City Law Society to press for full trade union role

The City of London Law Society (CLLS) is to press ahead with ambitious plans to carve out a 'trade union' role after winning the backing of a group of the City's top law firms.

The decision, which comes after weeks of consultation with senior City lawyers, will see the group finally press to take on a mainstream representative role for commercial lawyers.

Crucially, a group of major firms, including Clifford Chance, Linklaters, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Allen & Overy and Simmons & Simmons, have indicated support for the concept of 'corporate' firm-wide membership for the body.

The CLLS proposals, which are a direct response to expectations that the Law Society is to lose the revenue-generating powers for its representative role, would see firms contribute fees on a firm-wide basis.

Corporate membership is also expected to lead to a significant increase in the body's budget, enabling it to take on a mainstream trade union role.

The CLLS, which has previously focused on technical issues, last year operated on a budget of just £180,000, drawn from its 2,000 members, though it nominally represents around 17,000 lawyers.

CLLS chairman David McIntosh told Legal Week: "Every single senior partner I have spoken to wants a strong national Law Society, but there is a representational void between what the national body can do and what the firms can do themselves. They recognise that the gap needs to be filled and the CLLS is the only body that can fill it."

The CLLS is now also aiming to take a lead role in coordinating the City's response to upcoming Government reforms of legal services regulation, inspired by the 2004 report by Prudential chairman Sir David Clementi.

The Government is expected to unveil its white paper outlining the reforms in detail within weeks.

However, it is conceded that many City lawyers are still waiting to gauge the impact of the reforms, which will force a split between legal bodies' regulatory and trade union roles.

Likewise, many lawyers want Chancery Lane to continue to lobby for the UK legal profession abroad, an area where the society is seen to punch above its weight.

The CLLS is now set to meet with representatives from 20 leading UK firms in November to hammer out more details.

Simmons senior partner Janet Gaymer told Legal Week: "We are at a 'scoping' stage, as a number of issues are going to have to be fleshed out going forward. We are moving into a completely new era of practising law and we must seize it, not be afraid of it."