To efficiency and beyond

It is truly a great honour for me to have been invited to give the address at this admission ceremony. I am very pleased to offer my warmest congratulations to every one of you, on you being admitted as a solicitor in Scotland. You can take great pride in this terrific achievement. Your parents, your other family members and your friends will be proud of you too and I am sure you will be thanking them for the support they have given you over the years.

Thank you for choosing to be solicitors in Scotland. You are all people of great talent and ability. You are our future partners, sheriffs and judges, advocates, politicians and business leaders.

Each of you now becomes an ambassador for our profession. Collectively we now share the responsibility for the reputation of solicitors in Scotland.

In this address I would like to say something about three factors which I believe are central to our role as solicitors. These factors are relationships, insights and execution. Finally I want to say something about the future of our profession. Don’t worry too much: despite the well publicised challenges I remain very optimistic.

Relationships

First, then, relationships. Our relationships with our clients are founded on our ethical legal principles and are key to our development.

We must cherish our clients. We must never treat them as commodities or take them for granted.

Many clients will be vulnerable, underprivileged or in difficulty or crisis. You should feel honoured that out of all the solicitors in Scotland you have been chosen to represent them. Become your clients’ trusted adviser.

Have a collaborative relationship with your clients that goes beyond you simply providing details of the black letter of the law. Take a keen interest in your clients’ business and personal activities and look to bring them opportunities. Clients need to be wooed, and know they are wanted, as in any relationship. Of course, they do not like to be stalked.

Legal work can be segmented into a pyramid with three layers. At the bottom is the work which is principally process driven. Success will depend on a combination of quality, speed and price. These days case management systems are used for this process work. At the next layer is the work which depends on experience. This is the grey haired section where clients are looking for a wise and safe pair of hands. Finally at the top of the pyramid is the rocket science. This is the work that is truly cutting edge, and where your advice can influence the success or failure of the key clients you represent. It is true that in this top segment the strongest relationships are built between clients and their legal advisers, but relationships are important at every layer of the pyramid.

We also have relationships with our fellow professionals and with the court. Treat both with integrity and respect.

We have relationships with those who work with us in delivering our legal services. Understand and value their contribution. Support staff, secretaries, receptionists, bar officers, paralegals and those responsible for deliveries all play key roles, and they are to be respected, whether or not they have any formal legal qualifications. Be a good team player. Being courteous, friendly and just plain nice will take you a long way.

As individual solicitors and as a profession we also have a relationship with the public. Because of the property and information we retain for our clients, the public are entitled to assume we are trustworthy. That is a trust which has been earned and must be protected and enhanced, for it is easily lost. Because of our duty to the public we also ought to use our skills to act responsibly within our communities and environment as well as at work. For example we can each do much to improve access to justice by doing pro bono work, by helping those who are unemployed with interview techniques and CV drafting, and supporting literacy and numeracy projects, as well as other charitable activities. The legal profession has had a long and proud heritage of corporate social responsibility and philanthropy. There are many ways in which what you do will enshrine and improve the very fabric of Scottish society. What you do will make a difference.

Develop bonds with colleagues in whom you can confide. Because of our obligations our job can become a lonely one. A cemetery of the soul. A friend at work can ease that burden.

Remember the relationships you have with your own family. Your job will bring pressures and long hours, but you will need to find a balance. You will serve your clients better when you make time to recharge your batteries.

Insights

Next come insights. When we develop strong relationships with our clients, as their trusted advisers, we gain insights into their personal and business objectives. We gain insights into the public, professional and industry sectors within which they operate. These insights enable us to tailor our legal advice, so it is more focused and commercial. These insights help strengthen our relationships with our clients.

Our clients expect us to bring them insights as to how changes in the law will impact on them.

Our clients also expect us to bring them insights as to how political priorities as well as changes in the economy, and the clamour for independence, will produce opportunities and challenges for their businesses.

Execution

The development of strong relationships and personal and business insights shapes the third factor, execution.

When we are truly committed to our clients and we have an understanding as to how our insightful advice impacts on them, it follows that:

• We will want to do our best for them.
• We will be dedicated to delivering an excellent service.
• We will always be professional in our conduct and appearance.
• We will give independent, objective advice without fear or favour.
• We will be responsive.
• We will be approachable and use plain English, rather than relying on legal jargon and gobbledygook.
• We will exhibit attention to detail.
• We will provide our clients with sufficient information and advice, so the clients’ instructions can be informed.
• We will manage expectations, and record our communications with our clients and other relevant parties.
• We will think ahead and have a plan.
• We will put ourselves in our clients’ shoes. They will want to know their prospects of success, how long the legal matter is going to take, and what the costs will be.

