Professional briefing - The Journal Online

Glasgow are debate
champions again
Glasgow Academy have won the
Society-sponsored Donald Dewar
Debating Tournament for Schools
for the second year running, after
a keenly fought final held in
the debating chamber of the
Scottish Parliament.
The winning team of Seamus
McGuigan and Oscar Lee (right
of centre in photo) collected the
tournament trophy and £1,000
for their school.
Collecting the runners-up prize
of £250 for their school were
Gavin Todd and Adam Brand of
Craigmount High School,
Edinburgh (left of centre). The
judges also commended the
performances of the other
solicitors who come from an
ethnic minority background is
steadily increasing – 6% of
Scottish law students starting
their degrees in 2002 were
identified as being from minority
ethnic backgrounds. However,
the 2006 Law Society study
suggested that minority ethnic
lawyers were significantly less
likely to be equity partners than
their white colleagues, and that
solicitors of an ethnic origin
other than white were more
likely to have suffered
discrimination at work.
This research aims to gather
and examine qualitative data
about the experiences of
minority ethnic solicitors, while
taking into account that their
experiences within the
profession will also be
influenced by other factors, such
as location, age, gender
and length of postqualifying
experience.
The research
will focus on the
experience of
practising solicitors,
www.lawscotjobs.co.uk
finalists, Jenny House and Ujani
Basu, of St Margaret’s School for
Girls, Aberdeen, and Michael
Weir and Miriam Malek, from
Madras College, St Andrews.
This year the Society teamed up
with the Scottish European
Educational Trust to engage the
schools in issues relating to
Europe. The finalists had to speak
for or against the motion “This
House believes that the European
Way of Life is preferable to the
American Dream.”
Also pictured are members of
the judging panel, and Deputy
Presiding Officer Trish Godman
MSP (fifth from right), who
chaired the debate.
but will also explore the
experiences of those in other
roles, such as law students,
trainee lawyers, and paralegals.
Blake Stevenson is currently
looking for volunteer solicitors,
trainees, paralegals and students
interested in participating in the
research, which will involve oneto-one
interviews and focus
groups with ethnic minority
solicitors, from a range of
companies and legal sectors; a
focus group with ethnic minority
trainees; interviews and focus
groups with white solicitors and
trainees; and three focus groups
with law students.
It is anticipated that the
research will take place over
July, August and September. All
information gathered during the
research will be non-attributable.
If you fulfil any of the criteria outlined
above and are interested in participating
or would like further information about
the research, please contact Sophie
Ellison, consultant at Blake Stevenson at
sophie@blakestevenson.co.uk or on
0131 335 3700.
Law reform update
Legal Services (Scotland) Bill
Stage 2 of the bill is now complete. A
considerable number of amendments
were debated and a number of points
which the Society had previously raised
with both civil servants and MSPs were
taken on board.
The most significant of these include:
the addition of the promotion of the
interests of justice to the regulatory
objectives; the addition of client
confidentiality and ethical behaviour to
the professional principles; an enhanced
role for the Lord President in the
appointment of approved regulators; a
requirement for at least 51% of licensed
legal services providers to be owned,
managed and controlled by solicitors
or other regulated professionals; and
the creation of a regulatory scheme for
will writers.
Stage 3 will commence in September
after the Scottish Parliament’s summer
recess. For more information, go to the
ABS section on the Society’s website or
email katiehay@lawscot.org.uk .
Children’s Hearings
(Scotland) Bill
The stage 1 report was published on
9 June. The Education and Lifelong
Learning and Culture Committee
identified a number of specific issues that
it thought required to be given further
consideration, including the role and
powers of the National Convener, the
definition of a relevant person and the
child confidentiality provision, but
recommended to the Parliament that the
general principles of the bill be agreed.
The bill was passed at the stage 1
debate on 16 June. The Society’s Family
Law Subcommittee raised a number of
concerns in relation to the bill in its
response to the initial call for evidence
and intends to raise them in more detail
at stage 2, which will begin in September.
Registration of company charges
The Company Law Subcommittee
recently responded to the Department for
Business Innovation and Skills
consultation which makes proposals to
revise the current scheme for the
registration of company charges.
The consultation considers what
charges should be registrable, time limits
for registration, and the consequences
of both registration and of the failure
to register, as well as registration
procedures. The UK Government aims to
provide a response to the consultation by
the end of September.
Proposed Long Leases
(Scotland) Bill
The Scottish Government is consulting
on a bill to protect the interests of
tenants under residential ground leases
of more than 175 years’ duration who
are potentially at risk of losing their
homes, by converting the tenancies to
outright ownership. This will complete
the process of land reform which
began with feudal abolition. The
Conveyancing Committee’s response
recommends the exclusion from the bill
of long leases of strips of land creating
wayleaves for pipes and cables, and of
substations and other public facilities.
It also suggests some form of
mechanism to consider applications for
conversion to outright ownership of the
tenant’s interest in certain leases which
would not qualify as long leases.
Double jeopardy consultation
The Scottish Government considers that
there should be an exception to the rule
of double jeopardy on the basis of
tainted evidence or a subsequent
confession. This follows Scottish Law
Commission recommendations.
The consultation paper considers
only whether there should be an
exception on the basis of new
evidence. The Criminal Law Committee
has responded on the basis that there
should be a new evidence exception,
where such evidence is compelling.
Consultation:
self-directed support
The Mental Health and Disability Law
Subcommittee and the Employment
Law Subcommittee have jointly
responded to this Scottish Government
consultation. The proposals set out in
the consultation aim to give people
who receive social care services more
choice and control, including direct
payments, allowing them to purchase
their own services. In their response,
the committees were supportive of the
principles behind the proposals and
recognised the value in giving
individuals greater autonomy. However,
they also outlined some serious
concerns about the implications of the
proposals, particularly in the area of
employment law.
A number of law reform committees
are also currently considering
responses to the following bills and
consultations: the Criminal Sentencing
(Equity Fines) (Scotland) Bill, the
Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Bill, the
Commissioner for Victims and
Witnesses (Scotland) Bill, the Wildlife
and Natural Environment (Scotland)
Bill, the consultation on Planning
Obligation and Good Neighbour
Agreement Regulations 2010, the
consultation on tree preservation
orders, the Environmental Impact
Assessment Regulations 2010
consultation paper, and the
consultation on revised national
guidance on child protection.
More details on these will be
reported in future editions of the
Journal. For more information on any
of the above, please contact
lawreform@lawscot.org.uk .
July 2010 theJournal / 31