From AI adoption to enhanced member support — all 16 Law Society of Scotland projects for 2026
As the new legal year picks up pace, the Law Society of Scotland has confirmed its key focus areas for the next 12 months, including implementing new regulations and the continued adoption of AI.
The Society has laid out 16 new projects for the 2025-26 practice year. The programme also includes recognition of the increasing diversity of solicitors' interests and needs.
Legal aid, which remains on a financial precipice, is unsurprisingly still high on the agenda as is a package of support for solicitors working in smaller firms.
This annual plan sits alongside the core work carried out by the Society for members: ensuring professional standards and deelivery of services including CPD.
Ben Kemp on 2025/26 programme
Launching the plan for 2025/26, Chief Executive Ben Kemp said: “It’s vital that we continue to evolve and drive change to ensure we can meet the needs of our members alongside our statutory duties ensuring high standards across the profession, and our work to promote the public interest.
“The projects we have set out for the next 12 months focus on significant changes ahead, particularly in relation to the Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Act and integrating the new responsibilities we will have and ensuring we can support our members in responding to the challenges and opportunities of rapid technological change. As we look ahead to next year’s Scottish elections, we will also set out our priorities for the next term of the Scottish Parliament and work to ensure that justice issues remain at the forefront of reform.
“We will continue to engage with our members and others throughout the year to ensure that we prioritise those areas of work that are most relevant and deliver most benefit.”
Programme in full
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Creation of our new strategy |
We will commence work to create and agree a new Law Society strategy from 2027 by consulting with our members and stakeholders. |
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Member engagement |
We will review our programme of member engagement, recognising the increasing diversity of member interests and needs. |
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Regulatory reform and implementing the 2025 Act |
We will commence delivery of a modernised regulatory regime by commencing the implementation of the new Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Act 2025 and the enabling regulations. |
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2026 Holyrood elections |
We will set out our key priorities for the next term of the Scottish Parliament ahead of the 2026 election, and work with prospective and newly elected MSPs to ensure justice issues remain at the forefront of reform. |
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Artificial Intelligence in the legal sector |
We will deepen and expand our members’ understanding of the safe, ethical, and effective use of AI in legal practice, building on our work from previous years. |
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The crisis in legal aid |
We will respond to the growing crisis in legal aid by pushing for substantial additional investment and simplification of the system, prioritising work on any new primary legislation brought forward. |
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A more equal, diverse and inclusive profession |
We will continue to be a leading voice in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion by ensuring we create space and opportunity to share best practice, empowering members and colleagues to feel confident in their role in making meaningful and measurable change. |
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Social mobility in the profession |
We will bolster our work on social mobility by equipping colleagues and the profession to progress the area by talking and working together with confidence to ensure the access, progression and retention of all in the profession. |
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Small business support |
We will use our comprehensive research report on the opportunities and challenges for smaller practices to develop and deliver a package of support for our members working in this part of the profession. |
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Anti-money laundering regulation |
We will communicate and begin the process of implementing the decision of the UK Government regarding our status as an anti-money laundering (AML) supervisor. |
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A digital approach to member services |
We will ensure we are better equipped to provide our services and support through the delivery of the first two stages of our new member and stakeholder management system. |
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Digital transformation of our systems |
We will continue our process of digital transformation including the delivery of our new HR system, evaluation and deployment of AI tools to aid the organisation, and establishing a transformation roadmap for future IT projects. |
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Our people strategy |
We will continue to work to attract and retain talented individuals in our staff team by progressing the next stages of our People Strategy. |
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Lawscot Sustainability |
We will continue to progress our commitment to climate action at an organisational and sector wide level through our Lawscot Sustainability programme. |
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Our international strategy |
We will use the creation of our new international committee to review and restructure our international strategy, ensuring the Law Society acts on global issues on justice and the rule of law. |
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Improving our governance |
We will commence the first year of a project to review and reform our governance structure, ensuring there is effective decision making and robust oversight across the organisation. |
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