President perspectives: Lubna Shuja

During your presidency, what was your biggest highlight?

One of the highlights without a doubt was giving a speech at the ‘swearing in ceremony’ on the appointment of our first Lady Chief Justice, Baroness Sue Carr.

It was quite surreal to speak in a small courtroom packed with senior members of the judiciary and the lord chancellor in all their finery at the Royal Courts of Justice.

To witness history in the making was very special, particularly as I never thought we would see a Lady Chief Justice in my lifetime.

It was truly an honour to be a small part of such a historic event.

The opportunity to be able to represent members who don't always feel heard was also very important to me during my year.

Championing their causes was definitely a highlight as well as a privilege – representing them on television, radio, in the press, on social media and at various stakeholder meetings.

Appearing before the Justice Select Committee in the House of Commons was part of that representative role.

It was terrifying and exhilarating in equal measure!

I gave evidence to the committee about criminal legal aid, which was a huge issue throughout my term, impacting the livelihood of those practising in this area.

What was the biggest challenge you and the Law Society faced during the year?

There were two very distinct themes that ran throughout my presidential year.

Firstly, the crisis in criminal legal aid was at a critical stage.

Many firms across the country were unable to continue providing criminal legal aid as the work was no longer viable for them.

Towards the end of my term, we decided to start judicial review proceedings against the UK government due to its lack of substantive engagement with the recommendations of its own independent report into criminal legal aid.

That litigation was successful, and the Law Society subsequently won the case.

It was a challenge to make sure we were doing our best to represent our criminal legal aid practitioners, but also ensuring the legal aid system more generally would be viable in the future.

Another challenge was that immigration lawyers were very much under attack during my presidential year.

Many derogatory comments had been made by the press and by senior government ministers about immigration lawyers and their work, which it was alleged was impacting on government policies.

One of the key messages I emphasised during my year was that immigration solicitors were just doing their job, working within the framework of the law.

Attacking solicitors in this manner was actually an attack on the rule of law.

It was a real challenge making sure that we did our best for those members, who really needed us to step up and fight their corner for them.

What was the biggest success during your year?

One key success was following my visit to India where I met Indian government ministers, members of the Indian Bar, Indian law firms and other key stakeholders.

We reached an agreement to open up the legal services market in India to English and Welsh solicitors.

That was a big achievement for me.

It was an issue that was very important to many of our members, large and small firms undertaking international work, and had not previously progressed over many years.

They were all keen to see the legal services market in India open up.

I was proud of this substantial success, which left a positive legacy that would impact the whole legal profession for many years to come.

There were other successes too.

I believe that being as visible as possible as the first Asian, the first Muslim and the seventh female president was important.

Many people – lawyers, students and other members of the public – spoke to me throughout the course of my year, informing me that seeing me in a leadership role had inspired and encouraged them to get more involved in the profession and the law.

I was delighted to have been able to achieve that and I still continue to promote the benefits of a diverse membership.

What was the biggest surprise during the year?

I think the biggest surprise for me during my year was having the opportunity to meet people, attend events across the UK and abroad, and speak in places that I never, ever thought I would have access to.

Before then, I didn’t even know some of those places existed!

Another surprise was that I was in the Houses of Parliament on an almost weekly basis, which I had not expected.

I had regular meetings with ministers, peers and other stakeholders.

That was an environment I had never previously had access to, so being able to discuss the concerns of the profession and influence policy to bring about change at the heart of government was very rewarding.

What three words would you use to describe your time as president?

Challenging, exciting and amazing.