John Scott QC named president of Society of Solicitor Advocates

John Scott QC has been named president of the Society of Solicitor Advocates at the annual general meeting of the society in Edinburgh last week.

Tom Marshall of Thompsons Solicitors, who has been the president for six years, demitted office. The committee thanked Mr Marshall for his shrewd leadership and “commitment to the interests of Solicitor Advocates”.

It said in a statement that Mr Marshall “has ensured that the society has had an increased focus on training in the last six years, not just for its members but solicitor advocates and solicitors more generally. He has been key to the successful transition from being the recipients of advocacy training, mainly from NITA, to offering high quality advocacy training ourselves”.

Mr Scott is a partner at Capital Defence Lawyers and has served as vice-president (criminal) for eight years. His place as vice-president (criminal) has been taken by Ross Yuill of The Glasgow Law Practice, a former president of the Glasgow Bar Association.

After the formal business of the AGM the Lord President, Lord Carloway, gave an enlightening talk on the practice of advocacy in the changing court landscape. In a wide ranging talk and in subsequent answers to questions from members he discussed the court’s preferences and his views on training and ethics.