors work by promoting our offer and the development of programmes to support new solicitors.
There are still significant challenges to becoming a solicitor, particularly for those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The president will highlight non-traditional routes into the sector, working with partner organisations who are already campaigning for increased access to the solicitor profession. He’ll also work to support solicitor apprentices in England, while advocating for the introduction of the legal Level 7 apprenticeship in Wales.
The president will carefully listen to and express the concerns of members and aspiring members, particularly on issues like the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE), to make sure that the qualification process is supporting a modern, high quality and diverse profession of the future.
As well as a significant portion of England and Wales unable to access legal aid, there exists further areas where people are unable to access legal advice of any kind. This severely limits access to justice and access to the profession, and coupled with a lack of local opportunities, meaningful alternatives and less costly routes into the profession, results in aspiring solicitors being forced to choose between maintaining local links or leaving home.
The president will raise awareness of these ‘legal deserts’ and highlight potential solutions to key stakeholders.
A resilient solicitor profession relies on robust regulation and investment from government.
As well as championing the role and unique value of solicitors as we address possible regulatory changes – whether that’s by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, Legal Services Board or external drivers – the president will make sure that legal services continue to be recognised as an engine for growth and are supported through policy and investment.
The focus on legal services in the government's Industrial Strategy was welcome.
The president will hold the government to account on the delivery of its commitments on technology, so firms of all sizes can innovate and access the skilled workforce they need to thrive and will make sure that government understands the barriers to growth that the legal sector faces – from court disrepair to justice system investment.
Championing our members
We would not exist without our members. The president values the importance of being part of a community – and the solicitor community is incredibly diverse, made up of people from all walks of life.
Alongside the excellent work they deliver for clients, day-in, day-out, many solicitors volunteer their time to further the legal profession on a local and a national level.
Prior to his current role, the president practised property and private client law for more than 28 years in a high street firm, which also undertook legal aid work.
His journey to become president of the Law Society has been informed by these experiences, and as president, the skills and knowledge he’s developed, both as a practitioner and volunteer, will be reflected in his work.
The president will launch the our flagship Get Involved strategy during his presidential year, making sure that solicitors from all walks of life can shape the decisions that affect their day-to-day practice.
He will encourage members to participate in the Member Advisory Forum to share their opinions, time and expertise with the Law Society, and provide flexible opportunities to participate around their other commitments.
He will make sure that volunteers on a local and national level are recognised by the Law Society and work with staff and members to identify those who have gone above and beyond in furthering the profession.
As a former president of Cheshire and North Wales Law Society, the president will act as a champion for local law societies and the positive role they can play for members.
He’ll work alongside them to make sure their priorities are reflected on a national level and engage with large and small local law societies as part of his regional visit programme.
Further to this, he’ll promote the existing benefits that the we can provide to members, including member communities and networks, Law Society Learning, as well as events and guidance for firms of all sizes.
Using the knowledge gathered through conversations with local law societies, communities, networks, and volunteer members, the president will advocate for the value that solicitors add to every part of England and Wales, as well as the value of our work internationally, to stakeholders in government and parliament.
This year’s St David’s Day celebrations will act as an anchor for the Law Society’s vision for justice in Wales.
The president will use a keynote speech at this event to set out the Law Society’s asks of a new Welsh government ahead of the 2026 Senedd elections and advocate for clarity and recognition that there exists a distinct body of Welsh law that’s different to the law that operate in England.
He'll continue to provide relevant member support for Wales and Welsh members as their needs develop and make sure that members in Wales have a strong voice on an England and Wales level.
The president will also make sure that members working across borders are given bespoke support by launching a practice note on the increasing divergence between laws in England and Wales.
Supporting solicitor wellbeing
Almost every member of the Law Society will know a solicitor who has experienced burnout, poor mental health or a disregard for their own wellbeing.
Long hours, high workloads and client care can all impact solicitors, but things are starting to change.
Having spoken with members across England and Wales, it’s clear that firms and individuals already take a range of approaches to wellbeing – both on an individual and organisational level.
The president will use his presidency to speak out about mental health and support solicitors in managing their own welfare, using his channels to promote practical resources and share guidance on how firms and solicitors can prioritise wellbeing. He’ll promote the benefits that movement can have on wellbeing through his own passion for running.
LawCare’s ‘Life in the Law’ survey is due to be published in October 2025. The previous report, published in 2021, was the first of its kind to explore mental health and wellbeing in the legal sector, and identified how wellbeing must remain a shared responsibility between individuals, employers, regulators and professional bodies.
The president is in a unique position to work with LawCare to promote the outcomes of this report and use the information gathered by LawCare to shape ongoing conversations around mental health and wellbeing.
It is crucial that these discussions on wellbeing continue in a wide range of formats.
The president will host wellbeing roundtable events as part of his regional engagement programme alongside members and partner organisations, to give members an opportunity to share the challenges they’re facing and the key areas where the Law Society and expert partners can provide support.
Additionally, the president will identify and deliver on areas that impact on solicitor wellbeing in other ways.
He’ll support our in-house community in tackling the unique challenges they face, as both legal advisers and business advisers to their employer, by building on the in-house ethics framework and demonstrating that the Law Society understands and is a relevant voice for the in-house profession.
The president will continue to speak out on institutional issues that impact on the ability of lawyers to do their jobs effectively and without interference and the pressures of increased burdens from regulation and legislation.
He’ll maintain a strong position on the rule of law both domestically and internationally and commemorate key events, such as the Day of the Endangered Lawyer, International Fair Trial Day and European Lawyers Day, to continue dialogue about lawyers at risk in line with our international aims and objectives.
Conclusion
As our bicentenary year of the Law Society comes to an end, the president will encourage members to look to the future with aspiration, confidence and optimism.
We have recalled our rich history and celebrated our diverse community. Our profession is still synonymous with quality, expertise, innovation and our core values of adherence to the rule of law and personal integrity.
He is proud to be the first president from Wales in 22 years and only the third in the Law Society’s 200-year history.
In his role he’ll make sure that the voices of members across England, Wales and beyond are heard and represented, while championing the values of inclusivity, innovation and resilience that define the legal profession today.
Diolch yn fawr. Thank you.