Drop in attendance for Law Society conference

THE TURN-OUT for the Law Society conference was down on last year, despite attempts to attract extra delegates by holding the event in the capital.

But organisers claim a success because of the record number of paying delegates.

About 350 people paid to attend this year, compared with 290 for last year's three-day event in Brighton.

But society vice-President John Young says the total number attending, which dropped from 940 to 863, was a disappointment. "We had hoped to attract more people by staging the event in London and by making it shorter," he says.

Conference manager Pru Ross says the overall drop in numbers was because fewer spouses attended. This year's format was designed to attract more rank and file solicitors and was successful in that respect, she says.

Many practitioners were impressed by the 'Challenging the leadership' session, featuring hi-tech equipment which instantly registered delegates' votes on key issues. Data was analysed and logged in a matter of seconds before it was beamed on to a screen.

Young says: "My view is that the conference went well. Solicitors appreciated the chance to express their views." (Report on page 7.)