President's column: June 2023

Blank page before me, as I prepare my first column as President of the Law Society of Scotland. I’ve spent a fair bit of time over the last few days considering what you wanted to hear from me.

First and foremost, I said in my presentation to Council, seeking election to this role, that I was hugely proud to be a Scottish solicitor. That was and is true, and as I sit in Helsinki, attending the IBA Bar Leaders’ Conference, I’m reminded of the strength of that pride. In Scotland, in our legal profession, and in all that it does. I am very much making the most of this early opportunity in my presidency to talk about our profession and to promote it at every opportunity to bar associations from around the world. It truly is the honour and privilege of my life to represent us all.

Heart in the Highlands

My very first role as President – within 12 hours of accepting the Presidential “gong” (that’s what it says on the box it lives in, so it must be official!) – was to attend the Highland Chamber of Commerce Dinner in Inverness, hosting a table along with Council members Sheekha Saha and Serena Sutherland. That was an absolute pleasure, allowing me to meet members practising in the north of Scotland and to hear about the challenges facing them in their practices. 

One speaker at the dinner spoke of the feeling of decisions affecting businesses in the north being made too often in the central belt (the lack of dualling of the A9 featured heavily), and I want to do whatever I can to ensure that that is not the feeling of our members about our Law Society. I fully intend to continue Murray’s in-person constituency visits across Scotland, and I hope to meet as many of you as possible in the coming months.

I grew up a little less north than Inverness, in Aberdeen, but my heart has always been drawn to the Highlands, making this event all the more special as my first as the Society’s President. I married a Highlander, and my middle name is Gaelic (courtesy of a native Gaelic speaking godfather and parental interest in Gaelic culture). Holidays spent in the far north west mean that places such as Gairloch will always feature highly on my favourite places on earth. 

Those connections mean that I have a real interest in understanding (and hopefully, to whatever extent I can, helping with) the challenges of practising in the more remote areas in Scotland, notwithstanding my own experience as a solicitor. Our Law Society may be based in Edinburgh, but it is there for everyone wherever you practise. That is important to me; it is what I want the Law Society of Scotland to be, and what I will work continuously to achieve.  

So, in addition to working on our concerns as a profession with the Regulation of Legal Services Bill and the bill relating to our criminal justice system, to working to improve the equality, diversity and inclusivity of our profession, and on wellbeing issues facing us all, I will be working on being as accessible as possible. I want to hear from you. I cannot promise to fix all the problems you face, but I can and will listen, and will endeavour to do what I can to promote all our interests.

Keeping in tune

Finally, and hopefully to keep you reading these articles, I plan to start a playlist so I can remember this year. I will add one or two songs each month which bring back memories for me, and perhaps make you laugh at my eclectic musical taste (and feel free to share your own playlist recommendations!). This month’s entries (an extra one this first month) are:

Simply the Best, Tina Turner – predictable perhaps, but a classic and an iconic song for an iconic woman.

Watermelon Sugar, Harry Styles – that one is especially for the Society’s chief executive, Diane McGiffen.

The Story, Runrig – a favourite band, whose music always takes me to the Highlands.

My generation, I recognise, but it’s my playlist!