Beneath the Tweets: World IP Day with @WIPO

IT’S sometimes fun to revel in being a geek! For me it revolves around professional standards and quality; for many of our members it’s working in a particular area of law or supporting a particular client group.

While a typical punter is waiting with bated breath for the summer’s big sporting events, the geek-chic lawyer holds theirs for something like World Intellectual Property Day, taking place on Thursday. Yet sports fans might not realise these two pursuits are very closely intertwined. Indeed, the society and Faculty of Advocates are marking the event by inviting Aileen Alexander, senior legal manager of brand protection for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, to speak to a sell-out audience. Without specific law and protections, the huge amounts of sponsorship which underpins British and international sport would simply not be there. If you are more into the arts than sport, Pete Wishart MSP will also be speaking on why IP law is essential for the creative industries, which couldn’t be more topical as this is the Year of Creative Scotland. As well as the enjoyment provided to local audiences, these events also bring money into the country through tourism and support hi-tech industries which are part of Scotland’s future. Maybe IP law doesn’t look so geeky after all …

Cutting the overdraft …

Every year a large number of member firms choose to supply financial data to an independent actuary for the society’s cost of time survey. Once collated and made anonymous, it provides a vital health check on the sector. The invaluable trend data collected over the decades provides information not just on earnings but helps inform discussions about the sustainability of the sector across Scotland (vital if access to justice is to be maintained), through to how likely the sector is to attract high-quality graduates in the future. The latest information and analysis released this month show some interesting developments: debt per partner has fallen by a significant percentage, overdrafts have fallen, and cashflow improved. Set alongside data released in February showing a small increase in partner profits, we are now seeing a clear stabilisation of the profession’s finances after a very difficult three-year period. Anyone can freely access past research from our website, and analysis and commentary from our free online journal. We’re also about to be writing to firms to take part in the next cycle, so would encourage firms to assist and in return remind them they can get a bespoke report comparing their firm to sector averages.

Working with @ScotMediation on embedding #mediation in the Scottish justice system

The Law Society of Scotland and the Scottish Mediation Network are working together on a conference (16 May) looking at how mediation might increasingly be used in the justice system to reduce cost, increase access and find better resolutions for citizens. Roseanna Cunningham, Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs, Lady Paton, Sheriff Nigel Morrison, and a range of senior practitioners will seed the discussion, while John Lande is flying in from the US to share international expertise. The profession and public may not be fully aware how much change could be coming, with the Scottish Government working on the implementation of Lord Gill’s Scottish civil courts review, and their flagship Make Justice Work programme starting to look at alternative dispute resolution (ADR), and this event will be the chance to look at why less adversarial models may be better for all involved. In June, Consensus-Collaboration Scotland hosts the European Collaborative Conference, bringing together lawyers from across the EU to discuss another different way of resolving disputes. With two high-profile events, I hope we are starting to see more creativity brought to justice.

• l A director of the Law Society of Scotland, Neil Stevenson explains the stories behind some of his tweets (@StevensonLaw)

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