The Call of Duty: Are you ready to step up and serve on a committee?

Gillian Harkness-McKinlay, member of the Charity Law Sub-Committee at the Society (and Director in the Public and Third Sector Team at Anderson Strathern), discusses why we should all consider putting our names forward to join one of the Society’s many committees.

I am writing this blog having just watched the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. Whether or not you are pro monarchy, I think that one thing we can pretty much agree on is the late Queen’s commitment to duty and service – this got me thinking about my own such commitment and what it is, that we as lawyers, should be giving back.

Scotland’s legal profession is an ancient and noble one, but our daily working lives as solicitors are, for most of us, a far cry from the splendour of the Signet Library and the lofty aspirations we had in the lecture halls of some of the country’s oldest universities (does anyone actually remember the finer details of jurisprudence)? Much of the day-to-day (at least for those in commercial firms) is consumed with time recording, setting of fee scopes, business development etc. and although we do our duty to our clients, we are generally-speaking compensated for having done so. There is little, at least in my own working life, that constitutes an act of genuine selfless service.

The late supreme court judge, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, said "I tell law students… if you are going to be a lawyer and just practice your profession, you have a skill—very much like a plumber. But if you want to be a true professional, you will do something outside yourself… something that makes life a little better for people less fortunate than you." But how do we achieve that? Solicitors can do this in a range of ways, such as through pro bono work, joining boards of charities and social enterprises, children’s panel appointments etc. But there is another option for consideration – joining one of the Society’s Public Policy Committees.

I joined the Society’s Charity Law Subcommittee some years ago and I would have to say that my reasons for joining were not entirely altruistic – I joined, in part, because I didn’t want to be left out of the fold. But I have been humbled to realise that being part of a committee is so much greater than that – it gives solicitors the opportunity to be part of the change and to influence law reform for the greater good. It gives me the opportunity to work collectively with a cohort of solicitors (in my specialist field) in an extremely positive manner – we are seeking to engage with the Scottish Government and with regulators in achieving law reform, changes to policy and practice which are in the interests of Scotland’s third sector, as a whole. All too often, lawyers’ engagement with other lawyers can be confrontational (on opposing sides of a transaction, a litigation etc) whereas there are no sides with committee work, just a desire to achieve what is best for our chosen fields and therefore what is in the public interest. And thankfully, the Society’s committees are not just populated by lawyers, but also by lay people who bring a completely different perspective to the issues under consideration – again, this perspective (combined with engagement with regulators and with other solicitors working with clients across the spectrum of Scotland’s third sector, in my case) means that I am better placed to do my day job as I have a greater understanding of key trends and concerns.

So, if you are looking to do something more, and to be part of ensuring our legal system works for those it is intended to serve, answer the call of duty and consider putting your name in the hat. In the words of the late Queen, "our modern world places such heavy demands on our time and attention that the need to remember our responsibilities to others is greater than ever."