The Gazette 1967/71

been given to registering on computers all titles to property in Cook County, Illinois, in the U.S.A. It is possible with a machine presently under development to photograph every title deed, store it and later retrieve it so that a con veyancer may mechanically examine copies of all deeds in a title by dialling the Sasine Register of 1984 and then flashing each writ on a television screen in his office. This last machine is not a pipe dream—it is actually going to function in the U.S.A. within a period of months. That the registration of all title to land in Scotland will one day be stored on a "Sasine" computer seems a certainty. Our law of property will require to be adapted so that it can be readily programmed. Is it possible that the computer will supply a further impetus towards conveyancing reform? Again in Cook County, Illinois, all tax records of every citizen are stored on computer. What other areas can be affected by such machines? Mechani cally it is possible to programme the whole law, but the cost and work will be enormous. It might be possible, however, to programme all new legis lation. Strides are being made in the United States of America in programming libraries. This does not mean that the computer will tell us where to find a particular book—rather will it tell which line of which page of which book will provide the answer to the problem. Sooner or later the State will have the fullest details on computer of every citizen. What effect will this have on criminal law? What of the rights of the individual? What of secrecy? Computers will enable Criminal Court Judges to give a country-wide uniformity of sentences. Rents will be collected and feuduties paid by electronic brain. Scottish legal education has been vastly im proved in recent years and the present system is a good one. A greater degree of liaison bet ween the Law Society and the Universities should be encouraged. Recently there have been reports of the introduction of specialised law courses in particular subjects and this must be encouraged. Post-graduate degrees in subjects such as taxation and company law are an exciting possibility. Real experts on these subjects, readily available to the public, will gradually recover much of the work that has been lost to other professions, particularly to chartered accountants. Refresher courses for practising solicitors should be developed. Already the local faculties are encouraging lectures in new subjects and the talks on the Land Commission Act were excellent examples of this innovation. More of this should be done. The Glasgow Bar

Association with organise study week-ends. This year their topic for dis cussion is "Office Organisation and Methods", a most important subject about which the pro fession has much to learn. Is a formal apprenticeship still necessary? Con sideration should be given to the rather out-dated rules of apprenticeship. Is it still necessary for an entrant to the profession to become an apprentice and enter into a formal indenture? Would it not be sufficient simply to require each intrant to the profession to practise for two or three years with an approved solicitor before being entitled to practise on his own? At the end of the three years the "Master" would be required to satisfy the Law Society that the entrant was suitably qualified. What of the much discussed question of ad vertising, a somewhat over-rated subject. The reason why solicitors want to advertise is usually because they are conscious that they are losing work to the other professions. But the way to recover lost ground is not by advertising. Rather is it by re-organising the profession so that it can give the public the expert service that the public requires. Lawyer selection does seem to present a difficulty to the public. As was mentioned earlier, the population is now much more mobile and the type of solicitor who advised one generation may be unable to help the next, because of a move to another part of the country or because one solicitor may not be an expert on the next genera tion's particular problem. It does seem that some advertising of a special qualification should be considered. This would help the country solicitor in referring matters to his city colleague and it would also allow the public to refer to some public law list which would indicate which in dividual solicitor or which firms were qualified in particular fields. In the legal profession of the future a strong Law Society is essential. It must carry on all the functions which it presently attempts with its limited revenue. One of the more important aspects of its work will be public relations on which a substantial share of its revenue will be spent. As was said earlier in this paper, this is an age of criticism and it is all too easy and perhaps too common to criticise solicitors. A planned Pub lic Relations campaign is therefore necessary. The Law Society's present budget is small and the number of its staff is rightly kept to a minimum. In England there are 39 senior administrative Law Society staff, of whom 18 are qualified solicitors and the full staff is approximately 107 considerable success