Voting open in Society Council elections

Voting has opened for the contested seats in this year's Law Society of Scotland Council elections.

Solicitors in the sheriff court districts of Glasgow & Strathkelvin, and Cupar, Dunfermline & Kirkcaldy, have a choice of candidates to represent them on the Society's governing body. The nominees in Perth, and Greenock, Kilmarnock & Paisley, matched the number of seats available and have been returned to Council.

In Glasgow, nine candidates are contesting five seats: Alison Atack, Lindsays; Philip Curle, Curle Stewart; Morven Douglas, Morisons LLP; Daniel Donaldson, Legal Spark Law Centre; Austin Lafferty, Austin Lafferty Solicitors; Anne Macdonald, Harper Macleod; David Mair, Glasgow City Council; Nicholas Taylor, HBJ Gateley; and Ross Yuill, The Glasgow Law Practice. 

Three candidates are seeking election as the two members for Cupar, Dunfermline & Kirkcaldy: Gwen Haggerty, BSW Solicitors, Dunfermline; Andrew Taylor, Taylor Law Ltd, Rosyth; and Susan Williams, WilliamsGrayWilliams Ltd, Cupar.

Voting in both constituencies is open until noon on 18 May. Successful candidates will be appointed as Council members at the next Council meeting on 27 May.

Current Council members Simon Brown, of Matthew Brown, Irvine, and Stuart Naismith, of Stirling & Mair Ltd, Johnstone, were returned unopposed in the constituency of Greenock, Kilmarnock & Paisley. Amanda Millar from McCash & Hunter LLP was also returned unopposed and will continue to represent the constituency of Perth. 

Christine McLintock, President of the Society, commented: "It’s wonderful to see our members wanting to help their professional body lead legal excellence and I’d like to thank this year’s nominees for putting their names forward. Being a Council member is a worthwhile and rewarding experience and it is a fantastic opportunity to lead and support Scotland’s solicitors. I wish all of our candidates the best of luck in the elections.”

The President also paid tribute to the three solicitors who chose to retire from Council this year – Eileen Sumpter, who has represented Dunfermline and then Cupar, Dunfermline & Kirkcaldy for nine years, and Dominic Sellar and Ian Sievwright, who have both represented Glasgow since 2011. She added: “Eileen, Dominic and Ian have each made important contributions during their time on Council and have worked extremely hard over many years. Their commitment and dedication to their profession will be missed.”