Recovery begins at home – but abroad is relevant too

David Pirret's comments on my blog "Our business future" (5 October) rightly point to the heart of business planning in a recession, something which the Journal has covered well in recent months and continues to focus on.

The Society's staff and Council are acutely aware of the affect the credit crunch is having on members' businesses and employees. There is no quick fix for the recession and the difficulties it brings for solicitors and their clients, but the Society is working to do all it can to support and advise the profession at this time.

The Society's Economic Impact Group which I set up continues to focus on monitoring the situation and focusing on the support, advice and information we can give to members. Our professional practice team, in particular, are taking many calls from practitioners seeking advice on a range of issues resulting from the downturn in the market. We are also asking for and listening to the feedback from practitioners, cashroom partners and Deans of Faculty on how different sectors are reacting to the downturn and what further support members are looking for.

Useful business advice from the Society will be printed in November's Journal and will also be available on the Society's website. The Society is also holding various conferences coming in November which all relate to high street practice in Scotland in one shape or another. There are details of the Legal Aid Conference (7 and 8 November), the GP forum (20 November), the Sole Practitioners Conference (22 November), and the High Street conference (29 November) in the Update section of the website. All events aim to assist the profession as well as provide members with the opportunity to give feedback and ideas to the Society.

At the same time I want to be sure that we keep our eye on the future, attract business to Scotland by pointing out the benefits of doing business in Scotland. The credit crunch started in the US and some of the solutions may also lie there. Just as articles in the Journal have shown, the main focus is rightly at home, but opportunities must be made and taken to support the future of the profession in this and many other ways.