The least that could be done would be to implement /commands for LS leaders.

There would be no need to rework the UI right away. There could just be a list of /commands that LS leaders could use to /recruit, /expel, /promote, and /lsmes. This would eliminate the need to run around to hand out pearls, and the need to reform the shell once the shell population gets close to cap.

My shell just reformed last month. It went fairly smoothly, but the process could have been completely avoided if the current LS system just followed the standards set by every MMO, ever. Even Ragnarok Online has had a better system than this since launch. I don't understand how LS's were implemented in the state that they're in when SE could have looked at FFXI, and dozens of other MMOs for example of basic features that this system needs.