Presidential election results announced

12 April 2010

The Law society today announced the results of the 2010 Presidential elections. Mental health and human rights lawyer Lucy Scott-Moncrieff will take office as Deputy Vice President in July this year when Linda Lee becomes President and John Wotton becomes Vice President.

Lucy is the managing partner of Scott-Moncrieff Harbour and Sinclair, a virtual law firm which operates online and acts for legally aided and privately paying clients. The firm specialises in representing detained patients, life sentence prisoners and vulnerable children and young people. Lucy was elected to the Law Society Council in the summer of 2002, and previous to that maintained a long connection with the Law Society through her membership of the Mental Health and Disability Committee over the last 24 years. Lucy also sits on the Society's Regulatory Affairs Board, Access to Justice, and Education and Training Committees.

Ms Scott-Moncrieff, a competitive and adventurous swimmer based in London, qualified as a solicitor in 1978. She sits as a Mental Health Tribunal judge and provides training for those applying for membership of the Law Society's Mental Health Panel. In 2005 Lucy won the Mental Health Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year award. She is acknowledged as a leader in her field in the Chambers Directory and the Legal 500 and many of her cases have been reported over the years.

Lucy said: "It is both an honour and a great responsibility to be elected DVP, especially at such a challenging time for the profession as a result of the transformation of legal aid and the licensing of alternative business structures. I very much look forward to championing the profession as we move into the next decade."

Robert Heslett, President of the Law Society, congratulated Lucy on her appointment: "There was an exceptionally high standard of candidates this year and Lucy is superbly qualified to meet the demands of office. A skilled negotiator and communicator with extensive experience in the area of regulation and law reform, she will make an excellent President. Lucy is a leader in her field and has made a considerable impact on Council since her arrival. Having founded an innovative legal practice Lucy's experience will ensure that the Law Society is a modern, effective body that represents the needs of all solicitors both in England and Wales and abroad."