Longest-serving Law Society Council member retires

The longest-serving member of the Law Society of Scotland’s ruling Council has retired after 24 years.

Alistair Morris, who was president of the society in 2014/15, joined the council in 1992. He also sat on the board and a number of key committees, including as convener of the guarantee fund sub-committee and insurance committee.

In tributes, he was described as a “source of real wisdom” and thanked for his work at the society and commitment to the profession.

Mr Morris said his period at the society had been a “large part of my life” and his term as president a great honour.

He was president at a time of significant change in the legal system and profession, and during high-profile events such as the referendum on Scottish independence and the staging of the Commonwealth Law Conference in Glasgow.

Mr Morris said: “It has been a great honour to represent both north-east Fife as a council member and Scottish solicitors as president. No matter how many hours I spent on Society work – and there must be hundreds – I and my firm got much more out than I ever put in.

“During my time at the society, I learned the depth of respect for Scottish solicitors around the world. Having seen many changes over more than 20 years, I believe the future is bright for the profession.”

He explained that, having served as president, he believed the time was right to step down and allow younger council members to join and make a difference. He praised the quality of work conducted by council members and the expertise of society staff.

He is chief executive of Pagan Osborne, which has offices in Edinburgh and Fife, and has established an industry-wide reputation as an expert in private client services. He is also a solicitor member of the Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland.

Past president Christine McLintock said: “It has been a huge privilege to work with Alistair on the Council, which he joined as a young solicitor, and during his term as president.

“As past president he has been a source of real wisdom and enormous support to me during my presidency. I think his contribution to the society and to the profession as a whole can be encapsulated in the words of the Scottish Lawyer, novelist and politician – John Buchan – who said ‘I believe that all wisdom consists in caring immensely for a few right things’. There is no doubt that Alistair throughout his 24 years on the council has cared for the right things and I thank him most warmly on behalf of this council for his immense service to the Scottish solicitor profession.

Law Society chief executive Lorna Jack said: “As our longest-serving council member, Alistair has earned tremendous respect and gratitude for his work at the Society and commitment to the profession.

“He excelled as president and contributed immensely to our board – and as convener of the guarantee fund sub-committee – during a time of considerable change for the profession. He inspired and led the team who put together our bold strategy. I will miss his pragmatic, wise counsel and together with everyone at the society, wish him well in all that he does in the future.”