Congratulations to our Partner and Head of Corporate & Commercial, Elaine McLaine-Wood, who was elected President of the Tees Valley Law Society (TVLS) last month at the Annual General Meeting.
Upon her election Elaine, who has been an active and vocal member of the local Law Society for a number of years, said “I’m delighted to take on the role of President for the next 12 months and am looking forward to the challenge of representing our local members during some potentially very turbulent times.”
As part of her election commitment Elaine will be looking to connect with members across the Tees Valley to clearly understand their needs and views. Elaine sees this as key in ensuring the Law Society continues to play a leading role in delivering a thriving local legal community. Furthermore as President of the Tees Valley Law Society Elaine has an invaluable opportunity to influence the Law Society at a national level – an opportunity she will seize with both hands at her first regional conference in Birmingham, in September.
“The recent Brexit vote brings challenges and opportunities for the nation, many of which have vast implications for our legal system. It is now more important than ever to ensure that the voice of the Tees Valley is heard, and I will work to make sure that happens within the Law Society network,” says Elaine.
Elaine is no stranger to lobbying on a national level, having played a leading role in student politics whilst at University and sees these skills, as well as her long history as a highly respected Corporate & Commercial solicitor as being potentially very useful in the coming months.
Aside from Elaine taking on the role as President, the Punch Robson team is well represented within the leadership of the Tees Valley Law Society, with Geoff Cruickshank as Chair of the Education and Training committee and Leah Keating who is the Constituency Member for Stockton on Tees. Leah has recently been promoted to Associate Solicitor and is surely one of the Tees Valley stars of the future.
Punch Robson partner, John Wilkin said “We see our commitment to the Tees Valley Law Society as being a key part of our ongoing commitment to building a strong and leading legal community on Teesside.” As part of this commitment, Punch Robson offers training contracts to local graduates – applications for which are now open (for the 2017 intake). Furthermore, as a firm we provide ongoing, regular support to the Middlesbrough Citizen’s Advice Bureau as well as the University of Teesside Law Clinic – support which takes the form both of funding as well as mentoring to students.
