Voting opens in Society Council elections

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

Solicitors in Glasgow & Strathkelvin constituency have a choice of nine candidates for their five constituency members, and in-house can choose a sole or joint conveners for the In-house Lawyers Committee.

Standing in Glasgow are Gulfraz Ahmed, Jones Whyte LLP; Emma Crilley, Anderson Strathern; Martin Kerr, Hutchison 3G UK Ltd (trading as "Three"); Austin Lafferty, Austin Lafferty Ltd; Anne Louise Macdonald, Harper Macleod LLP; David John Mair, Glasgow City Council; Gurcharanjeet Singh, Ethnic Minorities Law Centre; Gordon Scot Watson, W W & J McClure Ltd; and Ross Yuill, The Glasgow Law Practice.

For the in-house post, the contenders are David Bryson of Baillie Gifford, against Sheekha Saha (Comhairle nan Eilean Siar) and Vlad Valiente (Scottish Fire & Rescue Service), standing as co-conveners. The convener will be a co-opted member of Council.

No polling is necessary in the other constituencies due for election: Cupar, Dunfermline & Kirkcaldy; Greenock, Kilmarnock & Paisley; and Perth.

President of the Law Society, Alison Atack, who is standing down from Council after almost 20 years commented: "It’s fantastic to see nine solicitors in Glasgow coming forward to help their professional body to lead legal excellence. Council members represent the views of Scottish solicitors and help to shape the Council's policies and take decisions affecting the profession. The legal profession continues to go through a huge amount of change and I would encourage our members to take the opportunity to vote for their preferred candidates."

Beth Anderson, head of member engagement for in-house lawyers, added: "The ILC convener will play an important role at the Law Society. They will be responsible for representing the views of Scottish in-house solicitors, making decisions affecting the profession and making a real difference for in-house members in both the private and public sectors. I would strongly encourage our in-house members to take the opportunity to vote for their preferred candidate."

Both elections are running until 12 noon on 16 May 2019. Eligible members need to log in and cast their votes using the Society’s secure online voting system.

Click here for more information on the Glasgow candidates, and here for more information on the in-house candidates.