The Austin Lafferty Solicitors & Estate Agents Blog

Once again, a prominent member member of the Scottish legal community are asked to comment on matters relating to our national game, only this time with levity, rather than litigation, in mind. Austin joins Tam Cowan and Stuart Cosgrove on 'Off the Ball'.

Having concluded his visit to South Africa, Austin reflects on his trip in an article in the Scotsman.

Austin's world tour of South Africa closes with a crescendo as he encounters an out-of-place doorman, hears of the horrors perpetrated by mining companies in South Africa, listens to an impassioned speech by Lord Judge, extols the virtues of the Dear Green Place and visits the site of Nelson Mandela's incarceration on Robben Island. Read the full blog here.

A packed and interesting schedule for Austin as the conference hears of the experience of lawyers who operate outside the Rule of Law. Lawyers from Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka relate their experiences at the hands of their countries ruling regimes. Discussions on free speech, defamation, childcare for lawyers and even a moot are enjoyed before dinner where, hopefully, gammy Penguin isn't on the menu... You can read the full blog here.

On day six of his trip, Austin finds that the ethnic and gender balance of judges in South Africa has improved greatly over the last two decades as the previously white male-dominated judiciary has reconfigured enormously. Austin also finds out about the challenges posed by legal aid budgets across the Commonwealth and developing world and he is reminded of one of the great legal scenes from movie history! Read the full blog here.

Austin schools young lawyers on media presentation and is confronted with the reality of the life of lawyers in Africa. Racial, ethnic, political, religious and cultural forces pull in different directions leading to inequality, oppression and breaches of human rights. The burden of righting these wrongs, Austin finds, falls squarely on the shoulders of his Commonwealth colleagues. Read the full blog here.

Austin finds himself upgraded to the title of 'Professor' as he attends the conference and finds that there is more than a hint of Scottish culture infused with life in this part of the world. After dinner, the trip gets off and running properly as speeches are delivered by prominent legal figures from the UK and around the Commonwealth. Read the full blog here.

Still in Cape Town, Austin ponders a personal injury claim against the operators of the Victoria & Albert waterfront after a trip but elects instead to hobble around the relics of South Africa's grisly colonial past. Read the full blog here

Austin finds himself volunteered for numerous tasks and finds out just how big a task the Malawi Law Society faces - with their staff of four, the Malawi Law Society must serve a population of 15 and a half million across a country which covers an area the size of England! Read the full blog here.

Austin's visit to Malawi get off to an inauspicious start as flight delays and lost baggage force a change of itinerary. Undaunted, Austin vows to help the Malawi Law Society forge ahead with their plans. Read the full blog here

In an article for the Council of British Chambers of Commerce in Europe, Austin discusses the challenges facing the legal profession not just at home but in England and further afield. Discussing the need to diversify, Austin points out that "working as a solicitor is a great platform from which to develop other business skills, by focusing on management, marketing, efficiency of delivery, customer service, research and development, financial planning and control".

Austin as President of the Law Society of Scotland welcomes new solicitor-advocates to the High Court as they have just been sworn in by a judge in Edinburgh. Solicitor Advocates have extended rights of audience in Scotland's courts and are able to represent clients in the High Court and the Court of Session.

In his address to the Law Society of Scotland's Legal Aid conference, President of the Law Society Austin Lafferty reaffirmed the importance of Legal Aid to the justice system in Scotland.

Austin as president of the Law Society of Scotland at the Parliament to meet with Scottish Government justice minister Roseanna Cunningham to discuss important current legal issues.

Austin as President of the Law Society of Scotland chaired the annual and highly successful flagship conference in Glasgow this week. Austin prefaced his message in a video broadcast before the conference, stating that:

"I've spent 30 years helping ordinary people deal with the law." Austin is interviewed in the Evening Times on his assumption of the Law Society presidency. Read more here.

"At times, alternative business structures feels a bit like the bogeyman of the legal world – constantly held up as a reason to comply and modernise, but shadowy and uncertain, and possibly not real at all." Austin on ABS and modernising the legal profession. Read more here.

"Scottish Solicitor is a brand, a proud one and one that is easy to say and to grow and, for the population, to understand, if we all do our bit to promote it. The name has to mean quality, user-friendliness, and problem-solving." Austin writes exclusively in The Firm magazine. Read it here.