Siobhan Keegan is central to a growing dispute over whether members of the Law Society will get enough information before next Wednesday’s special general meeting at the Europa Hotel in Belfast. Solicitors want to know if a no confidence vote in David Lavery will be allowed, but they have not yet been told the motions or the material behind the leadership’s backing of him.
Gervase McGenity said members cannot make informed decisions without meaningful disclosure. Rosemary Connolly, a Co Down based solicitor, said those attending need basic information, including the motions and some documentation around the investigation that can be legally released.
Law Society and David Lavery
The meeting notice said the business to be considered will be concerns by some members regarding the chief executive’s provision of a character reference and the society’s response to those concerns. It also said motions will follow the business to be considered, which is why members are pressing for the wording before they arrive.
The Law Society said on Friday it will provide further information ahead of the meeting early next week, including the details of the motions due to be debated. That timetable leaves members waiting until shortly before the gathering to see what they are actually being asked to decide.
Mark Borland and disclosure
Mark Borland said last month that the society failed to communicate what it was doing, why it was doing it and how it was doing it. He also said David Lavery has his support to continue as the chief executive of the Law Society of Northern Ireland and to move us forward.
Borland added that he accepts the process was independent and robust and therefore the society must accept the outcome of that process, that David remains as chief executive. That position sits alongside members’ calls for more disclosure about the investigation, the decisions taken and the basis for the conclusions reached by the society.
Next Wednesday at Europa Hotel
The case around Lavery has widened beyond the meeting itself. Last month, Secretary of State Chris Bryant removed him as a member of the Human Rights Commission, and Lavery also resigned as a member of a panel set up to investigate PSNI surveillance of journalists.
The issue began after Lavery provided a reference ahead of the sentencing of his cousin William Lloyd-Lavery, who was convicted following a jury trial of sexually abusing young girls while he worked as a teacher at a south Belfast school. In April, William Lloyd-Lavery was sentenced to two years.
For members heading to the Europa Hotel next Wednesday, the immediate issue is simple: they still need the motions and the disclosure that will tell them whether a no confidence vote is on the table and what exactly they are being asked to approve.
