President’s Report
– 2013 to 2014
"I have had a thoroughly enjoyable year as President of the
Society. I have presided over regular meetings of the Council through which we
have conducted the business of Wolverhampton Law Society.
My thanks to all those responsible at Rees Page Solicitors
for their continued work on running and updating the members' blog.
The Society continues to be a mainly social one and there
have been a number of events this year where there have been valuable
opportunities for business networking and socialising with fellow lawyers and
other local professionals and business leaders.
The Society's first social event of the year was the summer
ball which we held in the WV1 suite at the Molineux with a Bond theme. The Casino gaming tables were again very
popular and the room was very imaginatively dressed by our social secretaries
with lots of extra props. Guy Birkett again treated us to a taste of his
extensive music collection by putting together a mix of tunes and many of us
danced into the early hours of the following morning. The event was well
supported and I am pleased that a date has been fixed for this year's event and
I am sure it will again be a great success.
In October 2013 we held a charity quiz night in conjunction
with Walsall Law Association. I thought
the evening was a great success (not least because my team won) with more than
20 teams entering. My thanks to Chris
Jones who wrote the questions. Again, I
hope that this will be another successful event later this year.
Also in October the Society hosted a seminar given by the
Deputy Vice President of the Law Society - Jonathan Smithers. The seminar was preceded by a lunch with
Jonathan to which the senior and managing partners of local firms had been invited. The lunch was well attended and it was an
excellent opportunity to discuss the challenges facing the profession with
Jonathan and our some of our local legal colleagues. I very much hope that this may become a
regular event in future.
Our annual dinner, Putting on the Christmas Ritz, was a great
success. The event was well attended and
the Speaker was well received by most of the audience. I am sure that this year's annual dinner will
be supported with similar enthusiasm.
In November I attended the Birmingham Law Society's annual
dinner but was unable to attend the Walsall Law Association's dinner due to
other commitments. My vice-president, Andrew and other of our Members attended
in my stead. Given the reports received
after the evening I am sure that Andrew will not be booking the same Speaker
from that evening to any of our events in future!
My year as President has co-incided with the 21st Anniversary
of Wolverhampton Polytechnic becoming a University. I have been privileged to be invited by the
University to attend a number of events to mark this special year including a
Business Awards Ceremony and the Chancellors Graduation Dinner at the University. I very much hope that the Society's links
with the University will be strengthened further in the coming years.
It was my great pleasure to attend the Wolverhampton
Magistrates' Court School mooting competition recently. It was very encouraging to see so many
talented youngsters taking part and the winning team from Wolverhampton Girls'
High School now head on to compete in the national finals.
I would like to
express my sincere thanks to our two Social Secretaries, Laura Jones and
Charlotte Clode who have again worked tirelessly throughout the year and
organised a number of very impressive events.
You really are both a credit to the Society and I very much hope that
you will continue in your roles for a good many years to come. You have certainly played a major role in
raising the profile of the Society in recent years.
My thanks also to Richard Ennis who has worked for a number
of years as Secretary, Gareth Ruddock who has done likewise in his role as
Treasurer, and Andrew Wynne for his support of me and the Society over the last
year. I am sure that Andrew will make an
excellent President for the coming year."
TMD
