News In Focus
19 December 2008
Society moves towards more open government
Key changes to the Law Society of Scotland’s structure and processes were agreed by Council members at their monthly meeting for December, held today.
Council approved the formation of an Oversight Board – to take on the responsibilities of the current President’s Committee – and an outline remit for a Nominations Committee, which will help the Council to appoint committee conveners, a process which until now has relied more on personal approaches from the President.
The moves were recommended by the Strategy Working Group which has been looking at reforms to the Society's decision-making processes since a special Council awayday last February agreed to pursue changes.
Welcoming the go-ahead, the President, Richard Henderson, said: “This is a big decision and one that will be noted beyond Council and the Society. The Council has shown real leadership in the matter and I hope the profession will applaud this as moving in the right direction.”
He added that no further decisions on governance – including issues such as reform of the Council and the involvement of lay members in decision-making – would be taken without the backing of the Council.
It is anticipated that a Scottish Government consultation paper on the regulation of legal services will be published in early January next year. Governance changes would be necessary for the Society to be regarded as a modern, effective and transparent regulator of legal services, including ABSs.