The existing regulators
12.The Lord President has a general supervisory role in respect of the regulation of legal services in Scotland. In addition, the Lord President has a variety of statutory responsibilities in connection with, among other things, the creation of rules for legal professionals and the admission of new regulators.
13.The Law Society is the primary regulator of legal services in Scotland, with responsibility for regulating solicitors, notaries public, conveyancing and executry services, registered foreign lawyers and some powers to regulate incorporated practices. The Law Society has also been approved to regulate licensed legal services providers (being an alternative business structure) though this system is not yet operational (as at the date of Royal Assent to this Act). The Law Society is a statutory body (originally established in 1949) and its constitution and functions are now contained in the 1980 Act.
14.In general terms, the 1980 Act sets out the functions of the Law Society in relation to promoting the interests of the solicitors’ profession and the public in relation to that profession. The functions include oversight of the admission of solicitors to the profession, keeping of the roll of solicitors and responsibility for producing rules as to professional practice, conduct and discipline. It also puts in place a number of safeguards designed to protect the clients of solicitors, such as the maintenance of the Client Protection Fund and requirements in relation to professional indemnity insurance.
15.The Faculty is the regulator for advocates. It performs this function on behalf of the Court of Session which holds ultimate responsibility for the admission of persons to the office of advocate and for regulating the professional practice, conduct and discipline of advocates.
16.Section 120 of the 2010 Act made this a statutory responsibility, though the Faculty has been regulating its members for much longer than that. The Lord President also has a statutory role in relation to the admission and regulation of advocates which is also set out in the same section.
17.The Association of Construction Attorneys (known as the Association of Commercial Attorneys before 17 July 2023) is a body which acquired rights to conduct litigation and rights of audience for its members under the 1990 Act. It is the only body to have done so.
