Society responds to Rights of Audience report

The Law Society of Scotland welcomed the independent Rights of Audience report by Ben Thomson, which the Society had called for in 2009.

Bruce Ritchie, Director of Professional Practice at the Society, said: “We are pleased that the report recognises that all counsel appearing before the Supreme Courts should be on a level footing.

“However, we are disappointed that Mr Thomson has not recognised the force of our argument on the investigation of complaints. We remain convinced that conduct complaints should be dealt with by the relevant professional bodies.

“We are pleased with the report’s recommendation for a single qualification, which is in line with our own submission to the Review. We have no major difficulty with the recommendation for one code of conduct for both solicitor advocates and advocates.”

Mr Ritchie said: “Ultimately, clients should continue to have a choice of representation and to be able to rely on high standards being maintained by their representative.

“We look forward to discussing the implementation of the report with the Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Kenny MacAskill.

17 March 2010

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Please contact Suzy Powell on 0131 476 8115.
Email: suzypowell@lawscot.org.uk

17 March 2010