Law Society news
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Court business plan in level 0
Law Society President, Ken Dalling, responds to the Scottish Courts & Tribunals Service's briefing on court business once Scotland moves into level 0.
Law Society comment on acquisition of McClure Solicitors by Jones Whyte LLP
The Society's Chief Executive Lorna Jack has commented on the announcement that McClure Solicitors has been acquired by Jones Whyte LLP.
COPFS and Law Society PIDM collaboration
Collaborative work between the COPFS and the Law Society for Scotland has been carried out to further improve the pre-intermediate diet meeting process. Read our update from a recent meeting which brought together prosecutors and defence lawyers and was convened by Sheriff Principal Aisha Anwar.
Women’s Access Network launches
The Law Society of Scotland has launched the Women’s Access Network to connect senior women in the legal profession with female solicitors and trainees looking to take the next steps in their careers.
Declining to appear in custody cases
Can a defence agent decline to appear in custody cases? Our Director of Professional Practice, Fiona Robb answers.
Law Society opposes plans for economic crime levy on solicitors
The Society has opposed proposals to introduce a UK-wide anti-money laundering levy on solicitors.
Diploma 2020 Q&A published
Following an unprecedented number of applications to the Diploma in Professional Legal Practice this year, the Law Society of Scotland has created a dedicated advice section for students who have not secured a place on the Diploma.
LBTT threshold increase needs to happen sooner rather than later
We are calling on the Scottish Government to prioritise implementation of the increased threshold for Land and Building Transaction Tax for residential property transactions.
Urgent update on simple procedure cases
The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service has confirmed that simple procedure action submitted on or after 1 June 2020 must be submitted via the Civil Online plaform. The Convener of our Civil Justice Committee has written to ask for a review of this decision.
AML Roundup June 2020
It is particularly important in these difficult times, that we maintain a clear focus on our AML measures and requirements and with that in mind, we wanted to bring you a round up of AML news and events.
Supporting the profession during the Coronavirus outbreak
We highlight some of the the support and guidance available to our members during the Coronavirus outbreak.
AML Registration Requirements during the Covid-19 crisis
Due to the Covid-19 crisis, the Disclosure Scotland service is currently only processing applications for people working on sectors deemed vital at this time. HM Treasury are content that, on a temporary basis, firms or new sole practitioners can provide a statutory declaration that the BOOM(s) does not have a relevant criminal conviction as part of the application.
Preventing money laundering during Covid-19
The UK Legal Sector Affinity Group has published an advisory note for legal practitioners to prevent money laundering or terrorist financing going through law firms during the Covid-19 crisis.
Statement on efforts to produce guidance for property sales
Guidance has now been agreed and published to enable interim measures introduced by Registers of Scotland to allow some urgent property transactions to settle this week. Ahead of that guidance Law Society President John Mulholland talked about the work which went into preparing it.
Homeworking hacks: our starter for 10
What do you need to think about as a colleague, manager or leader to help manage stress, increase mood and motivation when you’re working from home? Here's our starter for 10.
Collaboration with ICO set to benefit legal tech sector
Scotland’s legal tech sector is set to benefit from support from the Information Commissioner Office in developing innovative solutions to ensure GDPR compliance.
New guidance aims to improve price transparency in legal services
New guidance for Scottish solicitors on publishing pricing aims to help consumers better understand the cost of legal advice and services.
Practice Rule Changes
See our update on Practice Rule changes relating to client communications and firms' client relations managers which come into effect on 1 February 2020
The role of appropriate adults
We highlight some of the key features arising from the Appropriate Adults Scheme which has came into effect this month, including their engagement with solicitors in relation to interviewing vulnerable adults.
Law Society launches new accreditation for legal technologists
Solicitors and Accredited Paralegals who have specialist technology roles could be awarded a new accreditation in recognition of their expertise.
Registers of Scotland reports price increase
Fees for Registers of Scotland reports will increase as of Monday 30 September.
AML Roundup September 2019
As the UK and Scottish Governments continue to intensify focus on AML measures and scrutiny of professional body supervisors, we continue to build our capabilities in this area – both to fulfill our responsibilities as a supervisor and to support our members’ compliance. Given that context, there is a huge volume of information and materials available and we have rounded these up for our members.
10 top tips to get you started on social media
If you're painfully aware that you're missing a trick when it comes to social media and your business, but Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin are complete mysteries to you, these ten top tips will provide a useful starting point for you.