OF THE LAW SOCIETY OF SCOTLAND - The Journal Online

“Some pleasure has been
expressed that the appointment
went to someone who is actually
at the coalface, or as one Junior
said to me, someone who has
been “up here taking the flak like
the rest of us.”
What was the procedure for
becoming a QC?
“There was no real indication of
what one was meant to do. I was
staring rather blindly into the dark.
Essentially it’s a case of applying to
the Lord President with an outline
of one’s history, professional
experience and names of referees.
“ I assume that previously it was not
a very formal process. As the Bar is
a rather tight knit community the
Dean will know all his members,
whereas the Law Society didn’t feel
able to offer a substantive view on
my merits or otherwise.”
So what difference will QC status
make to him and his practice?
“In a practical sense little changes.
I’m happy to accept work from
wherever it comes if it’s within my
areas of interest. I would anticipate
most of my cases would continue
to come from McGrigor Donald
work, but like other solicitor
advocates, if matters come from
elsewhere I’m happy to take them
on.
“I’m not anticipating in the short
term that it will make a huge
difference. It is difficult to know
ultimately how client decisions are
made! My best guess is that at one
end of the spectrum of clients are
organisations who aren’t familiar
with litigation but have heard of
QCs, think the label is a special thing
and think they should employ one.
At the more sophisticated end of
the legal market, eg. those who have
been operating in the English
litigation field, clients may well take
the tag as an external guarantee of
a certain standing in the profession.
In essence it’s a badge of quality for
the firm’s practice.”
For solicitor advocacy in Scotland,
it’s something of a fillip. Welcoming
the appointment, President of the
Society of Solicitor Advocates, Frank
Maguire said: “This appointment
gives a good message that what
matters to the public and our
clients is advocacy. This is the first,
but there will be more. There are
high standards of advocacy across
the board, many of whom happen
to be solicitors.”
Clients may well take
the tag as an
external guarantee of
a certain standing in
the profession
Craig Connal said: “I hope it might
encourage people who are
wondering about solicitor advocacy
that it is possible to achieve this
accolade.”
There has been a suggestion that
the Faculty lacks specialists and that
in comparison to their counterparts
in England, there simply isn’t the
choice available when instructing
counsel – could more solicitor
advocate QCs rectify that problem?
“The size of the Bar in Scotland
doesn’t sustain the sort of
specialisation that exists in England.
At the civil bar, there are relatively
few QCs at the top covering the
range of commercial work. To
specialise very closely there needs
to be enough work to justify that.
For example, it is arguable there is
now a need for specialists in
intellectual property, but five years
ago that wouldn’t have been the
case and very narrow specialisation
brings its own risks.”
The natural next step would be
The Bench. Does Connal harbour
ambitions in that direction?
“My personal view is that’s about
ten steps too far for the
establishment to contemplate.
Naturally like most people I would
be very flattered to be asked to
become a Court of Session judge
but my guess is that while a Solicitor
Advocate will achieve that post, it
will be after my time.
“In the future, when there are a
number of senior solicitor
advocates, one will come through
to become a judge. If you ask me
where I’d like to be in ten years’
time, it would be on my feet in the
House of Lords defending a case I’d
won in the Inner House.”
Journal
Rights of Audience
e:
roger@connectcommunications.co.uk
29 May 2002 Volume 47 No 5