And Mr Barr, who will hold the position on the prestigious professional body for two years, has warned that rural solicitors’ firms could face the same fate as post offices and local shops.

A clinical negligence specialist with more than 35 years legal experience, he has pledged to use his new position to support Norfolk colleagues.

He said: “Like many solicitors in these parts I have felt for years that the Law Society is a remote body which has little relevance to the lives of ordinary county solicitors.

“What I propose to do is to encourage it to put more effort into supporting the small to medium-sized practices that are the backbone of rural England.

“Solicitors are the best hope for ordinary people to obtain justice against the strong and oppressive but we are constantly under threat, not least from the likes of Tesco.

“If local law firms disappear it will be another nail in the coffin for our rural communities.”

Mr Barr established the Lynn office of what is now Fraser Dawbarns, one of the largest law firms covering West Norfolk, the Fens and Cambridgeshire, in the 1970s.

He has worked on high profile cases involving Opren, MMR jabs, sheep dip and Gulf War syndrome.

His Tales from Country Practice has been a popular column in Solicitors’ Journal for about 20 years.

He is also a regular guest, discussing legal issues, on BBC Radio Norfolk.