Advice & assitance eligibility - verification protocol. Letter received from the Legal Aid Convenor of the Law Society of Scotland

Legal Services (Scotland) Bill - Open Debate
Speakers to be arranged
The Legal Services (Scotland) Bill is currently at stage 1 of the Parliamentary process. The proposed changes, such as the introduction of Alternative Business Structures, could have a profound impact on the legal profession. The Royal Faculty is to hold an open debate led by leading members of the profession, with contributions from the floor encouraged.
Members - Free / Non-members - reduced rate of £25
Click on this link to view a letter from the Dean outlining the need to have this debate.

Procedural Guidance Note re Personal Injuries Actions by Sheriff Principal Taylor.PI%20Procedural%20Guidance%20Note1.doc

Letter from Ian Smart (President, Law Society of Scotland) to Dean of RFPG requesting input from members for quarterly meeting with Cabinet Secretary for Juctice. Dean_letter_7.12.09.doc

Practice Note No. 2, 2009 - for efficient management of proceedings under the Adoption and Children Act 2007 issued by the Sheriff Principal of Glasgow and StrathkelvinPractice Note No. 2, 2009

Lord Gill's Report of the Scottish Civil Courts Review was launched on 30th September 2009. The Report is available to download at http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/civilcourtsreview/index.asp

The Combined Standard Missive 2009, which supersedes the previous version of the Glasgow Standard Missive 2008, is now live. Representatives of the Royal Faculty of Procurators in Glasgow and Edinburgh Conveyancers Forum have agreed new standard contract conditions for the sale and purchase of houses.
Please click on the links below to access the updated documents relating to the Standard Missives -

1. PDF version of the Declaration by the Working Group 2009

2. Practitioners' Guide 2009

3. Client Guide 2009 - This is a word document which can be freely used by Solicitors for use as their own Firm's Client Guide, who may wish to "badge" the document or otherwise alter the wording to suit.

Letter from the new Dean (Paul Carnan) to members of the Royal Faculty.Dean's letter 8.09

August Newsletter published - to view click on link Newsletter%20August%2009.pdf

Sheriff Principal Taylor has asked for the attached Practice Note and Explanatory Note to be made available to members of the Royal Faculty. ~ ~ Diet_Roll_Practice_Note.pdf ~ ~ ~ Diet_Roll_Explanatory_Note.pdf

Historic Declaration on Combined Standard Clauses Signed

A historic declaration has been signed between Glasgow and Edinburgh to make buying and selling property in both cities more efficient.

The historic move will see Glasgow and Edinburgh solicitors both using the same Standard Missives from 1st October 2009, a move which breaks new ground as it is the first time regional areas have collaborated to deliver a Combined Standard Missive.

The combination of the Glasgow and Edinburgh Standard Clauses into a single set of Clauses common to both regions will greatly enhance the house buying and selling process, with clients gaining more certainty, reducing the time taken to conclude missives and ensuring greater control over the cost of conveyancing.

The process to deliver these Combined Standard Clauses began in March 2008 with a Working Group comprising the Dean, Paul Carnan, and Ian Ferguson representing the Royal Faculty of Procurators in Glasgow (RFPG) and 3 office holders of the Edinburgh Conveyancers Forum (ECF).

Four professors of conveyancing were also involved in the project: Stewart Brymer from the University of Dundee; Roddy Paisley of the University of Aberdeen; Kenneth Reid from Edinburgh Law School and Robert Rennie from the University of Glasgow. These adjudicated on contentious issues, of which there were few, and provided expert advice and input.

Ross MacKay, Chair of ECF and a partner in private client and financial services at HBJ Gateley Wareing said:

“There was very much a spirit of cooperation between Glasgow and Edinburgh in terms of delivering a common missive. The development of these will provide a considerable advantage for clients when it comes to buying and selling property in Edinburgh and Glasgow and we look forward to seeing these rolled out over the next few months.”

The Combined Standard Clauses are intended to go live on 1st October this year and there will also be a Client Guide and Practitioners Guide to support this.

A seminar will take place in Faculty Hall on 10th September to prepare solicitors for the introduction of the Combined Standard Clauses.

AGM - 4 June, 2009.

At the Annual General Meeting, held in the Faculty Hall of the Royal Faculty Building, Paul B. Carnan (of Blaney Carnan Solicitors) was elected as the new Dean in succession to Gilbert M. Anderson.

At the same meeting, the following members were elected as full members - Nicola Irvine (of Russells Gibson McCaffrey), Alison Forsyth (of Anderson Strathern LLP), Paul Reid (of Fleming & Reid), Mark Higgins (of Irwin Mitchell MNP) and Gordon Shearer (of McClure Naismith LLP MNP) to the Council or managing board.

The Royal Faculty also elected The Rt. Hon. Lord Gill, Leslie Wolfson and the Immediate Past Dean, Gilbert M. Anderson, as Honorary Members.

The Sheriff Principal has approved the following changes to the court programme and court room allocation
court2009.doc

The Royal Faculty's Biennial Dinner was held in the Glasgow Science Centre on Friday, 20 February 2009. This was a terrific success and thanks are due to all the members who supported the event.

Draft response by the Royal Faculty to the Consultation Paper on the Review of Fatal Accident Inquiry Legislation

Click on link - fai.doc

RFPG's Response to the Scottish Civil Courts Review

Click here to read the the RFPG's finalised response to the Consultation Paper..

The Dean would like to thank everyone who participated in the consultation process.

Practice Notes for neutral citation of cases in the Court of Session and in the High Court of Judiciary have been published. Click here to read these.