The bigger picture

At the most recent Admission Ceremony for newly qualified solicitors, it was refreshing to be reminded of the enthusiasm and commitment that exists amongst the solicitors of tomorrow, as well as today, a theme picked up by the guest speaker, Roy Martin, Dean of the Faculty of Advocates. He succinctly pointed out that those joining the profession have a duty to protect its independence, to resist any unreasonable encroachments on independence and, as the legal profession has a unique and privileged position in a democratic society to protect individuals from the state, to ensure that the rule of law is upheld, particularly when infringements and restrictions on civil liberties are put forward, albeit in the name of national security.

The Annual General Meeting took place last month and although attendance was affected by the rail strike, it was good to debate issues of concern to the profession. We look forward to a greater involvement of the profession in this process next year.

The issues of legal aid and the need to maintain access to justice, which were also raised at the Admission Ceremony, were particularly prominent. My predecessor, Caroline Flanagan, warned during her term of office that government policy was in danger of encouraging the formation of advice deserts, and again made this clear when responding to a motion urging the Scottish Executive to review the civil legal aid system and significantly increase fees. She also called for the profession to provide hard evidence of problems where they exist so that a strong case, rather than more anecdotal evidence, can be put to the Executive who will, in the absence of such information, point to existing provision as evidence of its sustainability. Likewise, the strength of feeling was clear amongst criminal legal aid practitioners, who put forward a motion regretting the failure to implement a new fee structure, although negotiations continue with the Scottish Legal Aid Board and the Executive.

In addition to fully engaging in the reform process in Scotland, the Society continues to monitor events beyond our own borders. Much has been said, here and elsewhere, about alternative business structures, and their challenges to current means of delivering professional services with current levels of client protection. One strand of alternative structure is non-lawyer owners of legal firms. How they will be regulated will require consideration of how feasible this will be for the regulators of the other professions or services that the legal firms wish to encompass within their organisations. One existing area where there is a form of co-regulation is with the Financial Services Authority, who also have statutory objectives and who are likely to have strong views on who would require to be the lead regulator, especially when dealing with questions such as whose rules would be dominant and whether they would be applied to the whole organisation.

It has now also emerged that the introduction of elements of the Legal Services Bill could be postponed until 2011 or even 2012, by which time a new government may be in place which may view the matter differently.

Also beyond our borders is the European Union’s Third Money Laundering Directive, which will be implemented in the UK in December by the Money Laundering Regulations. Whereas the regulations require to be implemented in practical terms, the definition and due diligence requirements of “beneficial ownership”, which will affect trusts, have caused concern that they may be unworkable, will cost more and do not understand the differences between English and Scots law. The Society will provide information and run training events on the requirements and implementation of the regulations as these become clearer.

The Society’s online questionnaire on the introduction of compulsory single surveys for the house buying and selling process (which is only one part of the reforms under the housing legislation) has produced many valuable responses. We continue to liaise with the profession and other stakeholders before submitting our response to the Executive’s consultation before the 15 May deadline. We also encourage all solicitors to submit their own comments to ensure, as far as possible, that any new system will be workable in practice and in the public interest. At a recent top-level meeting with representatives from the Executive, the perceptions of the flaws in the single survey system, held by many lawyers, were clearly explained. In response, it was made clear that the Labour/Liberal Democrat fundamental objective is to engineer a solution to the perceived lack of investment in Scotland’s housing stock, rather than simply deal with the problems of multiple surveys and their costs.

Congratulations to the four teams who have reached the final of the Society’s Donald Dewar Debating Competition, which is, this year, part of the Act of Union celebrations. The standard of debate in the earlier rounds was very impressive, so we can look forward to an extremely competitive final at the Assembly Hall of the Church of Scotland in Edinburgh in June. Good luck to all involved.