The Preston front

Roger Mackenzie finds that a light-hearted approach masks the serious agenda of new Society President David Preston.

To understand the understated approach and dry wit of new President David Preston, it’s probably sufficient to reveal the philosophy which he hopes will see him through his presidential year.

“I don’t want to achieve immortality  through work, I would rather achieve it by not dying”.

He attributes the quote to Woody Allen, but turning 50 soon and with a hazardous road from Oban to Edinburgh to drive on a frequent basis, there may, as in much he says, be a hint of seriousness beneath the mirth.

It’s no surprise then that he won’t commence with a grand plan. “It’s very easy for someone coming into this job to be deluded into thinking they are going to be able to change the world. You have to try and identify some priorities and then narrow them down to try and get some sort of message over, both in relation to the relevance of the Society to the profession in a narrower sense and its wider relevance to the general public.”

For the incoming President, one of his main priorities will be to revisit what it actually means to be a solicitor.

“There are many different providers in the marketplace of the sort of services that solicitors provide and we’ve got to focus on comparing what a solicitor can provide on the high street with mortgage brokers, estate agents and claims companies. I firmly believe there is an added value that the badge of solicitor can deliver to the public.

“There are the more obvious benefits – such as public protection from the indemnity policy and Guarantee Fund – but the added value has to be the way solicitors perceive people’s problems and needs and how they go about resolving and fulfilling them.

“That solicitors are different from other professions was underlined and underscored by the decision in the Nova case, which showed that in comparison to accountants there are different values and principles that lawyers must adhere to, not least of which is the independence of advice and avoiding conflict of interest situations.

“Competition in some quarters is regarded as the master over all and Nova has shown that what may on the face of it appear to be anti competitive can be in fact in the public interest. It re-emphasises that we must always look at what we do from the public interest as well as the interests of the profession.”

Nevertheless the Society’s principled stand against MDPs may be undermined if their counterparts in England go down that route. As Alan Paterson suggested in last month’s Journal, the potential for problems is obvious if England embraces MDPs and they are then linked to Scottish firms through multi national partnerships.

Could the Law Society of Scotland resist the tide in those circumstances?

“If England went down the MDPs route, we would continue to resist based on the principled argument we have set out. We apply the same argument to the so-called Tesco Law. My personal view is that there are too many threats to the independence of the profession. Independence exists without the need for regulation. Therefore to have to introduce regulation to maintain that independence would be daft.”

At its most extreme, the importance of independence is clearly illustrated by recent events in Zimbabwe, said Preston.

“I met the President of the Zimbabwe Law Society and was impressed by the resolve of his members to stand up for their clients against what they perceived as oppression, despite personal threats to them and their families. It made me realise how comparatively comfortable we are here and that even in the 21st century we must guard our core values.”

His laid-back approach makes it seem unlikely he is the kind of President that would torture himself with soul searching about where he and the Society fit into the modern profession – but his relaxed persona may be misleading.

“The Society has important functions to play in maintaining the values of solicitors, and in regulating the profession, but it is also there to provide support to practitioners, offering help, guidance and services to the profession whilst always retaining the competitive nature of the individual firms and practices which make up the profession.”

Coming from a three partner firm can he relate to the challenges faced by the large city firms?

“In the 21st century, the Society has to be relevant to all of its members and I intend to focus on that. Some of the larger corporate firms have representation on Council and I would like to see their number increase.”

Are the firms interested and can they afford to lose top fee-earners for long periods? It does seem something of a paradox that firms with apparently the greatest resources can least afford to let partners devote time to Society business.

“I just want to make sure that there is balanced representation on Council. If there are any issues to address with the larger firms and their representation on Council then I will be happy to do so.  I would have thought that large firms would find it comparatively easier to cover for the time commitments of a Council Member but that may not be so with pressures on individual departments or chargeable hours targets.”

It might be expected that his partners at Hosack & Sutherland would resent carrying the practice in his absence. Not so, says Preston.

“My partners are very supportive. It’s an accolade for my firm and the town of Oban. It helps demonstrate that the profession is very active in the town and Argyll generally.”

Still, the travelling schedule from Oban must be exhausting. “I think this is the most distant place a President has come from, but I have been travelling down for ten years and have built up a system through the support I have in the office, and with e-mail and mobile phones I can keep in regular contact both with the office  and with clients.”

Martin McAllister’s Presidency was dominated by the Justice 1 Committee’s inquiry into the regulation of the legal profession. That seems set to loom large in the early months of David Preston’s tenure also.

“Justice 1 is going to report this year and one of the things coming out of it that we are going to have to address is that perceptions can form opinions. If the perception and reality of the profession are too far apart, people can form opinions that are way off beam. Our job is to make sure perception and reality are as close as they can be.

“Part of that will be to focus on what the profession has in common. It’s not just solicitors but the profession as a whole that comes in for criticism. If we examine what the different branches of the profession have in common rather than the differences then progress can be achieved. Everybody wants to make progress, it’s change they don’t like.”

How would he encapsulate the David Preston approach?

“I tend to approach things from an inclusive point of view and prefer structures that are built from the bottom up rather than the top down. I would hope therefore to bring a gentle hand to the tiller and try to see things from the lighter side.”

That light-hearted approach which can belie his drive and commitment is evidenced by a bet with his predecessor. If he puts on weight over the year under the deluge of dinners he will attend, he has to pay £300 to an organisation – which shall remain nameless – that it would pain him to assist. He’ll be working hard to ensure the scales don’t betray him next May. “I hope to achieve the balance of taking serious issues seriously but keeping a healthy dose of perspective and humour to hand.”