Experience not to be missed

As my term of office draws to an end, I reflect on an amazingly intense year of challenges and achievements. It had been hoped that last yearÕs AGM, under the chairmanship of Ian Smart, would draw a line under the ABS debate, but the controversy continued until the bill passed unopposed through the Scottish Parliament, including key amendments promoted by the Society.

In quick succession during the year we have had: the Cadder decision with its implications for criminal practitioners and the provision of legal aid for police station interviews, with the Society representing our members throughout; Lloyds Banking Group panel cuts, which ultimately resulted in firms being invited to reapply following successful representations by the Society; Government spending cuts leading to reductions in funding of legal aid; reduced spend on legal services by central and local government; the spectre of job losses for members in government and the criminal legal aid sector; add to that continuing calls for a separation of the representation and regulation roles of the Society, controversy over the adoption of a new constitution, high-profile resignations from the Council and a complaint to the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission.

You may well ask who would want to be President of the Law Society of Scotland with all that happening; and yet I would not have missed it for the world. Whether you agree with the direction of travel taken by the Society before and during my presidency, we have taken that direction with the belief that it was in the interests of the members. It has been a privilege and Ð the vast majority of the time Ð a pleasure to be your President.

Thankfully, I was able to knuckle down and get on with the job, thanks to the support of a Council of many talents, which has been an inspiration. I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to the Council and to all our committee members, both for their personal support and for the valuable work they do. The profession is fortunate that so many of our number, together with lay members, give their time and expertise to the work of the Council and its committees.

My thanks also to Lorna Jack, our chief executive, and her staff at the Law Society of Scotland for their sterling efforts on behalf of the profession. It is trite to say so, but until you have been involved in the governance of the Society you have little conception of how much valuable work is done, day in day out, on behalf of the profession by the staff at Drumsheugh Gardens.

Grand finale

There is one more major event before I hand over to Cameron Ritchie at the Council meeting on 27 May, and that is the special general meeting on the same day. Following the AGM, we have listened to concerns about the new constitution and will seek approval for an amended version. Hopefully, it will address concerns and also resolve any dubiety about the constitutional position of the regulatory committee, over which there have been competing views and opinions. The Council is leaving it for members to decide whether they prefer the option of adopting a new constitution, or amending the existing version in line with the requirements of the Legal Services (Scotland) Act 2010.

I hope to see as many of you as possible at the SGM as I take my leave of the presidency, but if you are unable to attend the SGM, can I encourage you to cast your vote by proxy whether for or against the new constitution, or whether for or against change in the existing constitution. These are important issues and it was disappointing that less than 15% of the membership voted in person or by proxy on the constitutional changes at the AGM in March. It is your Society, so you should take every opportunity to help shape its direction by exercising your right to vote at general meetings.

It has been an exciting and interesting year and one on which I will reflect further as I slip back into the hurly-burly of private practice Ð older, hopefully wiser, certainly battle-scarred, but proud to have represented my profession.

I hand over to Cameron Ritchie, as President, and to Austin Lafferty, as Vice President, secure in the knowledge that the profession will be in good hands. Bon chance et bon courage.