Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Act 2025

29 Exercise of rights to provide legal services

(1) This section applies when an accredited regulator has given effect to a draft regulatory scheme and applied it as its regulatory scheme under section 28(7), and the regulator is assigned as a category 1 or category 2 regulator.

(2) A legal services provider that is authorised by the accredited regulator may exercise an acquired right (or rights).

(3) Nothing in subsection (2) (or the authorisation rules of the regulatory scheme) affects the power of any court in relation to any proceedings—

(a) to hear a person who would not otherwise have a right of audience before that court in relation to those proceedings, or

(b) to refuse to hear a person (for reasons which apply to the person as an individual) who would otherwise have a right of audience before that court in relation to those proceedings, and where a court so refuses it must give its reasons to the person for that decision.

(4) Where a conduct complaint is made in relation to the exercise of an acquired right, the accredited regulator of the legal services provider that is the subject of the complaint may, or if so requested by the Lord President must, suspend the provider from exercising the acquired right pending determination of the complaint by the regulator.

(5) Where an authorised provider who is authorised to exercise a right of audience in a court is instructed to appear in that court, those instructions are to take precedence before any other professional or business obligation.

(6) An authorised provider exercising a right of audience has the same immunity from liability for negligence in respect of the provider’s acts or omissions as if the provider were an advocate.

(7) An act or omission on the part of an authorised provider does not give rise to an action for breach of contract in relation to the exercise of a right of audience by the provider.

(8) For the purposes of this Chapter—

• “acquired right” means the right or rights to provide legal services specified and described in a regulatory scheme given effect to under section 28,

• “conduct complaint” is to be construed in accordance with Part 1 of the 2007 Act,

• “right of audience” includes, in relation to any court, any such right exercisable by an advocate,

• “right to conduct litigation” means the right to exercise on behalf of a client all or any of the functions, other than any right of audience, which may be exercised by a solicitor in relation to litigation.