Into the fast lane

Exciting times

One of my first engagements as the new President of the Society was to attend the June admission ceremony at Edinburgh University’s Playfair Library. It was a great pleasure to welcome newly qualified solicitors to the profession, and a chance to remind the next generation of the exciting and diverse range of opportunities ahead.

The changing nature of the profession was also a theme picked up by our guest speaker, Professor Stewart Brymer, business law partner at Thorntons in Dundee. Professor Brymer summed it up when he said he was as excited now about the future of the profession as he had been apprehensive at his own admission ceremony in 1981. Let us hope the solicitors of tomorrow recognise the opportunities available while also realising that their role in society is a crucial one. They should never lose sight of the core values of the profession and the importance of an independent legal profession to upholding the rule of law.

In what has been a busy start to my term of office, I also attended the Court of Session ceremony to swear in Frank Mulholland QC as Solicitor General for Scotland. With Elish Angiolini reappointed as Lord Advocate, both senior law officers are members of the Society, the first time both posts have been held by our branch of the legal profession – an interesting break with tradition that underlines the prominence and standing of solicitors in civic Scotland today.

Calling London

Several of my colleagues took part in lively discussions about the impact of the Legal Services Bill in London on 27 June, an event organised by the Society and the College of Law. The Society is keen to engage with its members, starting with those south of the border, in the debate about alternative business structures, external investment, multi-disciplinary practices and other issues facing the 600 members in what is the largest constituency outwith Scotland. We are indebted to Professor Stephen Mayson of the College of Law who was the keynote speaker, as well as staff at the College of Law for helping make this event such a success.

Standards and training advance

Also in June was the first meeting of the Standards Working Group, established to introduce clear and measurable standards for the profession which will benefit both the profession and its clients. The group was convened by Vice President Richard Henderson and is working towards setting standards in advance of the new Scottish Legal Complaints Commission being set up next year. Already the group has set out a detailed timetable and series of action points, including the need to consult and communicate fully with the profession and users of legal services.

The working group also agreed that the Society’s hugely successful education and training consultation could be used as the model on which to base the dialogue with practitioners and others. That exercise received yet more admirers when the Society’s Director of Education and Training, Liz Campbell, gave a presentation on its key findings to the office holders and chief executives of the other UK and Ireland Law Societies. It was one of the highlights of their meeting and proved of real interest to those in other jurisdictions facing similar challenges to ourselves. Liz also laid out the major policy decisions taken by the Education and Training Committee, which will guide the next phase of work.

The five projects that have been authorised by the committee will examine programme content and the quality assurance mechanisms for each key stage of training. They will focus on clear standards and also how those standards should be assessed by training providers. In addition, they will look at the arrangements for accrediting providers. Meetings are currently taking place throughout the profession, and with key stakeholders, and there appears to be a real enthusiasm for how this project is progressing. Further details of the proposed package of reforms will be contained in a policy paper to be launched later this year.

Star pupils

Finally, I would like to pay tribute to all those who took part in the Society’s Donald Dewar Memorial Debating Tournament at the Assembly Hall in Edinburgh, particularly the winners, John Craig and Alistair Hayes from Craigmount High School. The standard of debating was genuinely impressive, with all of the teams animated as well as articulate. The judges also deserve a special mention for taking time from their busy schedules to evaluate the participants, particularly Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who chaired the panel despite now also facing the demands of governing the country.