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Improving Scotland's legal services
04/02/2008
Some of Scotland's top business and legal brains are to be brought together to consider what can be done to make the structures and systems of the Scottish legal system more business friendly.
Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill today attended the first meeting of the Business Experts and Law Forum, a short life working group, which he has given the broad remit of looking at ways of encouraging businesses to:
- choose Scotland as the seat of their business and legal activities
- look to Scottish lawyers for their advice
- look to Scotland as the jurisdiction of choice for dispute resolution
The membership of the group is as follows:
Robert Crawford, Glasgow Caledonian University
Professor Russell Griggs, CBI
Stephen Pearson, RBS
Charlotte Barbour, Institute of Chartered Accountants
Michael Clancy, Law Society of Scotland
Karina McTeague, Lloyds TSB Scotland
Richard Keen, Faculty of Advocates and
Ian Johnston, Norwich Union
Kenny MacAskill said:
"This Government is committed to developing the wealth and prosperity of Scotland. As part of meeting that commitment, I want to ensure that our legal system and legal institutions are geared towards the business community both in Scotland and further afield.
"I want to look at how we encourage business organisations, large and small, to use our legal services. This Government does not have a monopoly on good ideas and that is why I have brought together some of Scotland's business leaders and leading legal experts to help us improve our legal system so that businesses choose Scottish legal services and use our courts to litigate and for dispute resolution if necessary.
"Scottish accountants and financial services can compete globally. There is no good reason why our legal services cannot also do so. As a first step, we need to ensure that our own businesses are confident in using our legal services.
"I look forward to seeing the Forum's recommendations in due course and to working together with them to improve our legal system."
Michael Clancy, Director of Law Reform at The Law Society of Scotland said:
"The market for legal services plays an important part in Scotland's economy but there is always room for improvement. The Forum will support the continued growth of the legal sector, its contribution to the business community, and enhance the dialogue between business and the law."
Karina McTeague, Head of Legal and Risk and Company Secretary, Lloyds TSB Scotland, said:
"This Forum presents an excellent opportunity for business, service providers and the public sector to collectively identify practical means of working together to our mutual benefit. I look forward to representing the views not just of the financial services sector, but those of our business customers."
The Business Experts and Law Forum will meet only four or five times over a six month period. It is anticipated that their final report due this summer will not include a number of recommendations but will also widen our knowledge generally by learning more directly what can be done relatively quickly and without the need for primary legislation to make the structures and systems of the Scottish legal system more business friendly.
This is an innovative approach with the forum being given as much freedom and flexibility to operate in the way it itself thinks fit, with a broad remit to seek a focussed set of recommendations which could be implemented relatively easily in order to encourage businesses, so far as appropriate, to choose Scotland as the seat of their business and legal activities; to look to Scottish lawyers for their advice; and to look to the Scottish courts as their dispute resolution forum of choice.
It is expected that the forum will compliment the work already underway on the Civil Courts Review which is being led by Lord Gill.