Sycamore-Sayer election twist

THE Law Society vice president, Phillip Sycamore, has announced he will stand for the presidency in the summer, and has asked rival candidate Robert Sayer to be a running mate.

Sayer, who was stunned by the offer to stand as Sycamore's deputy vice president, has said he will need a lot of convincing to accept the position.

The dramatic twist in the increasingly complicated presidential saga came after Sayer split with former president Martin Mears and told The Lawyer he was planning to stand for the top spot himself.

But in an open letter, Sycamore and his deputy vice president Michael Mathews have asked Sayer to join their ticket as the third man.

"Like you, we want to create a new style Law Society - effective, efficient, economical and accountable to its members," they wrote.

Law Society president Tony Girling, who confirmed that he would not be standing again in July, fully supported his deputy's actions saying he hoped Sayer, an often fierce critic of his administration, would accept. Girling added that he believed that Sayer wanted to find answers to the Law Society's problems.

Girling, who is just over half-way through his term, said it was unfortunate that electioneering for his position had begun so early, but it was now important to prevent speculation about who would be standing and put a solid team in place.

Both Sycamore and Mathews, to stand as vice president, are also eager to end what they see as divisive electioneering and said they firmly believed they could work with Sayer.

"I really think it's well stated in our letter that the profession does want to see a period of stability," said Sycamore.

Sayer also said he wanted an end to "name calling".