Mary Kaye appointed Birmingham Law Society President

By Enda Mullen, Birmingham Post|April 25 2012

SGH Martineau, partner Mary Kaye has become the new president of Birmingham Law Society.

Ms Kaye, who was appointed at BLS’s AGM and who succeeds Andrew Lancaster in the role, has led the family law team at SGH Martineau since joining the firm in 2006.

She specialises in all aspects of family law, with particular expertise in international family law, often involving legal and financial disputes in different jurisdictions.

Ms Kaye has experience in representing clients in the Family Proceedings Court, the County Court and High Court and is regularly instructed by the court to act for children.

Born in Limerick in the Republic of Ireland, Ms Kaye moved to Manchester in 1976 to work for Bank of Ireland. She moved to Birmingham in 1982 where she initially trained as a legal executive before qualifying as a solicitor in 1997.

Before joining Martineau in 2006 she was a partner at city law firm Blakemores for six years.

“It is an honour and privilege to be taking over as president of Birmingham Law Society,” she said.

“Andrew has done a fantastic job as president over the past 12 months in what remains a challenging economic environment for the legal industry.”

Ms Kaye said she has three main objectives as president.

“Firstly, during my year in office I want to put BLS on a firm business footing,” she said.

“Central to this will be establishing a three-year business plan for the organisation. Not only will this give us something to work towards, it will provide total transparency and accountability for the members of whom we serve.

“Secondly, I believe that BLS should have a permanent home; somewhere that acts as a central hub for the city’s legal profession that can be used by members and non-members alike to meet and do business.

“Thirdly, building on the work of Andrew and his predecessors, I want to encourage wider communication and involvement amongst members to create greater unity within the profession. Key to this will be forging stronger ties among all age groups, from newly qualifieds to senior partners.”

Martin Allsopp, a partner at Allsopp & Co has taken over as BLS vice-president, while Eileen Schofield of Schofield & Associates has become deputy vice president.

Chris Owen, chief executive of St Philips Chambers, has become chairman of the BLS board, taking over from Bernard Shepherd.