Brigid Napier

Writing in the latest edition of The Writ, published last week, Ms Napier said she is “mindful of the continuing pressures that face the Society” but that there are “very many reasons for us to be optimistic”.

“My optimism stems from the knowledge that the one constant over the last 99 years of the Law Society’s existence is its ability to embrace change and adapt to the economic, political and social challenges the Society has faced, no more so than during the current pandemic,” she wrote.

“This has required an agility of mindset, systems and practice on the part of the whole profession which was unprecedented. The continuing fallout from Covid has led to a displaced workforce, which has become our default working norm. It has also required us to fast-track law tech in our practices.”

Ms Napier said the well-being of the profession “will be at the forefront of my year in office”, noting that younger members of the profession have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic.

As well as updates from the Law Society’s chief executive team, the latest edition of The Writ includes pieces on alternative dispute resolution and mediation, clinical negligence, licensing law, social security, insolvency and wills, among other issues.