The Law Society of Scotland is the professional governing body for
ScottishScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
solicitorSolicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
s.
It promotes excellence among solicitors through representation, support and regulation of its members. It also promotes the interests of the public in relation to the profession. The Society helps to shape the law for the benefit of both the public and the profession.
The Society was established in 1949 and its rules are set out in the Solicitors (Scotland) Act 1980. All practising solicitors, currently around 10,500, are members. The Society is funded by its members and has an annual budget of almost £8 million.
History
Lawyers in Scotland have been organised in professional bodies since at least the sixteenth century. The
Faculty of AdvocatesThe Faculty of Advocates is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary...
was established as the body for practising advocates in 1532, though its origins are thought to date from even earlier. Other lawyers were represented by associations and faculties of procurators and solicitors. Among those that still exist, the Society of Writers to Her Majesty's Signet (WS Society) was formally established in 1594 and the
Royal Faculty of Procurators in GlasgowThe Royal Faculty of Procurators in Glasgow is a professional body of legal practitioners based in Glasgow and providing services to lawyers in the city and the surrounding area...
was incorporated before 1668.
As the legal profession expanded in line with the volume of legislation introduced in the twentieth century, it became clear that a representative body for all solicitors was needed along with reform of the informal system of lawyers voluntarily providing legal services to those who could not afford representation, which had existed since 1424. The Legal Aid and Solicitors (Scotland) Act 1949 established the Law Society of Scotland as the governing body for solicitors at the same time as it laid the foundation of the modern legal aid and assistance scheme.
Structure
Solicitors elect representatives to sit on the Society's Council, the ruling body. The Council has overall responsibility for strategy and policy. The work of the Council is supported by the management Board, which draws members from the Council and the Society's executive staff. This is the principal decision-making team at the Society.
The Society's president and the vice president hold office for one year. The current president is Cameron Ritchie. Austin Lafferty is the vice president. The other office bearers are the treasurer and immediate past president, David McClements and Jamie Millar respectively. The chief executive is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Society, working with a staff of approximately 120. The current chief executive is Lorna Jack.
Most of the Society’s departments are grouped in three main areas of work: regulation and standards; membership and registrar; representation and support. Other departments work across those areas. Policy is developed by teams in law reform and education and training.
The work of the Society is supported by solicitors and non-solicitors who contribute their time and expertise through many committees and working groups.
The Society is in the process of reforming its structures and processes. Some new committees and the management Board have been established as part of this governance reform. A consultation on the composition and election of the Council has been held and a new constitution will be drafted.
See also
- Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service
The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service provides the independent public prosecution service for Scotland, and is a Ministerial Department of the Scottish Government. The department is headed by Her Majesty's Lord Advocate, who under the Scottish legal system is responsible for prosecution,...
- Faculty of Advocates
The Faculty of Advocates is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary...
- Lord President of the Court of Session
The Lord President of the Court of Session is head of the judiciary in Scotland, and presiding judge of the College of Justice and Court of Session, as well as being Lord Justice General of Scotland and head of the High Court of Justiciary, the offices having been combined in 1836...
- Law Society
A Law Society in current and former Commonwealth jurisdictions was historically an association of solicitors with a regulatory role that included the right to supervise the training, qualifications and conduct of lawyers/solicitors...
- The Law Society of England and Wales
The Law Society is the professional association that represents the solicitors' profession in England and Wales. It provides services and support to practising and training solicitors as well as serving as a sounding board for law reform. Members of the Society are often consulted when important...
- Law Society of Northern Ireland
'The is a professional body established by Royal Charter granted on 10 July 1922 and whose powers and duties are to regulate the solicitors' profession in Northern Ireland with the aim of protecting the public....
- Scotland Against Crooked Lawyers
Scotland Against Crooked Lawyers is a pressure group, registered as a political party, dedicated to exposing alleged corruption within the Scottish legal profession, Court System and the Scottish Government. Their stated main aim is to end the system of self-regulation for solicitors in Scotland...
- Scots law
Scots law is the legal system of Scotland. It is considered a hybrid or mixed legal system as it traces its roots to a number of different historical sources. With English law and Northern Irish law it forms the legal system of the United Kingdom; it shares with the two other systems some...
- Scottish Court Service
The Scottish Court Service is the body which is responsible for the administration of the Court system in Scotland. The Service employs over 1000 staff members in Scotland's 49 Sheriff Courts, the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary, Justice of the Peace Courts and at the Service's HQ...
- Scottish Legal Aid Board
The Scottish Legal Aid Board is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government, responsible for managing legal aid in Scotland...
- Solicitors
External links
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The Law Society of Scotland website
•
A-Z rules and guidance for solicitors
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Find a solicitor
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The Journal Online