surrey law society
Kingston-upon-Thames,
Need advice or information on a legal problem? Whether the problem is personal
or business, one of our member firms should be able to assist. Today the Surrey
Law Society is the sixth largest in England and Wales with a membership of
around 1000 solicitors and is seen as the Surrey Lawyers’ voice. Surrey Law
Society was formally incorporated in November 2001. It was a coming together of
the three existing Surrey law societies in order to improve economy of
administration and provide a far more effective voice for Surrey lawyers when
talking both to the Law Society and other professional bodies. Previously the
Mid Surrey Law Society had served members in the north of Surrey and London
boroughs of Richmond, Kingston, Sutton and parts of Merton, the name deriving
from the days when Surrey was everything south of the Thames in Central London.
The South East Surrey Law Society was based around Dorking and its environs and
similarly the West Surrey Law Society comprised of members in or around
Guildford. The amalgamation enabled us to reach parts of the County that the old
societies did not reach and increased membership dramatically to its present
level. It is now in the top ten local law societies throughout the country, when
considering that these include the City of London, Manchester and Birmingham,
the Surrey lawyers’ voice is now far more effectively heard in high places. The
‘map’ of the committee as at 27th Nov 2013 identifies the group that currently
manages the Society. Originally the presidency rotated around the old three
centres of activity but over the years the integration is such that we are now
one big happy family, providing not only an effective CPD programme but
representatives on just about every legal forum that can be found in the County
and several others. One of the main aims of the Society is to get to know fellow
lawyers through networking and social events as diverse as beer and skittles
evenings, walking weekends, dinners and quizzes. Liaison regularly takes place
not only with adjoining societies but also on a national level. Strong and
permanent links have also been forged with the University of Law in Guildford
itself and Kingston and Surrey Universities where we are happy to sponsor events
to assist the students in various ways. We look forward to playing a full role
in the legal world and promote the role of Surrey solicitors for a very long
time to come.