President's column

Can you believe that it is mid-February already? It may well be a sign of increasing age, but the fact is January passed in a blur. There were some highlights though, which will stay with me for many a year.

At the beginning of the month I attended the installation of our new Lord President at Parliament House. It was a colourful spectacle imbued with a real sense of history, and it was a privilege to attend and hear a little about Lord Carloway’s modernising agenda for the courts in Scotland. The following week the Society hosted a panel debate on the EU referendum in the Vintners’ Hall in London. I chaired a panel consisting of the Rt Hon Kenneth Clarke QC, Suzanne Evans (deputy leader of UKIP), John Edward (former head of the UK office of the European Parliament in Edinburgh), and Brian Monteith, communications director of Global Britain, who is currently working with leave.eu, the official Brexit campaign. Needless to say it was a lively debate and I thoroughly enjoyed channeling David Dimbleby for the evening. This was our flagship engagement event for our members based in England Wales, and the audience did not disappoint, asking some challenging questions of the panel.

Towards the end of the month we attended the Society of Scottish Lawyers in London annual Burns Supper, at which we were entertained by an enthusiastic Address to the Haggis from past President Bruce Beveridge, an excellent Toast to the Lassies from former Council Member Alberto Costa MP, an absolutely fabulous Reply from Caroline Docherty, the Deputy Keeper of the Signet, and a knowledgable and witty Immortal Memory from former McGrigors colleague, Gavin Brown MSP. This was followed by a meeting of the Law Societies of England & Wales, Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland to discuss areas of common interest and concern.

New office, new possibilities

The flexible meeting space at our new office in Edinburgh is already proving to be extremely valuable. We have hosted private dinners (for example, with representatives of the Sheriffs’ Association), held member meetings (such as the most recent “big firm” meeting, where over 20 firms were represented, and our regular sole practitioner event), and held our annual strategy day for Council (historically held off-site at a local hotel), at which we welcomed Lord Carloway as our guest speaker.

January was topped off by the Society’s annual dinner at which I thanked all of our volunteers on Council and on committees, who contribute so much and expect so little in return. On a conservative estimate of around 25,000 volunteer hours per annum (we have over 750 volunteers and around 75 committees) at a chargeout rate of, say, £150 per hour, that contribution is worth nearly £4 million a year! We are talking about a major pro bono effort.

Also new: the Legal Education Trust

I also took the opportunity at the dinner to introduce the new Legal Education Trust, which we will be launching in the next month or so. Those of us who care about today’s legal profession equally care about the profession of tomorrow. Whilst we have made progress on diversity in some areas, such as gender, there are other areas that still prove a tough nut to crack. We’ve already made a big effort to get into schools in disadvantaged communities to inspire an interest and a passion for the law. But, for too many, the cost of studying law and the financial burden of becoming a solicitor are simply too great. That is why we are setting up this new trust.

It will provide financial support to those who are from disadvantaged backgrounds but clearly have the ability and desire to enter the legal profession. But it will do even more, offering the kind of professional mentoring that we know is so important and makes such a difference in supporting and encouraging individuals to succeed.

We will be looking for the Scottish legal profession to help both in terms of fundraising and in terms of providing mentoring support. We are hoping to attract both personal and corporate sponsors. I’m sure this is a charitable purpose close to all of our hearts and one that will enrich our profession. Rest assured, we will be letting you know more about this exciting and worthwhile initiative very soon.