Dear colleagues,

I am writing today to provide notice of a Special General Meeting (SGM) of the Law Society taking place on Thursday 3 March 2022. All members of the Law Society are invited to attend this meeting. The agenda for the SGM can be found on the Law Society website.

The purpose of the SGM is to finalise two resolutions passed at the Annual General Meeting 2021 to provide for:

1. consideration of the introduction of voting by electronic means in both the Society’s annual election and the provincial elections; and
2. to make the necessary amendments to the Bye-laws of the Society to accommodate this change. 

The move towards an electronic voting system is an extension of the Society’s digital first policy and a positive step towards fostering a more progressive and inclusive organisation. 

At its 28 January 2022 meeting, the Council of the Law Society approved the date for the holding of an SGM of the Society for the purpose of deciding on proposed amendments to the Society’s Bye-laws to incorporate and reflect the introduction and operation of this electronic voting system.

A full review of the Society’s Bye-laws has taken place focused on expressly providing for electronic voting in annual elections and in provincial elections and for communications between the Society and members of the Society (and vice versa) to include communications by electronic means. In addition, this review of the Bye-laws focused on general housekeeping items, including updates in accordance with the Law Society’s Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion principles, changes to reflect our electronic communications policy and remedying some small grammatical errors.

I now invite you to review the proposed amendments to the Society’s Bye-laws, which are available on the Law Society website, and to attend the SGM to have your say on these matters.

Register to attend

The SGM will take place as a hybrid event to accommodate in-person and online attendance. The details of the Law Society SGM are as follows:

• Time/Date: 6.30pm on Thursday 3 March 2022.
• Location: Lecture Hall, Education Centre, Law Society of Ireland, Blackhall Place, Dublin 7 and Zoom Webinar. Please refer to the Law Society website for more information.
• Registration: Advance registration for online attendance is essential. Registration for members attending in-person is not mandatory but is encouraged.
• Agenda: The agenda for the SGM can be found online

You can register to attend the SGM online through the Law Society website (login required). The deadline for registering to attend the SGM online is 5pm on Tuesday 1 March 2022. Members who have registered to attend online will receive SGM access details by email in advance of the meeting.

I look forward to welcoming you to the SGM.

With kind regards,

Michelle Ní Longáin,

President