4 From the President
News from the President
When you read this we will be
in the middle of dark and
gloomy February, but hopefully
the first signs of spring will be
showing. According to the
Gazette that is happening in
the legal world also, with the
first signs of economic recovery
starting to show, and
indications that we are coming
out of the recession. This may
apply mainly to our
commercial practitioners, and I
am sure that those doing Legal
Aid work would disagree, but
we shall see.
When I last wrote in this
publication I had not yet taken
over my Presidential role.
When I did so, in midDecember, it was certainly fullon. It did ease a little over the
festive season, but since then I
have been kept very busy.
Opening of Liverpool
University Law Clinic
My first duty as president was
to attend the opening of
Liverpool University Law Clinic
with Baroness Hale, Deputy
President of the Supreme Court.
She gave a speech dealing with
the current state of the law and
the legal profession, which
was, unsurprisingly, quite
pessimistic. It was refreshing to
realise that, despite her
elevated position, she is well
aware of the problems besetting
practitioners and potential
litigants. Although she could
not predict good career
opportunities in the law for the
students, she did emphasise
that a Law Degree itself is
worth having, due to the
intellect and rigour that is
needed to attain the
qualification. The Baroness
was very popular with the
students, who gathered around
her like fans afterwards taking
“selfies” with their phones.
Visit of the Lord Mayor of
London
Later that week I was invited to
dinner with the Lord Mayor of
London, Fiona Woolf and )ɕ