Ben Kemp

“We are at a pivotal moment for Scotland’s legal sector,” he said, adding that he intended to focus on long-awaited reforms to how legal services are regulated and on supporting Law Society members in their work and advocating on the issues that matter to them.

Mr Kemp is a dual-qualified solicitor and joined the Law Society from the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA), the body which represents and regulates actuaries, where he had served 15 months as interim CEO.

At the Law Society of Scotland, he replaces interim CEO Kevin Lang, who had recently assumed leadership responsibilities from former CEO Diane McGiffen. Mr Kemp was described by the society’s president, Susan Murray, as “the right person to lead and develop the society, as well as support the wider Scottish solicitor profession and the people it serves”.

These long-awaited reforms refer to the Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Act 2025 which outlines clear regulatory objectives that include supporting the rule of law and justice; protecting consumers and the public interest; promoting access to justice, and an independent and diverse profession.

“It confers significant new powers and responsibilities on the Law Society of Scotland and my colleagues of course have been engaged with that for a significant period of time, working collaboratively with the Scottish government and other stakeholders, including the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission, to get to this point of enactment,” says Mr Kemp.

“Now the job is to implement these changes, and our belief and hope is that the Act will improve the effectiveness and efficiency of regulation both for our members and the public in Scotland. That’s a key job to deliver, one which I’ve only recently begun but I’m already very much focused with colleagues on that.”

Regulation is just part of the Society’s role on behalf of its members in upholding standards, but he emphasises that there will be equal focus around the delivery of the many different aspects of its support and service, including the 20 hours of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) completed by members each year plus events that include roadshows and wellbeing events.

More broadly, he adds, it’s a professional body in an increasingly diverse profession. “I’m really passionate about the way in which we engage and deliver support and service for our members,” he stresses.

A keen sailor (he’s a non-executive director for the Royal Yachting Association of Scotland), Mr Kemp is familiar with navigating new challenges. At the beginning of August, he had been planning to sail from Orkney to Shetland when Storm Floris blew in and – with wind speeds reaching up to 82mph in the area – he rather prudently decided to stay in harbour. “It was exciting enough sitting there,” he smiles wryly. 

He’s also used to changing tack professionally. After taking an MA in French and Philosophy at the University of St Andrews, he went on to his LLB at the University of Edinburgh and began his legal career at Shepherd and Wedderburn.

He subsequently became a partner in the regulatory and professional discipline department of London law firm, Kingsley Napley LLP and independent legal advisor at the Royal Institution for Chartered Surveyors before spending 13 years at the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. 

So, what impelled him to join the Law Society as CEO? “It was a wonderful opportunity to work with a fantastic team here and I knew that to be the case prior to taking up the role,” he says. 

“I’ve only recently moved into the job but I’m already seeing that on a day-to-day basis, working with colleagues, office bearers, volunteers and members of the profession. The Law Society of Scotland is also, of course, my own professional body.”

While acknowledging that the modernisation of regulation as an enabler for the profession to move forward is increasingly critical, he also notes the technological revolution (especially involving AI) that is transforming the way in which the legal sector operates. “That brings with it some risk, but also some significant opportunity,” he says.

He also refers approvingly to the increasing diversity of the Scottish legal sector. “Private practice means everything from sole practitioners working in criminal legal aid through to multinational corporate law firms in the big cities – and look at the number of members and solicitors working in-house in all sorts of roles.

“I myself have worked in both private practice and in house – and there’s a really important question about how we as a professional body engage with and are relevant to the broad cross-section of our membership.”

Meanwhile he and the Society will continue to address existing and enduring challenges, such as access to justice and the decline in the number of legal aid solicitors, one that puts our most vulnerable citizens at greater risk.

“Even in my brief time as CEO I can see this has been a critical issue for the Law Society of Scotland, for the broader profession and for society at large,” he says. “It’s something with which I’m already engaged, and I know we have a constructive conversation ongoing with the Scottish Government on this subject.”

Another area which is personally important to Mr Kemp is encouraging the next generation of lawyers. “The team here does a great deal of outreach in schools and universities to promote the relevance of the law as one that is open to everybody in the spirit of diversity and inclusion. We want everyone to feel that the law is a profession they can aspire to and to enjoy the opportunities that I and others have had.”

One outworking of this is the fact that Mr Kemp has tutored public law at the University of Edinburgh for more than 20 years. “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed that,” he says. “That’s because it involves a little bit of ‘giving back’ but it’s also because it’s a lot of fun, and I really enjoy working with enthusiastic young people who are contemplating their careers.

“Plus, talking about public law is always very topical, and allows you to engage with so many of the issues of the day in terms of the rule of law and human rights.”

He has a straightforward view of his role as it unfolds in the future: “As with so many professional organisations, it’s about continuing to be current, modern and relevant and first and foremost acting for our members. 

“I think we’re in an extremely strong position from which to build – but we can’t stand still, and my job is to help to contribute to these aims as we continue to move forward. That’s a great challenge, but it’s also a huge opportunity.”