My year as President

Our senior partner Mick Barry talks about his year as President of the Sussex Law Society

Being President of the Sussex Law Society was fun. There were newsletters to be organised, speeches to be given, government consultations to be answered, committees to be chaired. In such a position there's no alternative but to do it 'my way', and since we all enjoy the sound of our own voice, of course it's fun!

Then there was the real fun stuff such as the opening of the legal year at Westminster Abbey with the judges in all their finery, and the Lord Chancellor's 'breakfast' afterwards. An exchange with Italian lawyers from Bergamo was a great opportunity to compare two very different legal systems - and an even better opportunity to compare two different gastronomies.

Attending the annual dinners of several other local Law Societies was interesting, in particular a memorable dinner at the Law Societies Hall. This was a prelude to my own Presidential Dinner - definitely something I want to do only once!

My year as President was a great opportunity to meet some interesting people, to raise one's vision from the daily workload and to view the challenges facing the profession as a whole.

Mick Barry

telephone 01273 600331

e-mail:michael.barry@farringtonwebb.co.uk