Lubna Shuja made history on 12th October when she became the 178th President of the Law Society of England and Wales.
Lubna is the first Asian, first Muslim and the seventh woman to be president of the Law Society in it’s nearly 200- year history.
Lubna has been a member of the Law Society Council since 2013, currently sitting on the Society’s board and chairing its Strategic Litigation Group. She previously served as the inaugural Chair of the Law Society’s Membership and Communications Committee (2018-2021).
‘I am honoured to serve as Law Society president. I take on the role at a difficult time for the legal profession’, Lubna said. ‘The rule of law has been in the spotlight as never before in recent history. The UK’s economy is on a knife- edge and businesses are having to deal with rising interest rates and high inflation’.
In her 30 years as a solicitor, Lubna has witnessed a lot of positive change but recognises the need for further strides to be made to ensure equity for all within the profession.
Lubna will take action to break down barriers that face people across society who are trying to access the profession or further their careers. This includes working with the Solicitor judges’ network to promote alternative career paths.
She will continue to advocate for lawyers at risk overseas. As well as planning to engage with organisations internationally with a focus on exploring new markets and opportunities for Law Society members.
Having worked in professional discipline and regulation for a long time, ethics is incredibly important to Lubna and will be another key focus of her presidency.
To assist lawyers with this, she plans to launch a ‘ major focus on ethics in the profession to help members navigate this increasingly complex environment and to seek solutions to cope with the constantly changing narrative’.
Lubna is an inspiration for women and ethnic minorities entering and progressing through the legal sector and we at Aston Bond wish her every success in the coming year.