Des leaves the helm

Des Hudson, who is retiring from his £340,000 job as chief executive of the Law Society, won “real concessions from the government” on criminal legal aid (dropping price-competitive tendering and keeping the client’s right to choose) “yet still alienated members”, writes NLJ columnist Jon Robins in this week’s issue. He notes that Hudson, who took over an organisation that “veered from one calamity to the next”, had to tread a “fine line” between representing members’ interests and providing a credible voice to government ministers.