High Street practitioners and Faculties

Linking effectively with local faculties of solicitors is key to ensuring that the Society, your council members committee members and office bearers within the Society hear members' views, give information to the profession about the Society's work and do the best possible job of representing members' interests.

This section of the website provides a fixed point of reference for all faculties and a source of updated information about matters of interest, including free or low cost CPD on topics of core interest, available from the Society via the faculty network.

Every year, the President visits constituencies and faculties across Scotland. This is managed so that within every three year period, all areas of Scotland are covered and all members receive an invitation to a visit made by the President in their local area.

During the last Presidential year 2016-17, (from 1 June 2016 to 31 May 2017) President Eilidh Wiseman, the Vice President, Council Members and Society staff, including the Chief Executive visited 17 constituency locations across Scotland meeting 430 members from Portree and Wick to Stranraer, answering questions and taking questions on board, to respond to and act on back at the Society offices.

The schedule of future visits will continue to ensure fair coverage across the country and crucially, not to clash with important local events as well as fitting in between the President and Vice President’s other engagements.

President Graham Matthews took up office on 31 May 2017 alongside the Vice President, Alison Atack. He has already visited nineteen faculties and is planning trips to the borders, west coast and Argyll in spring 2018

If you would like to keep in touch with the planning of these visits or if your faculty would particularly like a visit please contact our Head of High street Member Engagement at Highstreet@lawscot.org.uk.

The Society provides or can facilitate CPD presentations on a number of topics which are of core importance across the profession. These include subjects such as

• Risk Management
• Time and Stress Management
• Business Management Skills
• Cyber-Security best practice
• How to get the best from your Smartcard
• Anti Money-Laundering best practice

If you would like to keep in touch with the planning of these visits or if your faculty would particularly like a visit please please contact Highstreet@lawscot.org.uk.

Many groups find that a simple website offers an efficient and flexible method of spreading information to existing members and attracting new members. The Society recommends this approach and the faculties which do have websites or Facebook pages are listed below. If your faculty has a site or a Facebook page which is not listed, please contact Highstreet@lawscot.org.uk and we will add it in so that others can find you.

• The Aberdeen Bar Association - Facebook page
• The Society of Advocates in Aberdeen
• The Faculty of Solicitors of Dunbartonshire
• The Glasgow Bar Association
• Royal Faculty of Procurators in Glasgow
• Scottish Law Agents Society
• The SSC Society
• The WS Society
• The Society of Scottish Lawyers in London

Courts - digital access, legal aid issues etc.

Please see our Legal Aid and Access to Justice pages for current updates.

It can be difficult for trainees to find placements and there are many flexible ways for firms which may be considering taking a trainee to do so. For example, trainees can be 'shared' between firms should there be insufficient work to justify offering a conventional two-year placement. Any firm which wishes to explore the options should contact Katie Wood at the Society who will be happy to discuss the possibilities. Katie is also the point of contact for trainees with queries or concerns.

Faculties that would like to increase the number of their younger members and NQs who would like further details of the continuing and varied support offered by the Society should contact Olivia Parker at the Society.

Armed Forces Legal Action (AFLA) is a nationwide scheme, established within the legal profession, calling upon lawyers across the United Kingdom to help the men and women who safeguard our country when they themselves need assistance. 

The AFLA website carries a range of information on the scheme, how to sign up as a law firm, and how to access services as a member of the armed forces.

Law firms across the UK are being invited to offer a discount of one-third of fees to:

• serving armed forces personnel (regular and reserve)
• those who left the service within the previous two years
• those who have sustained serious combat injuries
• recipients of the Victoria Cross and the George Cross
• bereaved next of kin recipients of the Elizabeth Cross

Benefits for firms:

• the opportunity to attract new clients or develop a new client base
• free and simple to join - no fixed term of commitment
• benefit from free publicity across a range of military publications and social media
• free advertising on the AFLA website and AFLA social media
• access to logos and materials to help promote AFLA locally
• the opportunity to engage with your local community

Membership of the scheme is gained by law firms entering into a simple memorandum of agreement where they undertake to offer the discount to the above groups. In return, they receive access to marketing and promotion. There is no charge or cost at any stage.

Benefits for supporting bodies (law societies, faculties, local groups, etc):

• significant opportunity for ongoing and annual (Armed Forces Day) positive publicity
• raising morale by supporting your members with armed forces connections
• an opportunity to join a scheme that has cross-party political support
• a chance to engage with an element of our society with increasing popular public support

Please visit the AFLA website for more information.

This scheme is supported by but is independent of the Law Society of Scotland.