Many legal projects can take weeks or months, whether it is the defence of a criminal prosecution, a merger or acquisition, or a house purchase. The able lawyer is like a good Paris tour guide. When you are seated on the coach, at the beginning of the tour, the guide will explain the route you are going to follow, and the fantastic buildings and monuments you will see.

Your journey begins at the Arc de Triomphe. The tour guide will explain that you will go down the Champs Élysées to the Place de la Concorde. You will cross the Seine and go through the left bank. You will pass the Musée d'Orsay and then cross over at the île de France to see Notre Dame. You will then go up Montmartre to Sacre Coeur, coming back to end your tour with some shopping at Gallerie Lafayette.

When the bus does set off, the tour guide will point out the critical monuments as they pass and give you some further explanation. The plan comes to life.

The lawyer has that role when advising clients. This project management and forward planning gives your clients confidence. The alternative is that you get on the bus, buy your ticket and you are driven round Paris apparently aimlessly, only to be decanted at the other end of the journey. That is not a positive experience.

You will also need to be flexible. Your plan should not be a straitjacket. The wheel can come off the bus and you will need to be ready.

Part of execution is an appreciation that on occasions things go wrong. We are all continuously learning and developing. When something does go wrong, tell somebody quickly.

As a professional you are going to need persistence, resilience, fortitude, resolve and robustness, as well as humility and good humour. Sometimes you will need a hammer, sometimes a scalpel and sometimes a hankie. Stay cool inside and let your emotions work for you. Try and avoid the pitfalls like vanity and envy. Law has tactics and strategies, but it is not a game. Do not be ill prepared, overconfident or underestimate your opponent or their case.

In negotiation you will need to develop a relationship with your opponent. You need to understand the real interests for your client and for the other party.

Be an effective listener as well as an effective questioner. It is your people skills that will make the difference. Sometimes you will need to alter your communication style to suit the needs of the listener. Around 95% of effective communication is non-verbal, with body language constituting the biggest component at about 55%. In dealing with your client and with opponents it is often useful to play back the discussion to make sure that you have not forgotten or missed something. Talking increases trust and keeps tensions low, but the art of silence, the pause, the flinch, the shrug and the smile, can all be brought to bear.

Often your job will be as a persuader. You need to deliver your client’s messages with authority, confidence and conviction. If you don’t sound as if you believe in your client’s case, why should you expect anyone else to? Recognise and discuss with your client that there can be a paradox in delivering legal services. On the one hand you will need to make sure your client is appraised of the risks and prospects of success in a manner which is responsible. On the other hand, when you are dealing with your opponent and others such as the court, the risks and doubts ought not to be apparent. Be balanced and remember you are an officer of the court.

To the future

Turning now to the future of the legal profession in Scotland. Law is of course a business as well as a profession. We are in a period of very significant change and uncertainty. The challenges our profession faces are well rehearsed. A choppy economic outlook following a recession. Fewer corporate and property transactions. Increased regulation. Problems around recruitment and partner succession, particularly outwith the major cities. Increased competition within the profession including pressure on fees. New competitors and new business structures.

My favourite cartoon character is Buzz Lightyear. Buzz Lightyear encourages his team to infinity and beyond. The legal profession needs to move to efficiency and beyond. There are many things we must do now to achieve efficiencies and effectiveness, for compliance and because of ethical requirements. Many of these demands are there to protect the consumer and society generally. We now have money laundering, letters of engagement, time recording, monthly billing, accounts rules, CPD, insurance, security of information and data protection. These requirements are addressed through self discipline and must become like brushing your teeth in the morning.

The really exciting thing about the law happens when we move to efficiency and beyond. It is in that space, beyond efficiency, that our professionalism, our creativity and our innovation, come into their own, whichever legal structure employs us. We will continue to use our talents to strengthen our client relationships. To develop and bring our clients insights and thereby creative solutions to their problems. We will use our insights and our relationships to inspire the people that work with us, creating a fertile working environment. We will use these insights to help us develop our businesses and to find new ways to deliver and execute our services more efficiently. We will do this acting collegiately, engaged in group endeavour. This is an exciting future for solicitors in Scotland.

Be proud to be a Scottish solicitor. Our brand and reputation is held in high esteem across the globe. Adhere to your professional obligations. Use the legal method you have learned of ingathering the facts, assessing the legal issues and presenting the best case. Use your relationships and insights to create value for your clients and your colleagues by looking out for opportunities. Never stop learning. You can be a nice person, and have fun, as well as being a tough lawyer and an outstanding professional dedicated to excellence. It is a rollercoaster. Strap in and enjoy it. Look to the future with confidence. I wish you well.