Hansard

I declare an interest as a member of the Law Society of England and Wales. I was a practising solicitor with Brodies until June 2007.

Like many others who have taken part in the debate, the Scottish Conservatives congratulate the Law Society of Scotland on recognising the need for change in an increasingly competitive environment. We—as is the Government—are attracted by the idea that Scotland could market its legal services on the world stage. Scots law and Scottish lawyers have a sound international reputation, so there are definite grounds for thinking that such moves would be successful.

However, we must recognise that the existing business structures would not necessarily be conducive to that in all cases. It has also been noted that smaller and, in many cases, well-established practices have no desire to go down that particular route. Any legislation would need to recognise that a one-cap-fits-all approach would be doomed to failure.

The Scottish Conservatives support the existence of an independent Scottish legal profession that is effectively regulated and which provides good-quality and effective services to clients throughout Scotland. As Rhoda Grant and others do, we support the principle that a free democratic society can flourish only if its members have access to independent legal advice, especially on issues involving Government or that require Government procedures or decisions to be challenged. That will not happen if people have restricted access to such advice or if the providers of the advice are under the control of the Government.

As we heard from Bill Aitken, the legal sector is an important part of the Scottish economy—it contributes £1.2 billion to the national economy. There is also great variation in the characteristics of the legal market: for example, some areas—financial services and tax sectors, residential conveyancing and commercial law, for example—demonstrate a high level of competition, while other areas, such as family law, welfare debt and housing matters, demonstrate a low level of competition.

The focus of today's debate has been on alternative business structures as a means of freeing up the Scottish legal market. However, there are other controls that restrict the legal market in Scotland, notably the restrictions on individuals who want to enter the profession, on which I will touch briefly. As Clementi noted in his report on the regulatory framework in England and Wales, setting entry standards requires a careful judgement between setting the standard too high and restricting entry and setting the standard too low and not maintaining proper levels of competency. That is the challenge to the legal profession and the Government, and it must be a concern with the prospect of Tesco law.

In Scotland, as in England, the legal profession has grown substantially in recent decades. That has been most evident in the dramatic rise in the number of law school places. The normal route to becoming a Scottish solicitor is to complete a bachelor of law degree, followed by a diploma in legal practice. There is then a two-year training contract that includes further competency courses. Advocates go through a similar process, requiring the diploma, a five-week foundation course and a six-month pupillage. Minimum standards of quality are enforced during that training process, but there are no specific statutory or other regulatory barriers to entry. However, as anyone who has been through the system will know, there are bottlenecks in the system that work in a similar way to barriers to entry. Whether it be in gaining a place at university, a place on the diploma course or a training contract, at every stage potential solicitors and advocates have difficulty getting into the profession.

Another barrier that I have come across is that which restricts the ability of solicitors who are not qualified in Scots law to come to Scotland to practise. Despite the fact that I held a University of Glasgow law degree and qualified in London, I had to sit several meaty examinations to become a qualified solicitor in Scotland. It felt as though it would have been easier for me to become qualified in New York state than in my home country. That differs greatly from the situation in England, where Scots-law qualified solicitors do not face the same barriers to becoming qualified as English solicitors. I urge the Government, as part of its reform package and review, to examine such barriers to entry to the Scottish legal profession. Unless our legal profession can be accessed by the most able lawyers from throughout Scotland and around the world, we will not fulfil our ambition to enable our legal profession to compete on the international stage.

A number of members, including Aileen Campbell, talked about business structures. There are several restrictions on the ways in which Scottish legal firms can organise themselves. Advocates must be sole practitioners: they cannot form partnerships with anyone, not even other advocates. The justification for that—a point that was made by Nigel Don—is that it allows advocates to focus entirely on the work of advocacy and frees them from other demands. However, there could surely be significant advantages, through economies of scale, if that restriction were relaxed. Removal of the restriction would enable advocates to spread risks more efficiently and, potentially, to take advantage of economies of scale by meeting a range of clients' legal needs within one firm.

In relation to solicitors' practices, non-lawyers are not allowed to own legal firms and employed solicitors are not allowed to act for any third party. That is justified on the ground that it avoids any conflict of interests, maintains lawyers' independence and continues to respect client confidentiality. Although reform is required in that area, there must be some concern—as we heard from Paul Martin—that big businesses would muscle their way on to our high streets and cherry pick the most profitable legal work. We have heard throughout the debate that smaller local law firms that offer a wide range of services are vital in many communities.

In the light of recent initiatives, the Scottish Conservatives acknowledge the need for a change in the legal services profession in an increasingly competitive environment—the idea of marketing Scotland's legal services internationally, for example, is definitely appealing. In addition, although Scots law and Scottish lawyers have a respectable international reputation, it is important to note that existing business structures are not in all cases conducive to that. In order for Scotland to maintain its international reputation, the legal services market must recognise that a one-cap-fits-all approach will not be attractive. The Scottish Conservatives support the existence of an independent Scottish legal profession that is effectively regulated and which provides quality services to all clients throughout Scotland. We are happy to support the Government's motion and the Labour Party's amendment.