Chair's Address

Sue Maynard Campbell MBE is Elected

I am Sue Maynard Campbell and I was elected Chair of the GSD at the AGM in June 2004. I am a solicitor who has been on the Roll for 25 years. I have been disabled throughout my career, being a permanent wheelchair and PA user.

I went to Nottingham University and read BA Law, and then on to Guildford Law College. Having made the obligatory 80 or 90 applications for articles, I qualified in 1979. I went straight into partnership and then into sole practice after three years.

I currently focus on my role as Managing Director of Equal Ability Limited, one of the country's leading disability equality consultancies. We are a business-to-business consultancy working across the sectors in training, access consultancy. employment and service planning and development, and research.

For the last few years I have felt detached from the GSD, not exactly sure what was going on. I then got the plea to come to the EGM on the new constitution. It seemed obvious that the Group was at a crossroads and that my skills might assist it.

I have to say I am reengaging with the Group at, to put it mildly, an interesting stage. I hope, by the time you read this, we will have signed, or be in a position to sign, the Recognised Groups Agreement. We will then be in a position to reestablish ourselves where we should be: at the heart of disability discussions in the profession.

The GSD should be central to the interface between the Law Society, the legal profession in general, disabled solicitors, the education sector, disabled people wishing to become solicitors, and those wishing to use our services. We are at a time when there are major opportunities for opening up the agenda on disability, such as Part III of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 came into force in October 2004 and the Law Society's own agenda on equality and diversity.

Those who have been actively involved over the past few years have done a sterling job trying to make progress under difficult circumstances. Rob Wilks. my immediate predecessor, has for instance, begun to move us into the 21st century with his email discussion group. However, the Group does undoubtedly face challenges.

I see the issues for the Group revolving around communication and profile. Communication with members of the Group, and with those we need to reach. These include disabled solicitors having difficulties in the workplace needing peer support from those who have already "been there trainees having trouble moving on and those having trouble getting training contracts; the Law Society
in developing its internal and external approach to disability as an equality issue: and the profession generally as it wakes up to the fact we have a Disability Discrimination Act and that it affects their practice.

It is a huge agenda, and one we need to tackle in a realistic way. From my experience I suspect there are a number of members who would be able to offer some support, but for whom meeting in London are not the easiest way of contributing. I will be looking at new ways of working, but if you feel that you could contribute, even an ear to a colleague needing support on a very occasional ad hoc basis, please do contact me.

Sue Maynard Campbell
Email: sue_gsd@hotmail.com
Tel No: 01924 276498