Good council
The Law Society’s Council is responsible for ‘the sole and entire management of the Society’ and, as a member, you get to elect that Council. But have you considered running? The Gazette talks to two in the know
It’s important that the Law Society Council reflects the growing and diverse solicitors’ profession as widely as possible, and that it benefits from a fresh influx of talent each year.
In all, 31 members of Council are elected by national elections, and four members by provincial elections. They serve for a two-year term, and may be re-elected indefinitely.
Council also appoints up to 13 further extraordinary members annually, based on nominations from the Dublin Solicitors’ Bar Association, the Southern Bar Association, and the Law Society of Northern Ireland.
If you feel your interests or section of the profession are not fully represented, or that you can bring some fresh ideas to the table, why not consider running for Council?
Sonya Lanigan and Stuart Gilhooly are here to encourage you.
Beyond the Pale
Council member Sonya Lanigan is president of the Kilkenny Solicitors’ Bar Association and was the provincial delegate for Leinster in 2022.
“I’m representing people, particularly from ‘outside of the Pale’,” she says.
“I am conscious, from chatting to colleagues, of the issues such as the massive regulatory burden, the pressure of succession, and the loneliness of practice. I was asked to run and was duly elected. I’ve really enjoyed it, and I’d say I get more out of it than I put in.
“As well as working on Council, I love to work on committees. I sit on the Regulation of Practice and Finance Committees, and I’m vice-chairing the Litigation Committee.
“It’s an interesting group of people you get to meet. Sitting on Regulation of Practice makes you a better practitioner.
“The work I do here in my office has been improved because of it – seeing how to deal with regulation in terms of your own office and what the Law Society is looking for when it comes to accounts regulations and anti-money-laundering. So, it’s not entirely a selfless enterprise!
“I had to run again for election and run a campaign in 2024, and it got me thinking about what my priorities were in terms of representing colleagues. One priority is ensuring that the Legal Services Regulatory Authority can do its job without having to trouble practitioners about frivolous, unfounded, or vexatious complaints. I’m very glad to see that there is progress being made on that. It will probably require a change in legislation, but that is in train.
“I also ran on the ticket of campaigning for an administrator portal for enduring powers of attorney.
“I think that succession and retirement is a key topic for colleagues now, and any assistance that the Law Society can give, we would be pressing for that.
“I’m very impressed with the changes made in the Regulation Department since I joined Council. We would be campaigning for friendlier regulation.”
Sonya comes from a long legal lineage and is the fourth generation of her family in practice in Kilkenny.
“My father is 85 and is still in the office with us. He comes in in the mornings and tips away. There’s an element in which law is in my blood. I joined Council at the time when my children were getting a little older, so I felt like it was something that I could do.
“I am really impressed by the dedication and attitude of all my fellow Council members and fellow committee members. It’s a chance to see things that are high level. I’ve been blown away by the incredibly smart and dedicated people who give of their time so freely,” Sonya says.
26, not out
Stuart Gilhooly was first elected to Council in 1999, at the age of 28, after an unsuccessful run the previous year.
Stuart has been actively contributing ever since and is now the second-longest-serving Council member ever, after the late Moya Quinlan.
“I’ve been there 26 years, not out!” he quips. He also served as Law Society President in 2016/17. His motivation for running was a mix of curiosity and a drive for change.
“I always heard a lot of people complaining about the Law Society, and what it did or didn’t do. At that time, it was particularly small firms that were very critical.
“I took the view that you can either sit back and be one of the complainers, or you could try and change things,” Stuart explains.
“There was always a view out there, and I think it’s still the case, that small firms think the Law Society is only interested in big firms – while big firms think the Law Society is only interested in small firms! I imagine that now extends to in-house solicitors thinking the same as well.
“It became obvious to me that that wasn’t true. If anything, at that time, the Law Society had many more small-firm members than it did big ones. There is more of a mix now.”
He found service on Council initially quite intimidating, as the youngest member by some distance when he was first elected, but also very illuminating: “Nearly everyone who goes on Council says, ‘the Law Society does a lot more than anyone thinks they do’. Within a matter of months on Council, I realised that there’s a lot more going on than anyone thought.
“Over the years, we were never brilliant at communicating the work done. Most organisations are poor at telling people the work that they do. Certainly it has improved, but it could be better. It’s our job to make sure that information is out there.
“I think the reason that people should run now is the obvious thing, which is to have a say. You can sit back and ignore it, and hope that everything works out, or you can get stuck in and express your opinion if you have one.
“You’d be amazed at how important each view is, and it’s very important that we have a cross-section of views from across the legal profession. It’s very much a wide and diverse profession now, and it needs to be represented by all those hues.
“It is highly rewarding. It does require some of your time, but maybe not as much as you might think.
“Anyone who is interested in legal politics and who wants to contribute in a big way should look at running for Council – and, if you stay around long enough, then being president is the absolute zenith of what we are about.
“It’s trite to say this, but what you give in, you will get back,” Stuart concludes.
Nominations for the 2025 Council Election will open on Tuesday August 19. Nominations and voting are online only. For more information, visit: .
Mary Hallissey is a journalist at the Law Society Gazette.