Annual Reports

Chairmans Remarks : Details of the Tribunal’s workload over the past 12 months are set out in this report. The Tribunal met on the same number of occasions as in the previous year, approximately three or four times per month. There was a decrease in the number of decisions issued by the Tribunal but the Tribunal spent a lot of time dealing with a long-running case which is yet to be concluded. The volume of business coming to the Tribunal decreased significantly in the latter part of the year. It is not known exactly why this is the case but it may be due to the fact that there is a delay in cases coming to the Tribunal as matters require to go first to the new Scottish Legal Complaints Commission, then the Law Society and then the Tribunal. The Tribunal has not yet received any cases governed by the Legal Profession and Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 2007 and accordingly has not had experience of dealing with any cases under its new 2008 Rules. The reason for this is that the new Rules only apply to conduct which occurred after 1 October 2008. It is understood that the Tribunal will shortly receive Complaints under the new Rules.

The Tribunal findings continue to be put on the website which is fully searchable and can be accessed at www.ssdt.org.uk The Tribunal hearings are held in public and the forthcoming Tribunal hearings are detailed on the diary part of the website.

The Legal Services (Scotland) Bill was published on 30 September 2009. This includes an important section giving the Tribunal power to deal appropriately with solicitors who have administratively had their names removed from the Roll prior to coming before the Tribunal.

This report highlights some of the main points from the decisions during the previous year. It is hoped that solicitors will take the time to read this report and learn from the mistakes of others.

Tom McCartney, a legal member of the Tribunal, stepped down during the year due to other professional commitments. I would like to thank him for his input to the Tribunal during his term of office. Five new lay members, Elaine Noad, Andrew Jones, Catriona Whitfield, Rosemarie McIlwhan and Irene Kitson, were appointed during the year and have already shown themselves to be valuable members of the Tribunal. Kirsteen Keyden was appointed as an additional Vice Chairman in June 2009.

I would like to thank my Vice Chairmen, all the Tribunal members, the Tribunal Clerk, Depute Clerk and Tribunal secretaries for their help and support during the year.

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Chairmans Remarks : Details of the Tribunal’s workload over the past 12 months are set out in this report. The volume of business increased again from the previous year with the Tribunal meeting three or four times per month. There was also an increase in the number of decisions issued by the Tribunal and the Tribunal is still dealing with a long-running case which is yet to be concluded. The Tribunal findings continue to be put on the website which is fully searchable and can be accessed at www.ssdt.org.uk The Tribunal hearings are held in public and the forthcoming Tribunal hearings are detailed on the diary part of the website.

The Tribunal has been extensively involved during the year in drafting new Rules which are required to implement the terms of the Legal Profession and Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 2007. The Scottish Solicitors’ Discipline Tribunal Procedure Rules 2008 are now available for downloading from the Tribunal website. The Tribunal has not yet started working with the new Rules as they in the main only apply to conduct which occurred after 1 October 2008 and accordingly no cases have yet reached the Tribunal.

This report highlights some of the main points from the decisions during the previous year. It is particularly important in these difficult times that solicitors take the time to read this report and be reminded of their duty to maintain the highest standards of this profession.

Kenneth Robb, Vice Chairman, stepped down from the Tribunal during the year owing to other professional commitments. Jeremy Mitchell, a lay member of the Tribunal, and Marie Brown, a legal member of long standing, also stepped down from the Tribunal during the year. I would like to thank all of them for their input to the Tribunal over the years.

I would like to thank my Vice Chairmen, all the Tribunal members, the Tribunal Clerk, Depute Clerk and Tribunal secretaries for their help and support during the year.

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Chairmans Remarks : Chairman's Remarks: Details of the Tribunal’s workload over the past 12 months are set out in this report. The volume of business has slightly increased with the Tribunal meeting approximately three times per month. The Tribunal has not issued as many decisions this year, mainly due to a long-running case in which nine days of evidence have been heard and which is yet to be concluded. The Tribunal findings continue to be put on the website which is fully searchable and can be accessed at www.ssdt.org.uk Although Tribunal hearings are held in public and the forthcoming Tribunal hearings are now detailed on the diary part of the website, there has been little interest from the public.

The Tribunal has been involved with the Steering Group for the new Legal Services Commission and is liaising with the interim Chief Executive of the Commission with regard to issues of mutual interest.

This report highlights some of the main points from the decisions during the previous year. It is particularly important in these times of change that solicitors take the time to read this report and be reminded of their duty to maintain the highest standards of this profession.

I would like to thank my two Vice Chairmen, all the Tribunal members, the Tribunal Clerk, Depute Clerk and Tribunal secretaries for their help and support during the year.

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Chairmans Remarks : Details of the Tribunal’s workload over the past 12 months are set out in this report. The volume of business has been similar to last year with the Tribunal meeting approximately three times per month. Most Tribunal hearings are held in public but there has been very little interest from the public. Tribunal findings continue to be put on the website which is fully searchable and can be accessed at www.ssdt.org.uk

The Tribunal made comment on the Legal Profession and Legal Aid (Scotland) Bill and gave evidence to the Justice 2 inquiry. A number of the provisions in the Bill will directly affect the Tribunal.

This report highlights some of the main points from the decisions during the previous year. It is hoped that solicitors will take time to read this report and be reminded of their duty to maintain the highest standards of this profession.

