New Council representation for international Scottish solicitors and solicitor advocates

Two brand new seats on the Law Society of Scotland Council have been filled by a Scottish solicitor working in Brussels and a solicitor advocate based in Fife.

The addition of the new co-opted seats was approved at the Society’s AGM in May of this year, with the aim of better reflecting an ever changing and increasingly globalised profession.

Both seats saw contested elections and Siobhan Kahmann of Covington and Burling LLP in Brussels was elected as the first dedicated representative on the Society Council for Scottish solicitors working outwith Great Britain.  Four of her fellow international colleagues also stood.

Tom Marshall of Tom Marshall Limited, Burntisland was elected as the first ever dedicated representative for solicitor advocates on the Society Council, over the three other solicitor advocate candidates, who also ran for this seat.

Given that this is the first time the international and solicitor advocate Council members have been elected, voting figures were encouraging with 14% of Scottish solicitors working outside of Great Britain turning out to vote for their dedicated representative and 29% of solicitor advocates casting their vote.

Lorna Jack, chief executive of the Society, said: “I am pleased with the numbers of Scottish solicitors working internationally and solicitor advocates who turned out to vote.

“The profession is becoming increasingly globalised and we are keen to engage members who have used their Scottish qualification as a passport to access international opportunities.

“It is certainly more challenging for our international members to build relationships with one another, than it is for solicitors based in Scotland; but with digital communications tools at our fingertips and a new Council member to facilitate the flow of information and networking opportunities, I am excited about what the future will hold for this particular group of members.

“And I am thrilled to see such high numbers of solicitor advocates taking an interest in the work of their professional body. 29% is a great turnout.

“I would like to extend our thanks to everyone who voted, stood for election or helped with the campaign – in particular, I know that our colleagues in Brussels and at the Society of Solicitor advocates have been particularly supportive – and of course, I would like to congratulate Siobhan and Tom on their success.  I look forward to meeting you at the next Council meeting – whether that’s in person or with the magic of video or telephone conferencing technology.”