Ramona Derbyshire of leading commercial law firm Thrings has been elected President of the Gloucestershire & Wiltshire incorporated Law Society (GWILS).
A partner in Thrings’ Company Commercial team in Swindon, Ramona replaces current President Andrew Ewart-James on a one-term basis.
GWILS has been the voice of the legal profession in Gloucester and Wiltshire since its inception in 1817, providing functional and practical support to its members and liaising with the national Law Society to express its members’ views.
During her year-long tenure, Ramona and her committee will work to expand GWILS’ membership base – currently totalling 150 – to include those working in all areas of the legal profession, including solicitors, trainees, paralegals, legal secretaries and legal executives.
Under Ramona’s guidance, the committee will also deliver a number of social, networking and training events across Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, as well as overseeing a project to update the society’s website.
Visitors to www.gwils.co.uk will enjoy a range of new and improved features, including the chance to read and contribute to group discussions on topics currently affecting the national and regional legal industries. The new site will also include new training and recruitment sections, details of specialist members’ events and links to courts, judiciaries and the national Law Society.
Meanwhile, GWILS’ 17-strong committee has been bolstered by the arrival of Thrings solicitors Joanna Apperley, who will assume responsibility for members’ social events and training, and Louisa Smith, who will take up the position of honorary secretary.
Ramona says: “GWILS has actively and successfully represented the views of its members in the legal community for almost two hundred years, as well as providing training and guidance on legal and regulatory issues to solicitors through its associations with the Law Society.
“No organisation should ever stand still, and over the next twelve months the committee and I will be working hard to uphold GWILS’ history and traditions while implementing progressive changes which support the society’s ethos of being a modern legal services network and promoting the many benefits which membership brings to those working in the Gloucestershire and Wiltshire legal community.”
