Solicitor - Scotland

Scotland

Scotland's legal system is separate from those of England and Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, the legal profession is divided between solicitors and advocates, the distinction being similar to that between solicitors and barristers in England and Wales, though Scottish solicitors have traditionally represented their clients in the lower courts (such as the Sheriff Court and the District Court), only being excluded from the High Court of Justiciary and the Court of Session. However, under Section 24 of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Scotland Act 1990, suitably qualified solicitors were for the first time in Scotland granted rights of audience in the Supreme Courts in Scotland as well as in the House of Lords and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council as solicitor advocates.

In Scotland, solicitors are regulated by the Law Society of Scotland, which requires prospective solicitors to pass exams in a curriculum set by the Society. Ordinarily, this is done by obtaining a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) in Scots law at a university approved by the Society, though it is also possible to sit the Society's own exams. Prospective solicitors are then required to take the Diploma in Professional Legal Practice (a one-year course provided by several Scottish universities) and then undertake a two-year traineeship with a law firm before they can qualify as a solicitor. As the Faculty of Advocates used to require a M.A. degree of its candidates, it used to be common to take a five-year combined MA LLB curriculum at the Scottish universities. Those intending to become solicitors who studied law as a first degree were at one time awarded a BL degree.

Prior to the formation of The Law Society of Scotland, solicitors were in most areas organized into a local Faculty of Procurators or Faculty of Procurators and Solicitors. These societies still exist, but their influence has waned. Whereas membership was once required in order to practise law in a particular locality, as long as a solicitor is registered with The Law Society of Scotland this is no longer the case. The local societies are now more likely to provide their members with a well-stocked law library, continuing professional development courses (all solicitors in Scotland are required to complete 20 hours of continuing professional development each year), and lobby on behalf of their members with The Law Society of Scotland and The Scottish Government regarding future legal developments.

In Glasgow, the Royal Faculty of Procurators still exists. In Edinburgh, both the Society of Writers to Her Majesty's Signet (also known as the W.S. Society), whose members refer to themselves as a Writer to the Signet (W.S.), and the Society of Solicitors to the Supreme Courts (S.S.C.) are still in existence. In Aberdeen, solicitors may belong to the Society of Advocates in Aberdeen. Its members are formally referred to as "Advocate in Aberdeen" to distinguish them from regular Scottish advocates.

In the 18th century, Dr. Samuel Johnson marked the change in designation of the lawyers in Glasgow with a jibe about their moving from "procuring" (a term which traditionally meant pimping) to "soliciting" (which was and is used as shorthand for prostitution). This was a play on the title "Procurator," meaning agent, a word still used in the Scottish courts, particularly when one Scottish solicitor tells a court that he is appearing only as the agent of another solicitor.

Solicitors in Scotland have full rights of audience in the Sheriff Courts throughout Scotland in both criminal and civil cases. They also have rights of audience in the District Courts (the lowest criminal court in Scotland), although these are now being replaced by Justice of the Peace Courts, in which a solicitor also has a full right of audience. When in court, a solicitor will normally wear a suit and tie together with a Scottish bar gown (a form of black robe).