Looking back: Pam Johns reflects on her year as President of the Devon & Somerset Law Society 

A year can seem like a long time when you’re standing at the beginning of it. Looking back now, Pam Johns admits it has passed remarkably quickly. 

As Partner and Head of Rural Services at Coodes Solicitors, Pam is no stranger to balancing competing demands. Even so, taking on the role of President of the Devon & Somerset Law Society (D&SLS) alongside a busy practice meant committing to a year that would extend far beyond her own clients and day-to-day work. 

It has been a year of committee meetings and consultations, admissions ceremonies and awards dinners, visits to Westminster and international exchanges, fundraising challenges and countless conversations with colleagues from across the profession. Yet, when she reflects on the experience, it isn’t the diary that has stayed with her. It’s the people. 

Seeing the profession differently 

For many solicitors, professional life naturally revolves around clients, colleagues and the demands of practice. Serving as President gave Pam the opportunity to step back and see the profession from a much wider perspective. 

The role involved chairing committee meetings, representing the Society at events across the region and nationally, meeting with the Law Society and Counties Societies Group, contributing to consultations affecting the profession, and helping ensure the voice of solicitors across Devon and Somerset was heard. Among those consultations was the Ministry of Justice’s proposal on client account interest, an issue that prompted a strong response from the profession and one which Pam engaged with as part of the Society’s work. 

It reinforced just how much happens behind the scenes to support the profession. Beyond individual firms, there is an enormous amount of collaboration, voluntary commitment and collective effort from people who are passionate about strengthening the legal community across the region. 

“I was surprised by the breadth of work involved as President, despite having served for two years as Junior Vice-President and Vice-President,” Pam reflects. “It also reinforced just how important our Chief Executive, Tony Steiner, and Executive Administrator, Kelly Baker, are. They deal with so much of the Society’s administration, and their support throughout the year was invaluable.” 

The value of making connections 

When asked what she’ll remember most about the year, one event immediately comes to mind. The Twin Bars gathering in Rennes brought together lawyers from Poland, Belgium, Germany, Italy, France and the UK to exchange ideas, compare legal systems and build the kind of professional relationships that continue long after the event itself. For Pam, it captured something that has become one of the defining themes of her presidency: although legal systems differ, the challenges facing the profession are often remarkably similar, and the conversations that begin at events like these frequently develop into lasting friendships. 

Those connections came full circle when D&SLS welcomed many of the same delegates to Exeter earlier this summer, with Law Society President Mark Evans among those attending. But it is the Rennes trip itself that has stayed with her. 

“My lasting memory from Rennes, apart from the hot weather,” she recalls, “was the wonderful visit to St Malo, the long, leisurely lunch at the home of one of the Rennes Bar members, enjoying local oysters, langoustines and cheeses, before finishing the day with a cooling dip in the sea.” 

The moments that stay with you 

Some of the year’s most memorable moments were not the biggest or most formal. 

One came at the Admissions Ceremony at Exeter Guildhall, where Pam presented a certificate to a newly qualified solicitor who had completed Year 10 work experience at Coodes’ Holsworthy office several years earlier. After battling heavy traffic on the M5 to make the ceremony, seeing that former work experience student beginning her legal career felt particularly special. 

“I’m just glad I didn’t put her off, all those years ago,” Pam reflected afterwards. 

It was one of those full-circle moments that reminds you how important encouragement can be, and how today’s work experience student can become tomorrow’s colleague. 

There were lighter moments too. January brought a welcome pause in the formal calendar, giving Pam the chance to return to village life by helping with Holsworthy Amateur Theatrical Society’s production of Robin Hood, selling programmes and refreshments alongside fellow volunteers. It was a world away from committee meetings and black-tie dinners, but perhaps a reminder that keeping grounded is just as important as holding office. 

A presidency with purpose 

Alongside her official duties, Pam chose to dedicate her presidential year to raising money for Brain Tumour Research. Her fundraising challenge has taken her along sections of the South West Coast Path between Minehead and Hartland, often accompanied by her sister-in-law Carol, tackling routes that have frequently proved wet, windy and considerably steeper than either of them might have hoped. 

The cause is one that is deeply personal to her. “I chose the Brain Tumour charity because my older brother, John, died from a brain tumour aged 12,” she explains. “I also have a very dear friend, and my son’s godmother, who continues to live with an inoperable brain tumour. She is constantly an inspiration on living with adversity.” 

Stronger together 

Looking back over the past twelve months, one theme runs consistently through Pam’s presidency: community. Whether representing Devon and Somerset at national meetings, welcoming international visitors to Exeter, celebrating newly admitted solicitors or raising money for charity, the common thread has been bringing people together. 

Pam is quick to acknowledge the support that made the year possible. She credits the Society’s officers and committee members, her Vice-President and now President for 2026/27 Ben Darby, her colleagues at Coodes, and her family for their encouragement throughout her three years as Junior Vice-President, Vice-President and President. 

After hosting the Annual Awards Dinner as outgoing President, she handed the chain of office back to Ben, bringing one chapter to a close while the relationships built throughout the year continue long after the formal responsibilities have ended. 

If there is one message she hopes others take from her presidency, it is that professional organisations such as D&SLS only thrive when people choose to become involved. The legal community across Devon and Somerset is stronger because of those willing to give their time, share their experience and support one another.