Martin Lavesen elected new President of Council of Danish Bar and Law Society

Martin Lavesen, Attorney and Managing Partner in DLA Piper, has been elected new President of the Council of the Danish Bar and Law Society. Justice and integrity have been hallmarks throughout his career.

At a meeting of the Society members today, Martin Lavesen was elected new President of the Council of the Danish Bar and Law Society for a term of four years. He succeeds Attorney Peter Fogh, who held the office for six years.

Justice and integrity have been hallmarks since Martin Lavesen chose to study law. Throughout his career, he has been involved in professional activities and has since 2015 been a member of the Council of the Danish Bar and Law Society, where, as Chairman of its Committee on Supervision and Regulation, he takes a special interest in the code of conduct for lawyers. Moreover, he has for over 20 years lectured Danish assistant attorneys on the code of conduct for lawyers and has authored text books on the subject – wishing to teach the next generation about integrity. Martin furthermore sits on the Danish Press Council in a chairmanship role and on the Board of Representatives of the University of Copenhagen and he is also an external examiner at the law programme.

“As a law firm and a part of the legal community, we have a special responsibility. At DLA Piper, we have a long tradition of seeking to influence developments in the legal sector as well as Danish legislation and so we have always taken up directorships and committee posts in Danish and international associations. We have been happy to make this commitment, and have found it natural to do so, and I am proud to take up the baton and be the fifth man from this office during the last 100 years or so to hold the office of President of the Council of the Danish Bar and Law Society”, says Martin Lavesen.

The major developments we are seeing in the business sector as well as in society at large result in new expectations of the legal sector. The report from the Danish Competition Council on the basis for operating a law firm is an example of the role of attorneys in society, and the advisory services provided by law firms, being taken up for discussion. To Martin Lavesen, there is no doubt that due process and the independence of attorneys must at all times be cornerstones.

“Due process is at the heart of our work on the Council of the Danish Bar and Law Society. We must continue to shine a spotlight on the most important problems in our society in terms of due process. We must highlight where things are bad and invite discussion of how best to legislate and shape our society. This role is very important, and I really look forward to working with the other members of the Council to promote this and other fundamental discussions – including how we all join forces to ensure that the code of conduct for lawyers is given pride of place and is not an elastic concept.”