Article
1 June 04
AGM report
Reports from the 2004 AGM of the Society
View from the floor
There were some predictable media asides about lawyers gathering in a museum, but this year’s AGM had a most suitable auditorium in the Royal Scottish’s lecture theatre, the tiered seats making it easy to see and hear contributions from the floor.
The couple of hundred present, a respectable enough turnout, approved the report and accounts while voicing some concern over the scale of the Society’s exposure on the PKI project. Finance Convener Ruthven Gemmell responded that the Society had had no option but to guarantee the liabilities of the Lawseal company set up to further the project, which was terminated when it became clear that the level of participation would not match earlier indications. The Society was clear that that had been the right decision.
The five sets of draft practice rules were all approved, with only one point of objection, voted down, in relation to the Accounts etc Amendment Rules. John Hamilton, Guarantee Fund Convener, reported that grants from the fund, at £73,000, were down £56,000 on the previous year, but that £95,000 had already been admitted or paid in the current year with an estimated outturn of £200-250,000. Seven cases had been referred for prosecution, still a tiny percentage of practitioners.
The formal business over, the afternoon was devoted to a debate on the Society’s draft response to the Clementi consultation paper. As the platform party acknowledged, and indeed encouraged, individual solicitors and faculties were welcome to put in their own submissions to the Clementi team – the In-House Lawyers Group has a somewhat different take. Contributions were varied but the Society was urged to present a positive and not a defensive view in what it said. (The draft response was further discussed at the May Council meeting and the final version should be available on the website by the time this issue is published.)
Clouds on the horizon
The very significant increase in claims in 2001-02 was followed by only a marginal improvement in 2002-03, said Alistair Morris, presenting the report on the Master Policy for professional indemnity insurance. A review of the arrangements is in hand along with brokers Marsh, whose contract has been extended by a year to October 2005 to cover the timescale.
Changes to the premium ratings from November 2004 will include fee income as an additional rating factor, raising the 10 partner cap to 15 and increasing the maximum premium loading from 250 to 275%. Repeated time bar claims will attract higher self insured amounts.
Announcing that the Society had been told of a pending OFT inquiry into the operation of the Master Policy, he said that the Society had not been given details of the matters under investigation or the source of the complaint, but it was taking place under the Competition Act 1998 and the Society would be co-operating fully with the investigation, which might be lengthy.
Award for Schools Law Project creator
East Lothian schoolteacher Patrick Gaffney was presented with an award at the AGM in appreciation of his efforts to educate young people about the law. Mr Gaffney launched the Scottish Schools Law Project in March 2003 to help young people understand why laws should be respected and to show that laws bring responsibilities as well as rights.
In the project, which has now involved more than 50,000 pupils from 300 schools, law firms nominate a school which then receives teacher-friendly, quiz-based classroom materials that help pupils learn more about the law. More than 200 firms are now participating.
Thanking Mr Gaffney for his efforts, President Joe Platt said: “Patrick is one of those people who is inspirational in his ideas, his energy and his commitment, and I would like to thank him most sincerely for his work which will be recognised by so many in the future.”
Mr Gaffney, who was presented with a quaich by Joe Platt, said: “Much of the credit for the success of the project must go to the legal profession. There is no government funding involved so the project’s success depends upon law firms backing it in the schools they choose to nominate. The goodwill from solicitors all over Scotland has been tremendous.”
Platt’s confidence…
“A healthy profession of which Scotland can be proud”, was outgoing President Joe Platt’s message as he addressed the AGM. “The protections the profession offers its clients in terms of education, standards of service and client care as well as the Society’s work on prevention of money laundering, law reform, legal education and regulation all show this.”
Those who complain about lack of competition in legal services fail to recognise what exists within the profession, he added. The fact that the Scottish Conveyancing and Executry Services Board had only three registered practitioners at the end of 2002 showed there was no market for such services. “This should serve as a reminder to those who seek to open up the market.” And he pointed out that the decision to transfer the Board’s functions to the Society was an endorsement of the Society.
Despite a generally upbeat message, he recognised the continuing difficulties facing legal aid practitioners. Family lawyers, for example, have reservations about the new civil legal aid regime, which rewards litigation rather than negotiation. “Please report on your experience”, he appealed, so the Society can press for changes where needed. For criminal practitioners, the interim rise in rates had followed the Society insisting to the Executive that it could only discuss criminal legal aid if there was an increase in rates.
Joe Platt also acknowledged the competitive disadvantage currently facing Scottish firms, in particular those with cross-border practices. It is, he said, something the Society has been trying to change and the Executive is now making the necessary rules.
Resuming his confident theme, he continued: “We punch well above our weight and seek to perform to the highest standards across the spectrum of legal practice. Solicitors handle millions of items of business for clients each year and even if you want to focus on the complaints aspect of that, only 0.2% of transactions give rise to a complaint.”
“The last year has taught me how easily we criticise and how easy it is for criticism, whether justified or not, to overshadow the more positive overall picture. I will return to practice in Dumbarton confident that the Scottish solicitors’ profession is healthy and active and that the Society is a dynamic, able and representative organisation which fulfils the objectives it was given by Parliament.”