The Dean of the Faculty of Advocates Richard Keen has issued a scathing criticism of the Law Society for their response to Lord Gill's damning assessment of solicitor advocates in last month's Woodside judgement.

Gill criticised a failure by solicitor-advocates to advise clients of the option of being represented by an advocate when that might be in the clients’ best interests. He also criticised the common practice of self certification as senior counsel.

Keen says the Law Society, who have passed the matter to the Scottish Government, has abdicated its responsibility to regulate solicitor-advocates.

“Lord Gill’s opinion in the case of Woodside highlighted failures concerned with the operation of the way in which solicitor advocates are regulated," Keen said.

"The Faculty had hoped for a constructive response from the Law Society of Scotland which is the regulatory authority for solicitor advocates. It did not expect the Law Society to abdicate its responsibility as regulator in the face of the Lord Justice Clerk’s criticisms. This is not a matter that should be put off until 2010 or the next century. It is something that should be addressed now in the interests of justice and of the consumers of legal services.

“It is not appropriate for the Law Society to kick this into the long grass by asking for an independent inquiry or investigation. If the Law Society is to prove itself the regulator it claims to be it should demonstrate that by regulating.

“There is no call and none certainly from the Lord Justice Clerk, for an investigation into rights of audience in general. Nor is there evidence of any systemic failure in the operation of the courts and rights of audience. What there obviously has been is a failure of regulation in respect of solicitor advocates and the Faculty hopes that this will be dealt with sooner rather than later.

“If the Law Society feels that as regulator it is not able to investigate and deal with that matter no doubt another way can be found to do this on their behalf – although why the public purse should have to incur expense on something which the Law Society is already paid to do is not immediately obvious,” said Mr Keen.

A Faculty spokesman added: "The Faculty of Advocates notices that John Scott has disclosed that the whole matter raised in the case of Woodside has been resolved by the fact that a committee has been formed. This is a novel means of resolving problems. If it is as effective as John Scott implies we hope that this idea of forming a committee may be employed by John Scott to address the problems of world poverty and global warming."