Robert Roscoe, partner at Victor Lissack & Roscoe and the chair of the Law Society criminal law committee, was elected president of the London Criminal Courts Solicitors' Association last week.

Roscoe had been acting president since May, following the appointment of Robert Winstanley as a circuit judge. He said that the association, which now has over 500 members, would seek to respond to the current political debate on law and order to ensure that balance was maintained.

“We want to play a full part in the continuing debate on the criminal justice system,” he said, adding: “With the increased press interest in legal issues, it is important we know how to deal with the media.”

Anthony Edwards, of TV Edwards, retired from the association after 19 years. Roscoe said: “Tony has raised the profile not just of the LCCSA, but of the vital role that criminal practitioners play in the criminal justice system.”