The Gazette 1967/71

attempt to recognise some of the changes which are affecting law itself, and from an awareness of such changes it may be possible to define the work that will be available for the future. A high percentage of the average solicitor's fees are con veyancing fees, the earnings of solicitors who practise mainly in the Glasgow Sheriff Court being an obvious exception to this rule. It seems generally accepted that, through time, the compli cations of the present system of transferring land \vill be simplified and with such long overdue simplification must come a reduction in the fees earned for that work. The effect of this on the earnings of solicitors could, in time, be dramatic. The last decade in Scotland has seen an increase in the numbers of property agents who must al ready have encroached on the business of buying and selling properties, an area of work formerly more or less exclusively handled by the solicitor branch of the profession. Even the country districts of Scotland have, within recent years, seen the establishment of property agents. Such firms seem to be aggressively managed and, with the removal of the twenty partner restriction, it may be that the large property groups will acquire smaller firms throughout the country, operating them as branch offices. Like the property agents, insurance brokers have formed themselves into large groups, also aggressive and well managed, and such insur ance business as was formerly handled by solicitors is gradually passing into their hands. In the last decade the Scottish banks have established Trustee Departments. So far these departments seem to have made little impact. But the efficient management of large trusts requires, within a law office, a considerable number of skilled staff who are becoming increasingly diffi cult to find. Further, the Capital Gains Tax and other complex forms of taxation make it difficult for the smaller office to provide an efficient trust management service. Is it possible that, with their larger staffs and with the benefits of the scale of their operations, banks may, through time, be able to give a more effective trust management service than can be offered by the smaller firms of solici tors? The larger firms should be able to organise their trust departments just as efficiently as the banks and will be able to afford high salaries for staff and to purchase the most modern equipment. There may be another reason why the banks may score in this field. As has been mentioned above, the population is more mobile than formerly. So it is with capital. Heavy taxation will encourage the wealthier families to set up trusts abroad. For the average small firm of Scottish solicitors to

advise in these matters is out of the question. The banks, with chains of branch offices throughout the world, may find in this mobility of capital an additional opportunity for the development of their trustee departments. This is certainly the case in the United States of America, where trust companies have developed a considerable skill in the management of international funds. The preparation of simple trading accounts was formerly undertaken by solicitors. Here again the complexities of modern taxation have dis couraged the profession from continuing with this type of work, which has more or less been wholly taken over by the chartered accountants. Many contracts are now written in a standard form and no legal advice is required in their pre paration. An example is the R.I.B.A. Building Contract, a document of the greatest consequences to the parties, yet rarely is a solicitor asked to advise on its completion. In the event of a dispute arising from such a contract, a solution is usually provided by the architect concerned. Does all this make depressing reading? Not in the slightest! The Scottish solic tor has, for too long, been a man of business. It was possible for the man of business to develop a most attractive relationship with his clients, advising them in all matters, and himself seeking advice from others as and when such advice was needed. The man of business type of adviser developed because until the twentieth century there was no other profes sional businessman available. As other professions have increased in influence so the special "Man of Business" relationship has gradually modified. It is folly to ignore this trend. There is some evidence that the legal profession is seeking to reverse it through the proposal that solicitors should now be allowed to assume partners from the other established professions, such as chartered accoun tants, surveyors and insurance brokers. Indeed if solicitors wish to do this there seems no reason why they should not be allowed to do so, and it is interesting that the Prices and Incomes Board Report encourages the profession to consider the possibility of some closer association with other professional groups. There are, of course, problems such as the one of discipline. But such difficulties could be overcome. However it is unwise to assume that the other professions are going to stand by and allow solic'tors to recapture the ground they have lost simply by assuming members of those other professions as partners. The other professions are now too well entrenched in their own right. Furthermore, the client, with his need for special ised expertise, is of a mind to seek his specialised 91