Faculty responds to solicitor advocate criticism

The Faculty of Advocates has responded to criticism by the Society of Solicitor Advocates (SSA) in relation to the Faculty’s submission to the Independent Review of the Regulation of Legal Services in Scotland (the Roberton Review).

The Faculty has prepared a formal supplementary response, and this will shortly be submitted to the Review.

Roddy Dunlop QC, Treasurer of Faculty (pictured), said: “It is disappointing to find the SSA engaging in a public slanging match, rather than calmly and dispassionately engaging with the issues that arise. Faculty refutes the assertions of SSA to the effect that Faculty has misrepresented or misunderstood certain matters in its own response to the Roberton Review.

“What is needed is a neutral assessment of conflict of interest in the internal instruction of solicitor advocates (i.e. where a solicitor in Firm A instructs a solicitor advocate in the same firm), in order to promote true and fair competition in the interests of consumers.”

Mr Dunlop added: “Faculty has from the outset recognised that there will be different viewpoints held by different stakeholders in this important area, and is happy to discuss the issues arising.

“But to decry the suggestion of conflict as ‘absurd’ when it has been made three times by this country’s highest criminal court (most recently in Yazdanparast), and yet more recently by the Lord President himself in his speech to the World Bar Conference in 2016, is neither helpful nor accurate.”