Alyson Kilpatrick and Darren Toombs

Chief commissioner Alyson Kilpatrick joined Law Society president Darren Toombs to sign the Society’s new pledge, launched in response to increasing attacks on lawyers in the media and from politicians associating lawyers with the actions or causes of their clients.

Justice minister Naomi Long previously became the first elected representative to sign the pledge.

Signatories to the pledge “recognise the rule of law as the foundation of a just and democratic society, commit to supporting and upholding the independence of the legal profession and the judiciary which underpin the rule of law”.

They also commit to upholding the six key principles of independence, responsibility, fairness, balance and impartiality, transparency and accuracy.