The Isle of ManLaw Society is the professional body in respect of the advocates' profession in the Isle of Man. The Society's role is to regulate and to provide a service for its members. The Society is the longest-established professional body in the Isle of Man, formed by the Law Society Act 1859 passed by Tynwald while the island's capital was still at Castletown; Castle Rushen appears on the badge of the Society. The Society was established to provide its members with access to a law library, which still exists at the Hall of the Society in Douglas and holds legal case histories and reference books. The Society's role has developed and, as well as dealing with the legal profession's relationship with government and other bodies, the Society has disciplinary functions in respect of its members and has responsibilities concerning the provision of education and guidance to the membership as a whole. The Society operates through an elected Council and various special purpose committees, all of whose members serve on a voluntary basis. One place on the Council is filled by a member nominated and elected by the associate membership of the Society, which nominee must be an associate member. The Society holds an annual general meeting in January, at which elections to Council are held, and the Council and committees report to the membership at large. The Society employs a professional chief executive officer and other staff to carry out the administrative role of the Society.
Membership
The Society's membership is divided into four categories:
ordinary members, who are qualified Isle of Man advocates
associate members, who are lawyers qualified in other jurisdictions who are registered under the Legal PractitionersRegistration Act 1986 and who have voluntarily applied to join the Society
student members, who are trainee advocates currently serving the necessary training period articled to a qualified advocate
honorary members: other persons who have been elected to membership under Part I of the Advocates Act 1995.
Presidents
Each president of the Society usually serves two years with effect from the Society's annual general meeting in January, with two preceding years as vice president.
