Obituary: JAMES D WHEELANS, CBE

Jim Wheelans – as he was affectionately known – was a man of many parts. He was a Borderer through and through; a soldier of distinction; and a pre-eminent solicitor in the field of private practice. Yet his concerns for his profession led him to become a member of the Council of the Law Society of Scotland and ultimately to become its President.

A native of Hawick, he graduated Bachelor of Law from Edinburgh University in 1935. His first taste of the profession as a qualified solicitor was as an assessor to the Scottish Land Court. However like many others of his generation he served in the Territorial Army and so with the outbreak of the Second World War he was immediately called to serve with the Royal Artillery. He had a distinguished military career, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel. His unit was one of the first into Brussels to relieve it from German occupation. He became the military commandant there, referring to himself with his wry sense of humour as “the Gauleiter”. For his military service he was awarded the MBE.

In 1946 he took up practice as a solicitor with the well known firm of Pike & Chapman in Galashiels – an unusual and brave thing for a Hawick man to do. He was a fine lawyer, greatly respected for his guidance and help for his clients. He earned the respect also of his colleagues, who elected him in 1958 as their member of the Society’s Council. After a period on “the back benches”, in 1966 he became the Convener of the Guarantee Fund Committee. Most unusually he held this post for eight years, guiding the Committee through a period of development of the Accounts Rules but also wider and more rigorous inspections of firms’ financial management. His abilities as Convener were apparent to the Council, which elected him Vice President for 1970-1971. During his Vice Presidency, again unusually, he continued in his Convener role. In those days the Vice Presidency did not automatically lead to election as President. However in Jim’s case the Council recognised a leader when it saw one and elected him President to serve from 1974 to 1976.

Jim’s predecessor was James Sutherland, also a great President, who was devoted to the concept of the promotion of the image of the profession, believing that its views on issues affecting Scotland should be heard. Jim Wheelans carried this and other ideas forward with enthusiasm. He also recognised the gathering storm clouds for the profession and saw the need to recruit young, enthusiastic members to join both the Council and its committee.  In this he was successful.  These were heady days with educational trips to Brussels to learn about the then EEC, and thoughtful and at times heated AGMs with strongly debated issues advanced. Jim instilled a vibrancy into the profession which was to be needed in the days that lay ahead.

These were indeed difficult times for the profession. It was having to adapt to change in the form of demands for more transparency and informative advertising. They were especially difficult for court practitioners and even more so for those who worked in the field of legal aid.  Court fees were set by the Lord President. While the Lord President could see the needs of court solicitors, he was under pressure from the Scottish Office not to set fees at a level which would impact heavily on legal aid spending, which was then an open ended commitment of government at the time. Jim Wheelans was not a court practitioner but he saw the looming crisis for legal aid practitioners if court fees were not substantially increased. With the advice and help of court solicitors from around Scotland he familiarised himself with their case and successfully persuaded the Lord President, Lord Emslie, to award a much needed increase in fees. One can only assume that Lord Emslie used his legendary powers of persuasion to convince the Secretary of State for Scotland that the increase was fully justified. However Jim recognised, as had the Glasgow Bar Association, which had been the most vociferous advocate for increasing fees, that the Lord President was in a difficult position, fixing court fees at his own hand without some guidance and support from experienced practitioners from both branches of the profession.  Again Jim persuaded the Lord President to set up an Advisory Committee to give him the support necessary to convince the Secretary of State that increases were justified. Thirty years on, these debates and decisions may not seem important, but at the time they were seen, rightly, as huge achievements, for which the Glasgow Bar Association elected him an honorary member – an unlikely honour which Jim greatly appreciated.

For his services as President of the Society he was made a CBE. Yet his greatest service to the profession was yet to come. As Jim was concluding his period of office, the Government announced the establishment of the Royal Commission on Legal Services in Scotland. Its remit was wide ranging and presaged great changes to the profession. The Council of the Society recognised that there was only one person to take on the task of seeking the profession’s views and putting together coherent responses to the proposals for radical change. This was an onerous undertaking which Jim took on with his usual energy and enthusiasm. He recruited a dedicated committee. However the task of co-ordinating and writing the Society’s responses largely rested with him, ably assisted by the then Vice President and later President, Denys Andrews. They produced lengthy, well reasoned arguments which were influential in the Commission’s report. For his efforts over four years the Society elected Jim an Honorary Member – the highest honour it can award and one sparingly given.

In his professional lifetime Jim Wheelans achieved much through dedication and hard work. Throughout his professional career and beyond he had the love, affection and unqualified support in all that he did, of his wife of 60 years, Judy, a delightful companion and wonderful hostess. His death on 15 January 2004 saw the passing of a singular man, a loving husband and an outstanding servant of his profession which he had the privilege to lead in difficult times.

KWP