A leading independent professional membership body for lawyers in the North West has announced a new president for 2022.
The Manchester Law Society has elected Paul Johnson, a partner in the corporate team at Top 100 law firm Ward Hadaway, as its 2022 president following two years as the Society’s vice president. Paul is a highly regarded and respected solicitor working across the North West, based at Ward Hadaway’s Manchester office, where he’s been a senior member of the team since he joined in 2014.
After studying law at Liverpool University, Paul worked at various firms in the region before he joined Ward Hadaway in 2014. He deals with a wide range of corporate matters including mergers and acquisitions, private equity matters and regularly acts on behalf of owner-managed businesses. Paul has a particular interest and passion in supporting family-owned companies.
Talking about his appointment, Paul said: “To be elected president of the Manchester Law Society is truly a great privilege. Serving as vice president for the last two years, I have a deep understanding of how the Society works and, collectively, we have bold ambitions to help and support legal professionals both members and non-members.
“As we now move forward into a post-Covid world, my key focus is to reignite the real sense of community that the Society represents. We’ll be bringing back more in person events and looking at innovative ways that we can engage with our members now that Teams and Zoom are second nature to us. I am also looking to rekindle the Society’s Education Fund this year to provide financial support and networking opportunities for those who may not otherwise have access to legal training. I’m looking forward to a wide range of exciting events and seminars and meeting more of the region’s innovative, hard-working legal professionals.”
Today, Manchester Law Society has over 3,700 members and is one of the largest and most active local law societies in the country. Its main aim is to support, champion and connect their members and to provide a strong and collective voice for the legal community in Manchester.
Paul added: “One of the great privileges of this role is to choose a President’s Charity for the Year. In the current climate, I have chosen Caritas Aspire, who work alongside refugees and asylum seekers here in Manchester. They provide high quality language lessons, mentoring to support entry into further/higher education or employment, and very much needed wellbeing services. Caritas Aspire aims to assist refugees and asylum seekers in their integration, support their wellbeing and promote and protect their human dignity, something which is obviously at the forefront of our minds in these shocking times.”
Paul and the Society are planning the Manchester Legal Awards 2022, a number of educational events, professionals’ dinner clubs and conferences with keynote speakers during his term as President.
Fran Eccles-Bech, Chief Executive of the Manchester Law Society, said: “I’m delighted to welcome Paul as our newly elected president. A solicitor of his calibre and experience is an asset to the Society and I am confident that he will bring positive change, enabling us to move forward into 2022 and help more legal professionals from across the North West. It’s great to have him on board and I’m excited to see what our future holds.”
