Fergus Ewing Opening Speech Legal Services Bill Scottish Parliament 28 April 2010 Part 1

The Legal Services (Scotland) Bill was debated in the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday 28 April 2010.

The aim of the Legal Services Bill was to open Scotland's closed shop legal services market, where consumers are currently forced to use a solicitor member of the Law Society of Scotland to access legal services, the courts or other parts of the Scottish Justice system.

The Legal Services Bill originally started life as "The Legal Profession Bill", and has seen many changes against the aims to open up choice to Scottish consumers. The Law Society of Scotland and campaigns by sections of the Scottish legal profession have watered down the bill, which if eventually passed, will not improve access to justice in Scotland.

You can read the full official report of the debate here : http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament...

You can find out more about the Legal Services Bill here : http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/S3/bills/30-legalServices/index.htm

Further coverage of the Legal Services Bill can be viewed here : http://petercherbi.blogspot.com/search/label/Legal%20Services%20Bill

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