CLA News / The CLA President, Brian Speers, receives a new medal of office from the Law Society of Northern Ireland 

The Law Society of Northern Ireland has been generous in its support and encouragement for me during my time as President of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association.  Another example of this support and their generosity has been the presentation to the CLA of a Presidential Medal.

Upon assuming office and being handed over the CLA flag by my predecessor Santhaan,  it struck me that the handing over of a flag could be improved. I suggested that the striking of a CLA President’s Medal might be an appropriate gesture for the Law Society of Northern Ireland to consider.

Not only did they consider this was a very suitable idea, but they commissioned the company that manufactures medals in the Honours system in the UK, to create the CLA President’s Medal.  A picture of me wearing the medal is attached, having been presented with it at a meeting of the Council of Law Society of Northern Ireland in October 2021.  The presentation was met with warm applause by Council members and the CLA Presidential Medal was officially hung round my neck by the President of the Law Society of Northern Ireland, Mr Rowan White.

Delegates at the CLC in the Bahamas in September 2021 will know that it had been the hope that the CLA Presidential Medal would have been available in Nassau to be handed over during the CLC.  While a ceremony of sorts did take place, it was not with the actual new CLA President’s Medal.

The CLA President’s medal will be worn by me with pride at official gatherings, at conferences and at events where it is appropriate to wear such a medal. It will be worn by successive Presidents during their presidency.

The thanks of all in the Commonwealth Lawyers Association are extended to the Law Society of Northern Ireland for this generous, thoughtful and enduring gift to the CLA.