Business must be down at the top legal firms, and with it bonuses, hands caught in the till, various lawyers in & out of jail on everything from drugs trafficking to prostitution, ripping off wills, stealing property for themselves, fiddling corporate deals to pass sensitive information to competing clients
However, none of that stops [ex?] lawyer & Justice Secretary MacAskill trying to encourage businesses to use Scottish legal services and mire themselves in huge legal fees for no return.
We all know that anyone or any company would have to be absolutely out of their skulls to use or rely on the Scots legal profession for advice, resolving disputes or court action ... save yourselves some money folks, kiss & make up instead.
Oh Kenny - you should go back to being a lawyer because it seems you never gave it up ....
The Scotsman reports :
Asking businesses how law can help
By PETER RANSCOMBE
SOME of Scotland's top business and legal brains are to be brought together today to consider what can be done to make the structures and systems of the Scottish legal system more business-friendly.
Kenny MacAskill, the justice secretary, is due to attend the first meeting of his Business Experts and Law Forum, a working group he has set up to reform legal services.
The forum has been given a broad remit, looking at ways of encouraging businesses to:
* choose Scotland as the seat of their business and legal activities;
* look to Scottish lawyers for their advice;
* and look to Scotland as the jurisdiction of choice for dispute resolution.
MacAskill says: "The Scottish Government is committed to developing the wealth and prosperity of Scotland.
"As part of meeting that commitment, I want to ensure that our legal system and legal institutions are geared towards the business community both in Scotland and further afield.
"I want to look at how we encourage business organisations, large and small, to use our legal services. The Scottish Government does not have a monopoly on good ideas and that is why I have brought together some of Scotland's business leaders and leading legal experts to help us improve our legal system so that businesses choose Scottish legal services and use our courts to litigate and for dispute resolution if necessary.
He adds: "Scottish accountants and financial services can compete globally. There is no good reason why our legal services cannot also do so. As a first step, we need to ensure that our own businesses are confident in using our legal services.
"I look forward to seeing the forum's recommendations in due course and to working together with them to improve our legal system."
Members of the forum include: Charlotte Barbour from the Institute of Chartered Accountants; Michael Clancy of Law Society of Scotland; Robert Crawford from Glasgow Caledonian University; Professor Russell Griggs of the Confederation of British Industry; Richard Keen QC, dean of the Faculty of Advocates; Ian Johnston from Norwich Union; Karina McTeague of Lloyds TSB Scotland; and Stephen Pearson, from the Royal Bank of Scotland group.
Clancy, who is director of law reform at The Law Society of Scotland, says: "The market for legal services plays an important part in Scotland's economy but there is always room for improvement.
"The forum will support the continued growth of the legal sector, its contribution to the business community, and enhance the dialogue between business and the law."
McTeague, the head of legal and risk and company secretary at Lloyds TSB Scotland, says: "This forum presents an excellent opportunity for business, service providers and the public sector to collectively identify practical means of working together to our mutual benefit.
"I look forward to representing the views not just of the financial services sector, but those of our business customers."
The Business Experts and Law Forum is due to meet four or five times during the next six months and is expected to publish its report in the summer.
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