The Scottish Law Agents Society has now formally requisitioned the Law Society to call a Special General Meeting to enable members to resolve the issues of Alternative Business Structures and external ownership and this is likely to fall on 25th March 2010 but still has to be confirmed. In the meantime, the Justice Committee of the Parliament has recommended the postponement of the next debate on the Bill until, among other things, the outcome of Special General Meeting is known. This is consistent with the previous indications from government sources to the effect that the introduction of the Bill was largely driven by the resolution of the Law Society in May 2008 in favour of Alternative Business Structures, as then conceived. Now, however, that the profession at large has seen the terms of the proposed legislation and the ramifications in relation to legal privilege, confidentiality and independence and now that there is a wider awareness of the circumstances in which the resolution of May 2008 was achieved, there has been a huge groundswell of desire around the profession to revisit that resolution.
Now that Parliament and, inevitably the country, is listening to the profession, SLAS hopes and intends to present a consultation, debate and decision making process of which its members can be proud, regardless of the outcome of that process.
PS 10th March 2010. The Justice Committee writes to the Scottish Parliament "....The Committee has ...received notification of a Special General Meeting of the Law Society.....The outcome of that meeting will be of direct relevance to this Bill......the Justice Committee is supportive of an extension which would allow us time to consider the outcome of the Law Society meeting prior to the Stage 1 debate." Clearly, Parliament, as we have been told in our meetings with individual miniaters, is listening to the profession and it is to be hoped that Parliament will receive a clear, considered and principled statement of the aspirations of our profession.
The date of the SGM has now been confirmd as 25th March 2010 at 10 am, venue....Murrayfield. See you there.
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