More bubble than clique at the Signet

The WS Society knew its famous library had to change to remain relevant to the 21st-century legal community. Chief executive Robert Pirrie explains the plan to David Lee

WHEN THE WS Society said the Signet Library would host a champagne bar during the 2011 Edinburgh Festival, legal eyebrows were raised.

It might not have seemed the obvious summer job for an early 19th-century library at the heart of Edinburgh’s historic legal community in Parliament Square. The WS – Writers to the Signet – Society, originally responsible for putting the monarch’s seal on official documents, had been around since 1532 – and it was opening a champagne bar? In the Signet Library?

Yes indeed – and Robert Pirrie, chief executive of the WS Society, says there is more to come. In the days of instant communications and online commoditised law, the WS Society is a very different beast, far removed from its 16th-century origins.

“We spent a lot of time last year trying to distil what was our purpose in 2010 – to have a meaning in the 21st century consistent with our history,” Pirrie says. “The challenge has been to express that in a way that has resonance and meaning now.”

The society’s core values were identified as ‘Excellence, Integrity, Permanence’. The last word means ever-changing, rather than backward-looking or out-of-touch, Pirrie insists, while accepting the society might well have been accused of just that in the past.

The post-war years were a watershed as the Law Society of Scotland was created [in 1949] and the WS Society lost its regulatory role. “It took a long time to come to terms with that. Over time, even our main resource, the legal library, ceased to have the same obvious relevance. We had to face up to that.”

Pirrie says owning a significant old-style library meant the society was ‘like a rabbit in the headlights’ – and when he became chief executive in 2005, a key task was to ensure the WS didn’t freeze in time. Pirrie had been a partner at both Dundas & Wilson and Maclay, Murray and Spens but doesn’t regret taking up residence in the Georgian splendour of the Signet Library.

“I came here because I thought the WS Society was a very special institution and had enormous potential because of its uniqueness,” he says. “I also thought it was capable of being transformed and modernised in an effective way so it could keep that special-ness and play an effective role in the future.”

When he started the job, Pirrie knew he had to address negative impressions about the society: “The external perceptions were sometimes ‘What’s it for?’ and that it was a cliqueish club for Edinburgh lawyers.”

There was also a big business challenge: “We had to be more business-like and understand our income and costs better.”

Pirrie was also alarmed, and perplexed, by the fact that he was the only lawyer on the WS Society staff: “Our customers were lawyers but no-one really understood lawyers and what their expectations were.”

These were weighty challenges, but Pirrie was pleased to find the society had an events manager – and some understanding of the Signet Library’s enormous potential as the high-quality venue of choice for formal and sometimes more informal occasions: “It’s very special and we have a fantastic sense of responsibility. The WS Society has done a fabulous job of looking after it and we continue that. But as a building, it is still not well enough known and enjoyed.”

When Pirrie arrived, the library was rooted in its history: “It was still a hard copy lending library and it was primarily about books. It represented, in brutal terms, our most significant cost but offered little income. We were buying a lot of books and had the library ethos – ‘If you want a book, we’ll have it’ – but if they were being looked at once in a blue moon, did that make sense?

“Technology and the growth of the internet made finding information outside a book much easier. How could we add value to information – or better show people how to find it in the first place? If they didn’t know where to look, it was hard. We changed the model and library staff are now legally trained – they add value. They can find a judgment you want but might suggest also looking at a certain piece of legislation or perhaps a judgment in England.”

Pirrie says another problem was members taking the library for granted: “We did not really demonstrate its value. It was often used by non-members at not very commercial rates – by putting rates up, we declared we were open for business for everybody – but non-members had to pay.”

The shift to electronic resources also saved cash, and Pirrie insists there was no discernible influence on what was offered: “We eliminated wasteful spending on books no-one was looking at.”

The society is also looking to provide more PSL (Personal Support Lawyer) services, and developing its work with the John Watson’s Trust [which helps disadvantaged young people] into broader trust and charity administration work – but at the heart of the WS Society strategy for the future is the Signet Library. Not so long ago, Pirrie says: “If you knew somebody who knew a member, you might be able to book an event. By the time I arrived, the society had begun to professionalise and market the Signet Library. We have built on that and now have a deal with Heritage Portfolio, who manage all aspects of events. We hold events 2-3 times a week and have gone from a rented hall model to an inclusive approach and created minimum standards. I was keen to show we were about excellence and all events are of a certain quality.”

Don’t regular events compromise the ability of the WS Society to care for the Signet Library, its valuable books, its Raeburn paintings and its Trotter furniture? “We have had no significant problems, though obviously there is wear and tear; we keep an eye on it.

“Members feel a real sense of ownership and can be wary of doing things that haven’t been done before. We have progressively won their confidence; we are always very respectful of how they feel. We had no major dissent over the champagne bar – nervousness, yes, but in the end they saw we did it sensitively, and understood that to raise income and give us a wider profile, letting more people in is necessary.”

The champagne bar came from a series of ideas put forward by Heritage Portfolio: “I asked what we could do during the festival and the champagne bar turned out to be a big success. It was fantastic to see so many members of all ages come in. There were sometimes three generations of the same family in for afternoon tea.”

Pirrie says we will see the champagne bar again, as part of a complete overhaul of how the lower library is used: “From 9-5, Monday to Friday, it’s a law library and used by a few people but not nearly as many as years ago. We need to look at ways to use that space. Part of that might be more things like the champagne bar popping up – alongside something more permanent. The library more as a business centre or executive lounge where you can get a coffee, have a semi- private meeting and catch up on e-mails. We are looking at a broader change of use, and coming up with a three to four-year plan. ”

Pirrie stresses the society’s office-bearers, especially Deputy Keeper of the Signet, Caroline Docherty, have played a massive part in modernising the society effectively. And clearly, the changes have not put off members. Having been below 800 in the 1980s, the society now has 1,100 members, though numbers have flatlined. So what is the sales pitch if someone asks about why they should join?

“It’s an appeal to the heart and the head – it has to be both,” says Pirrie. “I could never reduce it to an arithmetic or economic proposition. It makes sense in terms of the benefits and services, such as using the library, but the networking is also fantastic. You should join if you are committed to excellence and to the values we represent.”