The Royal Faculty of Procurators in Glasgow is a professional body of legal practitioners based in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

and providing services to lawyers in the city and the surrounding area. The Faculty owns and operates the largest

law library A law library is a special library used by law students, lawyers, judges and their law clerks, historians and other scholars of legal history in order to research the law. Law libraries are also used by people who draft or advocate for new l ...

in the West of Scotland as well as a small branch library at

Glasgow Sheriff Court Glasgow Sheriff Court is a sheriff court in the Gorbals ( Laurieston) area of Glasgow, within the sheriffdom of Glasgow and Strathkelvin. It is reputedly the busiest court in Europe. History The new court was commissioned to replace the Old Sh ...

, and runs a programme of

continuing professional development Professional development is learning to earn or maintain professional credentials such as academic degrees to formal coursework, attending conferences, and informal learning opportunities situated in practice. It has been described as intensive ...

(CPD) seminars. The Faculty is similar to the

Society of Writers to Her Majesty's Signet The Society of Writers to His Majesty's Signet is a private society of Scottish solicitors, dating back to 1594 and part of the College of Justice. Writers to the Signet originally had special privileges in relation to the drawing up of document ...

(WS Society), a professional association of solicitors which maintains the Signet Library in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, however these bodies play no regulatory role for their members, only providing services, and should be distinguished from the

Law Society of Scotland The Law Society of Scotland is the professional governing body for Scottish solicitors. It promotes excellence among solicitors through the support and regulation of its members. It also promotes the interests of the public in relation to the ...

and

Faculty of Advocates The Faculty of Advocates is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary. The Faculty of Advocates is a constitu ...

, which are the respective regulatory bodies for solicitors and advocates in Scotland.

History

The date of the Faculty's foundation is unknown, although it has existed since prior to 1668. A

Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, bu ...

awarded by

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

on 6 June 1796 stated that "for centuries past the members of the Commissary Courts of Glasgow and of Hamilton and Campsie have been, and are now united into a Society called the Faculty of Procurators in Glasgow." This Charter entitled the Faculty to the call itself the ''Royal'' Faculty. A Library was established in 1817 and a permanent home for it opened in 1856. The Faculty established the Chair of Conveyancing in the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

in 1861 and held the right of appointment until 1993. The Faculty's position was eroded by the Law Agents (Scotland) Act 1873, which eliminated the exclusive right of Faculty members to appear in the Local Courts, and the Solicitors (Scotland) Act 1933 and Legal Aid and Solicitors (Scotland) 1949, which created the

as the national professional body for solicitors. Nowadays, it serves as a representative body for its members as well as providing library services, venue hire, auditor services and

Library

DSCN8599 Royal Faculty of Procurators in Glasgow

The Society is based at its Library on Nelson Mandela Place, off

Buchanan Street Buchanan Street is one of the main shopping thoroughfares in Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland. It forms the central stretch of Glasgow's famous shopping district with a generally more upmarket range of shops than the neighbouring streets: ...

in Glasgow's city centre. The maintenance of a library was first proposed in 1736, and one was eventually established in 1817. It moved in 1856 to its present location, a Venetian-style building by Charles Wilson, who also designed 22 Park Circus and

Lews Castle Lews Castle (Scottish Gaelic: ''Caisteal Leòdhais'') is a Victorian era castle located west of the town of Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, Scotland. It was built in the years 1844–51 as a country house for Sir James Matheson who had bought the wh ...

Stornoway Stornoway (; gd, Steòrnabhagh; sco, Stornowa) is the main town of the Western Isles and the capital of Lewis and Harris in Scotland. The town's population is around 6,953, making it by far the largest town in the Outer Hebrides, as well a ...

. It became a Category A listed building in 1966. The Library has grown to become the largest law library in the West of Scotland, covering all practice areas. It contains series of law reports, purchases copies of every legal text published and increasingly provides electronic resources to members. It is also available to hire as a venue for meetings and private events.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 17th-century establishments in Scotland Organizations established in the 17th century Organisations based in Glasgow with royal patronage Legal organisations based in Scotland Libraries in Glasgow Procurators in Glasgow Law libraries in the United Kingdom

History

Library

See also

References

External links