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The Conversation – The Four Presidents

I recently had the pleasure of catching up with Dana Denis-Smith over lunch to hear about her plans for the years ahead at The Law Society. Currently Deputy Vice President, Dana becomes Vice President this October and is due to become President in October 2027. Afterwards, I spoke with three former Law Society Presidents – I. Stephanie Boyce, Simon Davis and David Greene –  to ask what advice they would offer someone trying to drive lasting change within such a long-established institution.

What emerged from my conversation with Dana was not simply a set of policy ambitions, but a carefully thought-through strategy for how to bring meaningful change within such a long-established institution –  and, crucially, how to ensure those changes endure beyond her own presidential term.

Three themes from our chat  stood out in particular…

The first is Dana’s determination to improve access to legal information for Litigants In Person. She spoke passionately about the widening gap between legal rights and practical access to justice. Litigants In Person, she noted, are now the fastest-growing stakeholder group for the Law Society – a reflection of pressures on legal aid and the increasing number of people forced to navigate the legal system alone.

Her interest lies not merely in helping people locate legal materials such as statutes and case law, but in making those materials genuinely understandable once found. In the age of AI, she believes there is no reason why updates to case law and legal developments should not become available in near real time and in formats accessible to ordinary users.

Crucially, she does not see Litigants In Person as taking work away from lawyers. Rather, she sees them as people who have effectively fallen outside the system altogether –  individuals who would often prefer legal representation but cannot realistically obtain it. That distinction matters.

What struck me listening to Dana was how neatly this connects with themes raised by former Law Society President I. Stephanie Boyce, whose own presidency was shaped by questions of public access to justice and visibility. 

“We have to remember that rights are meaningless if people don’t know they have them”, Stephanie reminded me. The profession has a duty to ensure people know where to turn for legal advice and support, particularly at moments when they are most vulnerable.” She pointed me to stats revealing that in 2025, an astonishing  80% per cent of private law cases involved at least one party not represented by a lawyer. Seen in that light, Dana’s focus on Litigants In Person feels less like a departure for the Law Society and more like an inevitable response to the reality of modern legal need.

Stephanie was – and still is – passionate about challenging what she sees as the profession’s often insular mindset, believing solicitors need to engage far more directly with the public they serve. To that end, during her time at The Law Society she made a concerted effort – whenever Covid restrictions allowed – to go out into communities, visiting libraries, universities, councils, care homes and hospitals. She was determined to be visible and accessible, not only to the profession but to the wider public too. That was also why she chose to engage with the tabloid media as readily as with the broadsheets and The Times’ Law section.

The second theme that fascinated me in my conversation with Dana was her instinct for building structures that outlast individual office holders.  She has “form” in this regard. Dana founded charity Spark21 as a vehicle for her First 100 Years and Next 100 Years of Women in Law initiatives –  projects designed not as one-off campaigns but as enduring platforms capable of continuing long after their founder stepped back. That long-term thinking now appears central to how she is approaching the presidency itself.  Rather than seeing the role as a one-year platform for personal priorities, she appears to be asking a more difficult question: how do you embed change deeply enough that it survives institutional turnover?

Former Law Society President David Greene smiled when I raised this aspect of Dana’s plans with him. He observed that every long-established institution contains an understandable tension between continuity and reform.  “In any organisation that is centuries old,” he told me, “there will naturally be systems and cultures designed to preserve stability. That is not necessarily a bad thing – continuity matters – but it does mean anyone seeking change has to think carefully about how reforms become embedded, rather than simply announced.”

He laughed as he compared aspects of institutional life to Yes Minister –  a comparison that feels especially timely with Sorry, Prime Minister about to begin a national UK tour. But the underlying point was serious: lasting reform depends less on grand declarations than on building coalitions, systems and structures that endure beyond individual personalities.

That brings me to the third striking feature of Dana’s approach: her emphasis on building advisory networks around her and drawing expertise into the process early.  This too echoes advice from former President Simon Davis, who stressed to me that successful presidencies effectively begin years before the presidential chain is ever worn.  “It is traditional for incoming Presidents to prepare the themes for their year a few months before taking office,” he said. “But in reality, those themes should already be forming even before someone becomes Deputy Vice President –  perhaps even before they put themselves forward for election.”  He emphasised the importance of close coordination between the Deputy Vice President, Vice President and President.  “They should operate as a coordinated team, avoiding duplication and ensuring that the issues of the short, medium and long term are fully covered. Regular liaison and coordination enables the Deputy to start implementing the themes of their year to be – without stepping on the toes of the existing officers.  In this way, a President has three years to develop and implement their themes.  United you will stand. Divided you will…” 

Stephanie also underlined the importance of communication. “You have to be clear about where you are going,” she said, “and help others see the journey too and be enthused .” 

Every week without fail she would circulate a communication to the Council and all the committees  – even when travel tired. She would give a rundown of her week,  with pictures to bring it to life and always ending on a positive note. 

Reflecting on the advice from these three past Presidents, I  am struck by how Dana seems to understand this already, quite naturally. Her plans are ambitious, certainly. But perhaps more importantly, she appears equally focused on the mechanics of making ambition survive contact with institutional reality. In a 200-year-old organisation, that may be the most important skill of all.

Clare Rodway, Board Advisor, Bell Yard Kysen Communications