A new bill passed by the Scottish Parliament will prevent anyone who isn’t licensed from using the title ‘lawyer’, following a 10-year campaign by the Law Society of Scotland.
The Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Bill will give the title of ‘lawyer’ the same legal protection as ‘solicitor’, making it an offence for anyone to call themselves a lawyer and offer legal services to the public without being licensed to practice law in Scotland. The legislation allows for a fine of up to £2,500 for anyone found guilty of the offence.
David Gordon, lay convener of the Law Society of Scotland’s Regulatory Committee, explained:
“Currently anyone, even those with no legal training or qualifications, could call themselves a lawyer and charge for legal advice. This unrestricted use of the title ‘lawyer’ poses a significant risk to consumers who may not differentiate between a ‘solicitor’ and a ‘lawyer’ and could potentially be misled and, if something goes wrong, may have no proper course to redress.
“Of course there is a huge amount of work ahead, but today marks a major milestone in our journey towards a modern, responsive regulatory system that not only boosts public protections, but enhances the reputation of Scottish solicitors and other professionals working within a well-regulated Scottish legal sector.”
The legislation also creates new powers for the Law Society of Scotland in relation to the regulation of businesses, investigation of complaints and suspending solicitors from practice.
Gordon added:
“The existing regulatory framework, governed largely by legislation over 40 years old, has quite simply not kept pace with the huge changes in the legal services sector and consumers’ expectations. We have an overly complex system, but one that leaves the Law Society without powers that many other regulators have to take action to protect the public interest when needed. The new legislation will provide increased clarity and assurance for consumers.”
