Associate feature: Celebrating 75 years serving clients and communities

This year the Law Society of Scotland marks 75 years since its founding. What better time could there be to consider where we have come from and where we are going as the professional body and regulator for solicitors in Scotland.

It is hard to believe that I have been a Law Society member for more than half of its history. I have seen firsthand the range of work, skills and responsibilities change markedly since the Society’s foundation in 1949. While essential solicitor tasks such as preparing wills and managing property transactions remain, in a fast-moving world there are now many more specialist areas.

What has remained constant is the people and service-focused nature of legal work. Solicitors work to benefit people, businesses and communities. We are focused on those we represent and we work hard to ensure they benefit from the exercise of their legal rights. 

There has also been a large shift in the demographics of solicitors. There were barely 3,000 Scottish solicitor members of the Law Society in its early days. Fewer than 100 were women, in a profession that was respected and served people widely, but could hardly have been less diverse in the make-up of its membership.

Today, there are more than 13,000 Scottish solicitors and around 60 per cent of them are women. Efforts to reshape our profession so that it better reflects the communities it serves are continuing to be productive. Our charity the Lawscot Foundation reflects our belief that a legal career should be open to anyone with the drive and talent to become a solicitor.

Beyond what the solicitor profession looks like, since its inception the Law Society has been supportive of Scottish society more broadly. Adherence to the rule of law and access to justice for all are fundamental elements of an open, just and thriving nation. 

The Society works to benefit the public in many ways. We uphold the high standards for which the Scottish solicitor profession is rightfully known. There is also our policy work, using our legal expertise and that of our committee members, to scrutinise legislation in the Scottish and UK parliaments and ensure it is fit for purpose.

Our role is not to take a moral position on key policy issues under consideration at Holyrood and Westminster, but to ensure that new laws work as they are intended. 

That involves constructive engagement on contentious issues such as the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill currently before the Scottish Parliament, or the key parts of the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021 that came into force earlier this year.

Much legislation has direct impact on the Law Society’s work and that of our members. For example the Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Bill will bring much-needed modernisation of how the services provided by solicitors and advocates are regulated in the public interest. 

People and businesses will benefit most from these improvements. Our profession helps people assert their rights, including against the state and those in positions of power. That’s why it’s so important that we maintain the independence of the legal profession. 

Similarly, the integrity of our criminal justice system matters. We have opposed plans for juryless trials and other changes proposed in the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill. We also continue to urge the Scottish Government to work with us to repair the damaged legal aid system in Scotland.

After all that is said, whether it is a house sale, large commercial contract or a criminal trial, it is the  ethos of serving our clients that underpins why Scottish solicitors’ take such pride in their profession, and the work they do. 

This article is sponsored by the Law Society of Scotland.

www.lawscot.org.uk