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Lord President launches consultation on ten objectives for regulators of legal services
Sep 23, 2026
To mark the launch of this consultation, the Lord President hosted an event in Parliament House on 23 September 2026. The event was attended by Kirsten Oswald MSP, the Minister for Victims and Community Safety. Other attendees included Ann McKechin, Chair of the SLCC’s Independent Advisory Panel, now known as the Scottish Legal Services Consumer Panel, Douglas White, who is a member of the Panel, as well as the regulators and others who have an interest in legal services regulation.
The Act creates a modern framework for the regulation of legal services in Scotland. Among other things, it introduces ten new regulatory objectives for regulators which protect consumers, give clarity to legal professionals about how they will be regulated and ensure that the regulators are accountable.
As the ultimate regulator, the Lord President wishes to reflect on what these new regulatory objectives mean, and how they should be applied by the regulators.
The Lord President is seeking views on his draft regulatory statement before it is finalised. Anyone who has an interest in the regulation of legal services is encouraged to respond to this consultation, especially consumers, legal professionals and regulators. Responses should be emailed to LordPresidentConsult@scotcourts.gov.uk by 5pm on 2 December 2026.
The Lord President, Lord Pentland said:
“The regulatory objectives require all the regulatory authorities, including me, to carry out our functions in a way which protects and promotes the interests of consumers and the wider public interest. We must also communicate effectively with bodies who represent the interests of consumers. “
“The enactment of the new objectives gives everyone the opportunity to consider their scope and help to shape how they should be applied. It allows me to consider how the regulatory authorities can work more effectively together. It is important that we look collectively at what continuous improvements can be made across the whole system.”
“I would encourage all who have an interest in the regulation of legal services to respond to this consultation, especially legal professionals, consumers of legal services, bodies which represent consumer interests and the regulatory authorities. All responses will be carefully considered.”
At the event held in Court 1 at Parliament House, the Lord President highlighted three ways in which the regulatory authorities should, where appropriate, promote and protect the interests of consumers and the wider public.
- Holding public consultations where significant changes to regulatory rules, guidance or working practices are proposed.
- Engaging with bodies that represent consumer interests, such as the SLCC’s Independent Advisory Panel and Consumer Scotland, about what is of interest to consumers and how best to take account of their views.
- Working together to share best practice to help inform how each authority can satisfy this objective.
The Lord President further talked about the importance of the regulatory authorities working together, as well as the need for effective communication both between regulators and legal service provides and between regulators and bodies that represent the interests of consumers and the public interest.
The consultation documents can be found on the Judiciary of Scotland website.