The Law Society of England and Wales (officially The Law Society) is the professional body that represents solicitors for the jurisdiction of England and Wales. It provides services and support to practising and training solicitors, as well as serving as a sounding board for law reform. The Law Society was founded in 1825, and its members are often consulted when important issues are being debated in Parliament or by the executive. The Law Society's Hall is located at 113 Chancery Lane in London. There is also a Wales office in Cardiff to focus on matters relating to the Welsh jurisdiction, the Welsh Government and the Senedd.
A president is elected annually to serve for one year. The current president is Mark Evans, who serves as the 181st president of the Law Society and the third Welsh person to hold the office.
The Law Society has no regulatory or representative role in relation to barristers in England and Wales. The relevant professional body for barristers is the General Council of the Bar.
History
The London Law Institution, the predecessor to the Law Society, was founded in 1823 when many London solicitors came together to raise the reputation of the profession by setting standards and ensuring good practice. The word London was dropped from the name in 1825 to reflect the fact that the Law Institution had national aspirations.
The Law Society was founded on 2 June 1825, when a committee of management was appointed. It acquired its first royal charter in 1831 as The Society of Attorneys, Solicitors, Proctors, and others not being Barristers, practising in the Courts of Law and Equity of the United Kingdom.Law Society Royal Charters A new charter in 1845 defined the Society as an independent, private body servicing the affairs of the profession like other professional, literary and scientific bodies. By further royal charter in 1903, the name of the Society was changed to simply The Law Society. It first admitted women members in 1922.Law Society Website History Section
In 1949, the Law Society was given the responsibility of legal aid by the Legal Aid and Advice Act 1949. This function was passed to the Legal Aid Board by the Legal Aid Act 1988.
In July 2013, the Association of Women Solicitors (AWS), a national organisation working with and representing women solicitors in the United Kingdom, merged with the Law Society to form its Women Lawyers Division. Although merged, the AWS operates separately from the Law Society.
Discipline In 1834, the Society first initiated proceedings against dishonest practitioners. By 1907, the Society possessed a statutory disciplinary committee and was empowered to investigate solicitors' accounts and to issue annual practising certificates. In 1983, the Society established the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors to deal with complaints about solicitors. Complaints regarding the conduct of solicitors are now dealt with by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). However, complaints regarding poor service are the remit of the Legal Ombudsman.
Legal education The Solicitors Act 1860 enabled the Society to create a three-tier examination system. In 1903, the Society established its own Law Society School of Law, which later merged with tutorial firm Gibson and Weldon to become the independent College of Law. By 1922, the Law Society required a compulsory academic year for all clerks.
Regulatory body status Following the recommendations of the Clementi Review, the Law Society split its representative and regulatory functions.
Complaints from the public are handled by the Legal Ombudsman, which is a single portal for complaints by the public made against all providers of legal services, including the Bar, licensed conveyancers etc. – but excluding unqualified will-writers.
The regulatory body for solicitors is the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). It is an Independent Division of the Law Society Group which regulates and enforces regulation completely independently of the Law Society.
The Law Society remains the approved regulator, although following the Legal Services Act 2007, a new body – the Legal Services Board (currently chaired by Monisha Shah) – oversees all the approved regulators including the General Council of the Bar, which divested its regulatory functions to the Bar Standards Board. The Law Society is a Designated Professional Body under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.
The Law Society's Hall Located at 113 Chancery Lane in London, The Law Society's Hall is the principal building of the Society. Constructed in 1832, the building is Grade II* listed. The architect was Lewis Vulliamy. An extension in 1902-04 was designed by Charles Holden. In addition to offices for its staff, the building is used for Law Society conferences and events, and parts of the building are available on a private hire basis for events.
Past presidents Source: "Past Presidents", The Law Society of England and Wales. Retrieved 8 June 2025.
Chairmen Before 1845, the head of the Society's committee was called the Chairman.Handbook of the Law Society of Great Britain (London: The Law Society of Great Britain, 1905), p. x. Source: "Past Presidents", The Law Society of England and Wales. Retrieved 8 June 2025. 1844 Edward Foss 1843 Edward Foss 1842 Edward Archer Wilde 1841 Thomas Metcalfe 1840 John Teesdale 1839 Iltid Nicholl 1838 Thomas Adlington 1837 William Tooke, MP 1836 George Frere 1835 George Frere 1835 James William Freshfield, MP 1834 Bryan Holme 1834 William Lowe 1833 Richard White
Standard Conditions of Sale The "Standard Conditions of Sale" are issued by the Law Society to provide a standard set of rules and expectations for the sale and purchase of residential property in England and Wales. As a contractual instrument they are intended "to create legal rights and legal obligations" on the part of both parties to a transaction.Law Society, Standard Conditions of Sale (5th edition – 2018 revision), accessed 20 January 2021 The fifth (current) edition was initially published in 2011,Coop Legal Services, What are the Standard Conditions of Sale?, published 28 September 2017, accessed 20 January 2021 and was revised in 2018. The majority of residential property sales are subject to these conditions.DGPS Partnership LLP, Standard Conditions Of Sale (5th Edition) Guide, accessed 21 January 2021
See also Law Society Gazette Law Society of Northern Ireland Law Society of Scotland Legal Complaints Service Lexcel
References
External links
113 Chancery Lane website