The Society of Advocates in Aberdeen is professional body of legal practitioners based in the city of

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, and its surrounding area. Prior to a change in rules, and ultimately the establishment of the

Law Society of Scotland The Law Society of Scotland () is the professional governing body for Scottish solicitors. Its goal is to promote excellence among solicitors through the support and regulation of its members. It is also committed to promoting the interests ...

, the Society was responsible for the training, examination, authorisation and regulation of those engaged in legal practice in the North East of Scotland. The Society is now a non-regulatory body which continues to provide facilities and services, such as a library and

continuing professional development Professional development, also known as professional education, is learning that leads to or emphasizes education in a specific professional career field or builds practical job applicable skills emphasizing praxis in addition to the transferab ...

(CPD) training, along with social events for members. It has a similar role to the other law faculties in Scotland, such as the

Society of Writers to His Majesty's Signet The Society of Writers to His Majesty's Signet is a private society of Scotland, Scottish solicitors, dating back to 1594 and part of the College of Justice. Writers to the Signet originally had special privileges in relation to the drawing up o ...

(WS Society) in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

and the

Royal Faculty of Procurators in Glasgow The Royal Faculty of Procurators in Glasgow is a professional body of legal practitioners based in Glasgow and providing services to lawyers in the city and the surrounding area. The Faculty owns and operates the largest law library in the West ...

. The Society is based in Advocates Hall, located on Concert Court behind Aberdeen Sheriff Court.

History

The exact date of the Society's foundation is unknown, as many records were destroyed in a fire at the city's Record Office in 1721. Their earliest written record refers to a member named Alexander Paip, a member admitted in 1549, but the foundation of the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...

by Bishop Elphinstone as a School of Law in 1495 suggests there was a local legal community before then. Outside of the Society's own records the earliest known reference was in a pardon signed by

James VI and I James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 M ...

in 1588 which refers to Patrick Cheyne an "Advocate in Aberdeen", who had been a member of the Society since 1570. In 1633 the Sheriff Principal passed an act designating sixteen "ordinary advocates and procurators of the court" as the only persons entitled to conduct judicial proceedings. Thereafter, this body controlled the admission of applicants to legal practice. As a result, those seeking to join the legal profession were required to be Members of the Society, until the Law Agents (Scotland) Act 1873 removed the exclusive right of Society Members to appear in the local courts. The Society was granted its first

Royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...

in 1774 by

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

, who granted a second in 1799. A third was granted by

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

in 1862. In 1782 the Society agreed in a General Meeting that classes in Scots Law should be taught in Aberdeen, rather than requiring aspiring legal practitioners to travel to Edinburgh. After some time, arrangements were made for a lecturer from the Society to conduct classes in 'Scotch' law. The

later commended the Society's role in protecting the study of Law through the 19th century; stating the Faculty of Law there may have ceased to exist if not for the Society of Advocates' efforts. The Society's library was founded in 1787 and now holds a remarkable collection of legal volumes, though the oldest book in its collection is Henry Savile's ''Rerum Anglicarum scriptores post Bedam'' (London, 1596). Like many professions, the practice of law in Scotland was traditionally restricted to men. While the

Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919 Sex is the biological trait that determines whether a sexual reproduction, sexually reproducing organism produces male or female gametes. During sexual reproduction, a male and a female gamete fuse to form a zygote, which develops into an o ...

removed this barrier, it wasn't until 1962 that the first female Member of the Society, Elizabeth Barnett of the firm A C Morrison & Richards, was admitted. In 2011, Elizabeth J W Mackinnon was elected to lead the Society as its first female President. In 1996, as part of the Spring issue of the Aberdeen University Review, the Society's then Executive Secretary and Librarian, Dorothea Bruce, published a brief history of the Society.

Use of the title Advocate in Aberdeen

Members of the Society may use the title ''Advocate in Aberdeen'', but despite the similarity in title they are predominantly drawn from the Solicitor branch of the legal profession. The title ''Advocate'' is used by members of the

Faculty of Advocates The Faculty of Advocates () is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary. The Faculty of Advocates is a const ...

