AGM 2009
Around 120 delegates attended the Society’s 60th annual general meeting in Edinburgh on 28 May.
In the president’s address, Richard Henderson said the past year had been pivotal for the Society and the profession.
The formal business of the meeting approved the accounts of the Scottish Solicitors’ Benevolent Fund and the Guarantee Fund.
Concerns were raised about the clarity and presentation of the Society’s accounts. The Treasurer, Jamie Millar, explained that some figures had been restated due to a reorganisation of the layout of the accounts. A hand poll was taken and the accounts were approved by 57 votes to 26.
A motion on consulting on governance changes at the Society was approved unopposed after detailed proposals were deleted by agreement.
A second motion deploring Abbey’s decision to remove solicitors from its panel for mortgage transactions was also approved, following a minor amendment.
A lengthy debate took place on a motion proposing that the practising certificate fee should be reduced to no more than £400. The Society’s Council put forward an amendment, which essentially replaced the figure with a commitment to deliver a “material reduction” in the fee following a review of operations and expenditure. That was approved by a hand poll of 67 votes to nine. When proxies were taken into account, the vote in favour of the amendment was 1,150 to 480. An additional amendment proposed by the Glasgow Bar Association to include the impact on legal aid practioners of a cut in the summary legal aid budget and a delay in increasing legal aid rates was also approved unopposed by the meeting and included in the original motion .
The amended motion was then carried unopposed. The press release on this can be accessed here.
A further motion relating to the rules for solicitor advocates was withdrawn when it was announced that the Scottish Government had agreed to hold a review of rights of audience in the supreme courts. The press release on this can be accessed here.
Reports outlining work on alternative business structures and the review of education and training provision were also debated by delegates.
Follow the links on the right for a the agenda for the AGM, a letter from the Society's chief executive, Lorna Jack, a single and a double page spread version of the 2008 annual report and the Scottish Solicitors' Benevolent Fund Report 2008.
For full details of the Society's accounts see our Financial Information page in the About the Law Society section of the website.
