News In Focus
22 February 2010
Law Agents set to force special general meeting on ABS
The Law Society of Scotland is to be presented with a requisition for a special general meeting on the issue of legal services reform, following a decision of the council of the Scottish Law Agents Society.
A statement on the SLAS website by its secretary announces that the council meeting on 18 February, after considering the response from the profession to the SLAS proposal for a requisition, decided that "there was absolutely no option but to requisition the Law Society to convene a special general meeting at the earliest date available".
The meeting would be held "in order to ascertain the profession’s views on the issue of the external ownership of law practices".
It adds that a requisition has now been prepared and will be transmitted to the Law Society of Scotland within the next few days.
The SLAS opposes external ownership of legal practices as proposed under the Legal Services (Scotland) Bill. The reforms are supported by the Law Society of Scotland following a policy adopted at its annual general meeting in 2008 – a meeting which the SLAS alleges was dominated by big firms in favour of reform.
A special general meeting has to take place within 28 days of receipt of the requisition.