New look Society gets go-ahead

A plan of action for reforming the Society’s governance arrangements was agreed at a special Council conference last month.

The two day meeting in Dundee unanimously approved taking forward 10 principles for change, which include drawing up a new constitution for the Society.

The Council will remain the ultimate oversight and strategic body, but a new board will be the principal decision-making body, with ratification by Council. The aim is to enable Council to be more focused on strategy and the bigger picture, while improving the decision-making process through a more hands-on board.

At the same time a reformed Council will retain majority constituency membership, however those constituencies will be defined, but lay membership will increase to around 20%, with the remainder comprising co-opted members as at present. Membership will include sectoral representation based on merit.

An elected Nominations Committee will promote clear and open recruitment methods.

A principal aim is to achieve the modern and transparent decision-making process desired by the Scottish Government if the Society is to achieve its aim of becoming an approved regulator of alternative business structures under the pending reforms to the legal profession.

Role of a profession

Council particularly supported the continuation of the Society’s twin roles of representation and regulation. While this is often seen as a source of tension as the Society seeks to perform both roles, the feeling that emerged was that it is part of the essence of a profession to have regard to the public interest, and that the common ground between the two is the reputation of the profession – witness the number of solicitors who choose to keep up a practising certificate when their work does not require one.

Other matters looked at included examining the Society’s mission statement to ensure it focuses on what is to be achieved and on pride in the profession; discussing the benefits of regulation; and communicating with the profession and the public clearly, succinctly and effectively.

Vice President Ian Smart said that although everyone tended to think the Society represented someone other than them because of its regulatory role, following the collapse of the banking sector it was time to promote the benefits of regulation.

An enabling motion will be put to the Society’s AGM on 28 May to allow the reforms to be progressed. Final proposals will then be debated and approved at the August meeting of Council, with a new constitution put to members at the 2010 AGM.

The latest phase follows a number of other changes to the Society’s governance arrangements, including the establishment of a Finance Committee and a Nominations Committee.

Ian Smart commented: “The aim of the meeting was to come away with a clear path set, common understanding of the future, and agreement on basic principles – allowing us to focus on the needs of the profession and public.

“I believe we have achieved that. The detail is still to be decided but we must move quickly to finalise our governance reform.”

He added that there had to be confidence and trust within and between Council, its committees and the Society’s staff, with Council members always operating in the best interests of the Society and its membership, and staff designing and delivering a model that Council could endorse.

Lorna Jack, the Chief Executive, said: “Today’s decisions enable the Society to continue its modernisation so that it can, in its 60th year, meet the needs of the profession now and in the future.

“Clear, effective governance is expected by our members, the public and civic Scotland – that is what we can now drive forward.”