President round-up

Susan Murray shares an update on the happenings as President since she took over in May.

I was advised that by stepping into the role of President I would be busy and, in recent weeks, that has certainly been true.

I was very honoured to speak on behalf of Law Society members at the recent Opening of the Legal Year, and present the contribution our highly regarded solicitor profession makes to the people of Scotland, as well as the significant concerns we and others have around the need for action on legal aid and access to justice.

I was also delighted to have the opportunity to pay tribute in public to Lord Carloway and Lady Dorrian before they retire from their judicial roles early next year, and thank them for the enormous contribution they have each made to Scotland’s judiciary and to the wider legal profession during their legal careers.

Introductory meetings with key figures from the Scottish justice system, attended by both the Society’s CEO Diane McGiffen and me, have also continued. These have included meetings with the chair and CEO of the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission and the Scottish Legal Aid Board, as well as the Scottish Government’s recently appointed Director of Justice. These meetings have been uniformly positive and we have had very constructive discussions about some of the key issues that affect our members, including regulation, legal aid and the sustainability of all parts of our profession. I look forward to developing these important justice sector relationships and building on these discussions throughout my year in office.

I have felt particularly privileged to represent the Society and play a part during important moments in the careers of new solicitors and solicitors moving forward in their careers.

It was therefore a real pleasure to welcome 72 new solicitors to the Law Society of Scotland and to host an admissions ceremony for them, and their relatives and friends, in the Signet Library. This was a huge number of intrants, and it was also great to speak to many of them, find out where they were heading in their careers and share their excitement in joining the profession, which was palpable even in that large venue. I am looking forward to hosting all of the admissions ceremonies that will be held later this year and next.

On that note, it is also reassuring for the profession to know that traineeship numbers are remaining high. Since 2020 the number of traineeships has totalled 2,297, with a record high of 788 new trainees in 2021-2022. Trainee numbers for this year will be reported in early November 2024. With these sorts of numbers on the road to joining the profession, and with the leftover effects of the pandemic, it is no wonder that we currently have a waiting list to attend our admissions ceremonies. We will be holding extra ceremonies over the next year to ensure that we can celebrate our newest members and formally welcome them to the profession as quickly as we can.

In terms of solicitors moving forward in their careers, it was also a great pleasure for me to introduce a group of new solicitor advocates to the Court of Session. After the ‘swearing in’ ceremony presided over by Lord Lake, we met as a group with the Lord President, who was very encouraging of solicitor advocates considering joining the bench as a longer-term career goal. I am sure that will give new – and existing – solicitor advocates something more to think about around their future career development. I can also report that the number of new solicitor advocates is high, with as many as 92 solicitors having been granted extended rights of audience since the beginning of 2022. This is clearly a developing area of practice for solicitors in Scotland.

Finishing again on a training and professional networking note, I would like to mention the Law Society’s flagship annual conference. This year we have decided to bring added value for members and make it free for you to attend. Many thanks go to our Sponsors for making this possible. We currently have around 30 speakers confirmed across the four days. Three of those days will be in the virtual space, with the fourth day being our usual in person all day event, held in the EICC. You can find out about our very impressive keynote speakers, who include the newly appointed Advocate General for Scotland Catherine Smith, CCBE President Pierre-Dominique Schupp, Scotland’s Women’s Team Captain Rachel Corsie, and Falklands veteran, author and broadcaster Simon Weston CBE. It seems to me that every year the team at the Society that puts the conference together excels itself in terms of the calibre of the speakers and the content of the conference. It has been great to work with them on the conference this year and I am very much looking forward to this year’s event.

One of the privileges of being President is the opportunity to meet many members in person and I’m looking forward to meeting more of you and discussing issues affecting the profession at our Member Forum events – do look out for upcoming events in your area over the next few months. I’m also enjoying getting to know our new lay members, who have been recently appointed to the Society’s Council. They bring a huge wealth of knowledge and experience from different sectors, which benefits us all – I’ll be sharing more about them and the expertise they and my Council and Board colleagues bring to our work in the months to come.

For now – enjoy the Annual Conference!