News / Member News

One of the long-standing traditions of the Scottish Law Agents Society is the participation in foreign exchange which reflects the Scottish legal tradition as a mixed system drawing from all of the major systems and traditions of the western world. The picture shows our visitors from Prague, a few years ago, whom we entertained in response to the Societies previous visit to Prague.

Our visitors attended at various legal institutions but were also driven around the country, most notably around the Whisky Trail in the North East, in a bus rented by SLAS and driven by David MacLennan, several times President of our Society. I recollect also that we had dinner and some informal dancing at Carrbridge where we had arranged bed and breakfast accommodation for the guests and ourselves. Splendid times

A year or so after that visit, we were scheduled to take ourselves off to Rome for a cultural, legal visit. However, as fate would have it, the weekend which we booked turned out also to be the weekend of the funeral of the late, lamented Pope John Paul XXIII. On learning that the city would be home for 2 million Polish visitors that weekend, some of our own members who felt that these circumstances might have prejudiced access to basic facilities, pulled out of the visit. However, those that completed the course had a splendid visit to Rome and, given the screens erected at every open place, had no option but to join in the funeral celebration. The Polish visitors were astonishing in their numbers, their patient acceptance of street accommodation and their lack of diminution of any of the facilities available to other visitors.  Say what you like about Rome, they know how to bury a Pope ( and maintain a Coliseum and a Parthenon and countless other ancient, medieval and more modern buildings and provide endless superb restaurants and all with jolly nice weather most of the time).

For several years thereafter, there has been no talk of foreign exchange because of the hugely damaging stramash within the profession over the advent, or otherwise, of alternative business structures. Now, however, we hope that the worst of all that is behind us and we have tentatively scheduled the first weekend in October 2012 as the time of our next foreign excursion and all we need now are suggestions for places to go to and and a note of those who may be interested in joining such a trip. If you might be interested in coming on this trip or, better still if you have any suggestions or would like to assist in the arrangements, then please contact us by e-mail at secretary@slas.co.uk