THE incoming president of the National Law Society addressed a legal aid conference recently held in Liverpool.
A full house of Merseyside lawyers were in attendance at the Holiday Inn for the conference, which addressed the subject of the Carter Review – the future of legal aid and its impact on solicitors and legal representation for the public.
Andrew Holroyd OBE, immigration specialist at Liverpool firm Jackson and Canter, will take up the role as president next week.
Alongside Mr Holroyd at the conferece were Richard Miller, director of The Legal Aid Practitioners Group, Greg Lewis, policy manager of the The Law Society, and John Binks, acting regional director of the Legal Services Commission – the new name for the Legal Aid Board.
The seminar focused on the impact of the Carter reforms on the provision of legal advice as well as preparing law firms for the future.
Sector-specific break out sessions were held addressing family and criminal practitioners, led respectively by Liverpool Law Society’s own Helen Broughton and John Ballam.
The current president of Liverpool Law Society, Donal Bannon, said: “Andrew is only the 5th president from Liverpool to become president of the national Law Society and we are all extremely proud of his achievement, which is well deserved, and wish him good luck for the year ahead.
“The Liverpool Law Society is keen to provide its members with the assistance and training they require in order to adapt to the dire consequences of the carter reforms.
“The combined threats of the unified contract to civil and criminal work and CDS direct will no doubt result in firms struggling to survive and access to justice being denied for many.�
Pictured above are (left to right) John Binks, Andrew Holroyd and Richard Miller