, another branch of the profession who practice at the Scottish Bar.

Advocates Hall

Historically the Society convened in various locations around Aberdeen, including the Records Office at

Castlegate, Aberdeen Castlegate is a small area of Aberdeen, Scotland, located centrally at the east end of the city's main thoroughfare Union Street. Generally speaking, locals consider it to encompass the square at the end of Union Street where the Mercat Cross ...

. The library was housed there until damp was discovered in 1820, after which the Society was provided with use of a room at the courthouse. The first purpose built Advocates Hall was designed by

John Smith (architect) John Smith (1781 – 22 July 1852) was a Scottish architect. His career started in 1805 and he was appointed as the official city architect of Aberdeen in 1807, the first person to hold this post. Together with Archibald Simpson, he c ...

and constructed at the corner of Union Street and Back Wynd, adjacent to the churchyard of the

Kirk of St Nicholas The Kirk of St Nicholas is a historic church in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is the original parish church of the city, and is also known locally as the Mither Kirk or mother church. Following the Reformation, it was divided between two congregations, ...

. It opened in 1837 and served as the Society's home until the current Advocates Hall was built. The current Advocates Hall at Concert Court was erected immediately beside the recently reconstructed

Sheriff court A sheriff court () is the principal local civil and criminal court in Scotland, with exclusive jurisdiction over all civil cases with a monetary value up to , and with the jurisdiction to hear any criminal case except treason, murder, and ra ...

buildings and a number of the fittings, such as fireplaces, were relocated from the previous premises. The building, which is

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, was designed by

James Matthews (architect) James Matthews (12 December 1819 – 28 June 1898) was a prominent 19th-century architect in northern Scotland who also served as Lord Provost of Aberdeen from 1883 to 1886 during which time he enacted an important city improvement plan. H ...

, and opened in 1870. Constructed as a two-storey building with basement, the upper floor contains a large reception area committee room and library with gallery, the fittings for which were designed by Arthur Clyne, a local architect. A stained-glass window, produced by

Daniel Cottier Daniel Cottier (1838 – 1891) was a British artist and designer born in Anderston, Glasgow, Scotland. His work was said to be influenced by the writing of John Ruskin, the paintings of the Dante Gabriel Rossetti and the work of William Morris. ...

, overlooks the landing of stairs leading to the upper level. The ground floor, previously the Society's dining room, and basement, which once housed caretaker's accommodation and a substantial wine cellar, are now occupied by the Sheriff court. The Society hosts many events at the library for its members throughout the year, but is also accessible to the public by private arrangement or through Aberdeen's annual

Doors Open Days Doors Open Days (also known as Open House or Open Days in some communities) provide free access to buildings not normally open to the public. The first Doors Open Day took place in France in 1984, and the concept has spread to other places in Eur ...

scheme.

Membership

Though membership is no longer required to practice law in the region, the Society continues to be well supported by the local profession. Full Membership is available for Solicitors who have completed their professional training, with Trainee Membership available for those still to finish their 2-year traineeship period. The Society established their TANA (Trainee and New Advocate) group in 2011 to provide a more focused offering to those in the early years (up to 5 years post-qualified) of their legal careers. Associate Membership is available for those not qualified to practice law in Scotland who are connected with the provision of legal services (foreign qualified lawyers or

paralegal A paralegal, also known as a legal assistant or paralegal specialist, is a legal professional who performs tasks that require knowledge of legal concepts but not the full expertise of a lawyer with an admission to practice law. The market for p ...

s) or in the training and education of law (legal academics) in the region.

Arms

References

External links

Website of the Society of Advocates in AberdeenArticle on the history of the Society
{{Authority control Legal organisations based in Scotland Libraries in Scotland Law libraries in the United Kingdom Organisations based in Aberdeen 16th century in Scotland Professional associations based in Scotland