President's report

Two months into the post there has been some hard work, a bit of fun, and paper - lots of it.  This profession generates a huge amount and a fair bit seems to flow through and from the Society. More of this later.

No to MDPs

Legal professions around the world are grappling with the idea of multi-disciplinary practices.  Guided by a fascinating discussion at the AGM in April, with the overwhelming number of contributions expressing grave concerns about the possible introduction of MDPs in Scotland, the Council has reaffirmed its policy in opposition to MDPs here.  

It would be misguided to believe that the motivation is protectionist.  The thinking is based upon the belief that the public interest is paramount and that MDPs pose serious risks of harm to that interest. At the AGM the profession indicated that the principles of independence, confidentiality, client privilege and the avoidance of conflict of interest are of supreme importance to the public and must not be compromised.  Fuller coverage of the decision and the reasons for it appear elsewhere in this month’s Journal.  However, I have been impressed by the strength of feeling expressed by the Scots legal profession and the principled approach which has been taken.  Thank you to all our members who contributed to the discussion.

I know there will be some who will be disappointed by the decision, but the rejection of MDPs in Scotland is reflected by increasing opposition to the concept in other jurisdictions. The fact that the Council believes that the differing approaches of different disciplines are irreconcilable in partnership terms does not mean that we should turn our backs on greater liberalisation of business arrangements. It is perfectly proper for lawyers to explore methods of sharing costs and thereby maximising profits, subject to some safeguards for clients. The Society must help solicitors who want to adopt innovative cost-sharing arrangements.

Human rights

The Scottish Parliament has just celebrated its first birthday.  What a change the Society has seen in the way that the proposals for new law are addressed. There is much more effective and wide-ranging consultation with the Scots legal profession than ever before.  The Parliament’s Committees want our input, so members of our Executive and Committees are regularly giving evidence and providing information.  It is good that Scots lawyers have a voice and can be heard. The aim of the Society is to help the Parliament make more relevant and workable laws for you and your clients.  

Of course the biggest single change to Scots law and procedures has been the domestication of the European Convention on Human Rights. The impact of this has been felt already with the withdrawal of temporary Sheriffs and other challenges to laws and procedures principally in the criminal sphere.  The consequences will be even greater come October when the issue of human rights will pervade every area of law.  The evidence of the last year clearly shows that Scots lawyers will rise to the challenge on behalf of their clients.  Of course the Society is not immune either.  We have revised a number of our procedures to ensure they are ECHR compliant. It feels sometimes as if the ground is shifting beneath our feet, but the acceptance of change is fundamental to the Society and to the wider profession.

On-line services for Scots lawyers

Back to my problems with paper.  Even though E-mail is widely used at the Law Society, there are still a great many memos, letters, etc which are put in front of me and yet I only see a tiny fraction of the paperwork generated.  We all have different needs and will use electronic communication in different ways.  I still regard myself as relatively young - isn’t it funny how one can become more wrong as each year passes?  - and relatively comfortable with technology. 

However, it is still a business process to me, whereas it is second nature for the assistants and trainees in my own office.  I find it a little hard reading longer documents on the screen, and I prefer to print them off, but the lawyers of the future will not have that problem. Just ask your kids!

What has become very clear to me is that electronic communication is actually easy to do, as well as being much more time-efficient and cheaper. I know that many firms have pumped a lot of money and resource into developing their IT.  Historically this has been driven by the twin needs of computerised accounting and word processing, but now because of the Internet, the emphasis is on communication.  Not every firm has had the wherewithal to keep up with the speed of change. I believe that the Society can and should help the whole profession here.  We can tell you clearly what you need and how to get it.  We can help you achieve cost savings with the hardware and software, and with maintenance and usage.  We can help you and your staff with training.  It may take a few months to achieve these things but the work is well under way. Through constant improvement of the profession’s website, over time we can create an easy-to-use gateway on all your desks giving access to all the people you do business with - Banks, the Registers, Property Centres, Companies House, SLAB, the Courts, etc., etc., not forgetting your clients.  The DX system was a great idea and was seen as providing good value for money.

However, for a significant proportion of the profession it is getting more expensive and in today’s electronic environment cheaper methods of communication are available. Let’s see if as a profession, using modern communications technology, we can provide our own alternative to the DX system, and this time let’s keep control for ourselves. Please keep an eye out for more thoughts on this topic in a future issue.