My thanks to Graeme Pagan, Solicitor, who retired during the year after 11 years service to the Tribunal and Louise Harris, who gave one and a half years’ service to the Tribunal. Their invaluable contribution to the Tribunal will be missed.

I wish to welcome three new solicitor members to the Tribunal - Colin Bell, my two Vice Chairmen, all the Tribunal members, the Tribunal Clerk, Depute Clerk and Tribunal secretaries for their help and support during the year.

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Chairmans Remarks : ANNUAL REPORT 2004/2005
for the period 1 November 2004
to 31 October 2005

Details of the Tribunal’s workload over the past 12 months are set out in this report. There has been another increase in the volume of business coming to the Tribunal and the Tribunal is meeting approximately three times per month. New Tribunal Rules came into force on 1 April 2005 and Tribunal hearings are now held in public unless it is necessary for the hearing to be in private. All Tribunal Findings which are given publicity, and which are not subject to further appeal to the Court of Session, are on the Tribunal website once they become final. The Tribunal website is fully searchable and can be accessed at www.ssdt.org.uk

This report highlights some of the main points from the decisions during the previous year. It is hoped that solicitors will take time to read this report and be reminded of their duty to maintain the highest standards of this profession.

I wish to thank all members of the Tribunal, the Tribunal Clerk, Depute Clerk and Tribunal secretaries for their help and support during the year. I would also wish to express my special thanks to the previous chairman of the Tribunal, Fraser Ritchie, who retired from the Tribunal in June 2005. His contribution to the work and evolution of the Tribunal over the years was invaluable.

Alistair M Cockburn
Chairman

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Chairmans Remarks : Details of the Tribunal’s workload over the past 12 months are set out in this report. It has been another busy year, particularly during the last few months of the year.

The Tribunal website was launched on 9th August 2004. The website has information regarding the Tribunal and contains Tribunal Findings since 1995. The website is fully searchable and can be accessed at www.ssdt.org.uk

The Tribunal is committed to moving towards holding its hearings in public and has completed a consultation exercise. Suitable premises are being investigated at present and new Rules will come into force in early 2005.

This report highlights some of the main points from the decisions during the last year.

It is hoped that solicitors will take time to read this report and be reminded of their duty to maintain the highest standards of this profession.

I wish to thank all members of the Tribunal, the Tribunal Clerk, Depute Clerk and Tribunal secretaries for their help and support during the year. My special thanks also to my Vice Chairman Peter Rockwell, who retired from the Tribunal in June. His contribution to the work of the Tribunal was invaluable.


G.F. Ritchie - Chairman

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Chairmans Remarks : Details of the Tribunal’s workload over the past twelve months are set out in this report. It has been another busy year. The Tribunal was concerned that there continued to be a lot of cases involving a failure to communicate with clients and the Law Society. This undoubtedly brings the profession into disrepute and is taken very seriously by the Tribunal. A number of solicitors failed to answer correspondence from the Tribunal and failed to appear at the hearing. This represents a head-in-the-sand approach which only makes matters worse in the long run. The Tribunal has agreed in principle to move towards holding its hearings in public. A consultation exercise is ongoing at present. The Tribunal is also working on the setting up of a website which will include all the recent Tribunal decisions. This will make it easier for members of the profession to have access to Tribunal decisions. This report highlights some of the main points from the decisions during the last year. It is hoped that solicitors will take time to read this report and be reminded of their duty to maintain the highest standards of this profession. I wish to thank all members of the Tribunal and the Tribunal clerk and her secretary for their help and support during the year. Please also note that the Tribunal office has moved from Rutland Square to Unit 3.5, The Granary Business Centre, Coal Road, Cupar, Fife. KY15 5YQ.

G.F. Ritchie - Chairman

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Chairmans Remarks : Details of the Tribunal’s workload over the past twelve months are set out in this report. It has been a busy year and there has been an increase in the number of cases coming to the Tribunal. There were a number of cases where sole practitioners found themselves in difficulties. The Tribunal was concerned by the number of cases involving a failure to communicate with clients and the Law Society. This undoubtedly brings the profession into disrepute and is taken very seriously by the Tribunal. The Tribunal has been examining the way that it operates to see if there are any areas where improvements can be made and this is referred to later in the Annual Report. It is important to remember that one of the Tribunal’s most important roles is to ensure that the standards and reputation of the profession as a whole are upheld. It is hoped that solicitors in reading this report will be reminded of their duty to maintain the highest standards of this profession. I wish to thank all members of the Tribunal and the Tribunal Clerk and her secretary for their help and support during the year.

G.F. Ritchie - Chairman

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Chairmans Remarks : It gives no pleasure to have to deal with cases where solicitors have failed to maintain the high standards expected of them and the Tribunal is indebted to the willingness of both the solicitor and lay members in giving their time for the preparation for and attendance at successive meetings and for the care and attention which they have given to the work of the Tribunal.

In December 2001 John Barton retired from being Clerk to the Tribunal, a post he has held since 1965. This is an exceptional record of service to the Tribunal, the profession and the public, who are indeed fortunate to have had the benefit of his able guidance in Tribunal business during a period of significant change. We wish him well in his retirement and welcome as his successor Ms Judith V. Lea.


G.F. RITCHIE
Chairman

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