Robert Sutherland has been confirmed as a member of the Law Society of Scotland's re-formed Access to Justice Committee.  The committee is comprised of 10 solicitors and non-solicitors with Robert one of four members also part of the previous committee, the majority of whom resigned earlier this year following a row about a discussion paper the committee had produced about the future of the Scottish Legal Aid Board, and allegations that the Board had attempted to have the committee silenced.

 

The Board is represented on the new committee, through Ian Dickson, director of its Civil Legal Assistance Office network.  Stuart Naismith, convenor of the committee said: “The committee’s members have been drawn from a varying backgrounds, and each of them has knowledge of the practical realities of delivering services to the people of Scotland in those areas with which the committee is likely to be concerned."

 

Cameron Ritchie, President of the Law Society, commented: “The Access to Justice Committee is an important one for the Society. We are facing a prolonged period of austerity and it will be absolutely vital to look at how legal services can be delivered effectively and ensuring proper access to the justice system despite the current financial constraints."