History of Leeds Law Society
Leeds Law Society (one of the oldest local law societies in the UK) was founded in 1805 for “the protection and advancement of the character status and interests of attorneys and solicitors practising within four miles of the Borough of Leeds”. For the first 70 years of its existence the Society had no home of its own, so meetings took place in local hotels. Business meetings were followed by dinner with latecomers fined 2s 6d as a penalty for being late!
The Society was incorporated in 1870 and at that time still had only 33 members. From 1876 to 1920 the Society rented business premises in Albion Place. When the lease of those premises expired the then committee took the bold decision to purchase the adjoining building at 1 Albion Place, for the princely sum of £8,750! That building has remained home to the Leeds Law Society ever since.
In January 1905, a dinner was held at Powolny’s Rooms in Great George Street to celebrate the Society’s centenary. The then Lord Chief Justice (Lord Alverstone) attended and spoke, commenting upon the speed with which he had travelled from London to Leeds at 55 miles per hour by Great Northern Rail!
The centenary of the incorporation of the Society was celebrated in 1970 with a full page spread in the Yorkshire Post, a Centenary Dinner at the Civic Hall and a reception at Temple Newsam House – noted in the Society’s records as being the first occasion when ladies were invited to one of the Society’s functions! Seven years later the Society elected its first lady President, Shirley Schofield.
The Presidential badge of office, presented to the Society on its incorporation in 1870, bears the names of all of the Presidents who have held office since that time. Many of the names on the badge are synonymous with the names of the well-known law firms in Leeds.
When the Society celebrated its Bicentenary in 2005, its membership was higher than ever, an indication of the growth of the legal community in Leeds since 1805.