CitySolicitor


Master’s Column: ‘Connecting’ The City of London


David McIntosh, QC (Hon) Rodney Warren & Co Solicitors


David McIntosh (QC Hon) Rodney Warren & Co Solicitors


Law Society Having been at the helm of the Society as its Chairman for seven years until Alasdair Douglas (Travers Smith LLP) took over, with David Hobart its Chief Executive in 2011, it has been enjoyable to return to the fold as its President, as part of my duties as Master.


The Company’s “connection” with the Society continues to benefit both and taps into the 15,000 or so solicitors most of whom work within the Society’s 56 corporate member firms. These include the City of London’s leading law firms, a number of whom are world-leaders, with most of them represented on the Society’s specialist Committees.


The Committees which total 19 (*listed below), are regularly consulted by and make representations to Government and are highly respected for their influence on the reform of and practice of business law.


It was therefore most encouraging for me to recently host a dinner at Guildhall, attended by many Senior Partners of City firms, at which the Lord Chancellor Chris Grayling spoke and answered questions of importance to City practitioners and their clients.


Individual City


Solicitors Although all of the solicitors who practise within the City offices of corporate members automatically become members of the Society, alongside other individual members who otherwise practise or have practised as solicitors within the City, membership of the Company requires an individual application and is a matter of personal choice.


As part of the Company’s planning for its future, we have over the last two years invigorated our recruitment programme with an emphasis on attracting younger (than the current average age of our


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Liverymen) solicitors from those practising within the City, whether with law firms or with corporations, in the expectation that they will quickly become involved in our modernisation and future activities, to their and our benefits.


To this end we have formed a new “Livery Committee” to be chaired by Rupert Jones (Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP) charged with spicing up our events, both business and social, in ways likely to stimulate the interest of younger members. We expect it to build upon our existing programme of recruitment which under the stewardship of Alderman & Senior Warden Vincent Keaveny (Baker & McKenzie LLP) has attracted 62 new members and 36 new Liverymen over the last two years.


We do not expect our newcomers to sit on the side-lines. We expect them to become active on our Committees and in our other activities and we see this as the catchment for Court membership and Office Holder roles in due course.


The Mayoralty and the City of London


Corporation In the best interests of the Company and its solicitor members, we are enthusiastic about advancing our already good relationship with the Mayoralty, as we are currently the Mother Company of the present Lord Mayor Fiona Woolf (CMS Cameron McKenna LLP), and also the Corporation to which we provide six of the Corporation’s 26 Aldermen, namely the current Lord Mayor, the Past Lord Mayor, Sir David Wootton (Allen & Overy LLP), Alison Gowman (DLA Piper UK LLP), David Graves (Hogan Lovells International LLP), Tim Hailes (JP Morgan) and Vincent Keaveny (Baker & McKenzie LLP) as one of 109 Livery Companies.


This is an important aim which will also assist the Company and the Society to


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