HAVING once thought the legal profession was “not for somebody like me”, Lubna Shuja is now the president of the Law Society of England and Wales, representing the voice of thousands of solicitors.
She is the first Asian and first Muslim to achieve the feat in the organisation since its inception in 1825.
A solicitor since 1992 and a mediator since 2005, she says her role is to protect the public.
Born in Bradford, Shuja secured her law degree from the University of Westminster and later moved to Birmingham where she set up her law firm Legal Swan Solicitors in 2007.
Shuja, who can speak English, Urdu, and Punjabi, joined the Solicitor Sole Practitioners Group and became its chair in 2012, which represents more than a third of all solicitor firms in Britain.
She became a member of the Law Society Council in 2013, representing the interests of sole practitioners. She eventually became its president in October 2022 after working as the vice president for a year and eight months.
“As president, I intend to launch a major focus on ethics in the profession to support solicitors through this minefield,” she said at an event in Bradford following her election.
“This will help the public to understand the finely balanced professional ethical issues solicitors weigh up daily to ensure the rule of law is upheld,” Shuja said.
She said she was taking on the role at a difficult time for the legal profession when people had to deal with rising interest rates and high inflation.
Shuja is heavily involved in disciplinary and professional regulation. She chairs several disciplinary, regulatory, professional conduct, fitness to practice, investigatory and appeal committees, dealing with a wide range of professionals.
She was also a deputy clerk at the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal for more than 13 years, where she advised the tribunal on law and procedure.
With her area of practice being dispute resolution – civil, commercial and family mediation, she says she works with her stated motto of acting in the public interest.
She is emphatic about solicitors' collective contribution to the nation and says they have a “role to play ensuring the UK government acts lawfully.”