Special and annual general meetings - 2009

Report of SGM on 24 September

THE Society will deliver a £100 reduction in next year's practising certificate following approval by members.

The 2009/10 budget and proposals for a practising certificate fee of £565 were put to a special general meeting in Glasgow. The PC motion was approved unopposed.

David McClements, the Society's Treasurer, said: "To achieve this reduction and level of practising certificate fee there was a huge amount of planning necessary and much hard work within the Society in delivering this to the profession. This work began long before the AGM in May and indeed goes right back to the early part of this year.

"The Society's Executive has reviewed every aspect of the Society's operations in this process and has ensured that as well as delivering the £100 reduction for members it has identified savings to make the organisation more efficient going forward and this will continue to benefit the profession in succeeding years."

Three other motions were put to the SGM. An amendment to a motion about the relocation project of the Society was carried 33 votes to six. As a result, the Society will now ask its external auditors, Henderson Loggie, to carry out an independent review of the project.

An amendment to a motion about payments and expenses was carried by a poll vote of 132 to 98, using proxies. The amended motion, which welcomed publication of the remuneration of office bearers and the allowance for conveners, was passed by a show of hands of 33 to four.

The meeting then approved the draft Solicitors (Scotland) (EU Services Directive) Practice Rules 2009, which related to practising as a European lawyer and foreign lawyer registration rules.

The SGM also heard an update on the current review of legal education and training.

The Society's President, Ian Smart, said: "The special general meeting looks forward to the year ahead. It is an important opportunity for members to have their say on the Society's plans for the coming year and the proposed membership fee to fund those plans. We are in a period of great change and we are focusing on ensuring the Society and profession are ready for future challenges.

"It was therefore fitting that the majority of the debate surrounded the changing framework for legal education and training."

Before the formal meeting, criminal defence solicitor Joe Beltrami was awarded honorary life membership of the Society.

Agenda and papers

The agenda and papers for the Society's SGM have been sent to all members today, 4 September 2009.

The Society has proposed that the practising certificate fee for the year 2009/10 is reduced by £100 to £565. The Society's corporate plan and budget was published on this website on 7 August 2009.

The reduction in the budget was achieved by identifying savings across the Society's operations, employment costs and by using some of the Society's financial reserves. The Council also approved the proposal that all other fees should be held at this year's figures. This includes the Scottish Solicitors' Guarantee Fund subscription. The Society will also advise the profession on the outcome of the Master Policy premium negotiations as soon as they are concluded

More details of the accounts, budget and corporate plan can be found in the financial information section of the website.

There will be an update on the future of legal education and training, which is undergoing significant change.

Report of AGM on 28 May

Around 120 delegates attended the Society's 60th annual general meeting in Edinburgh.

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.

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.

Reports outlining work on alternative business structures and the review of education and training provision were also debated by delegates.