Our very own Austin Lafferty has been appointed Dean of The Royal Faculty of Procurators in Glasgow. The Faculty is steeped in history having served the legal profession in Glasgow and West Central Scotland for more than 300 years. Austin, who is also a past president of the Law Society of Scotland, is delighted to have been elected for such a prestigious position.

He said: “I am honoured and very proud of this appointment. It means a lot to me. I regard this as one of the pinnacles of my wider work, and indeed, it may well be the final representative appointment in my legal career.”

Austin’s brother Philip is also currently Dean of The Faculty of Solicitors of Dunbartonshire.

Austin continued “the Royal Faculty is a highly collegiate organisation and my job will be to foster and promote that collegiality during my term in office. Collegiality says everything about what a good professional should be, what a good local organisation should be, what I aspire to and what I welcome from others.”

“I look forward to the two years ahead.”

Outgoing Dean, Donald Reid, of Mitchells Roberton, was appointed an honorary member at last week’s AGM, with the Faculty praising the tenacity of his leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Donald said: “This is an honour I would never have dreamt would be mine in the earlier stages of my career. I am very grateful to the Faculty for conferring this upon me.”

Austin, who is one of two partners in Austin Lafferty Solicitors, established more than 30 years ago, said: “I cannot think of anybody who has done the job better and I certainly cannot think of anybody who has done the job in more challenging circumstances. We are very grateful to Donald.”

Stephen Vallance of Harper Macleod was appointed as Vice Dean.

The Royal Faculty was incorporated prior to 1668 but opened at its current site in Glasgow’s Nelson Mandela Place in 1857. It has a richly decorated interior, and houses a 200-year old law library, which was modelled on Sansovino’s Library in Venice and is designed in the style of a Venetian “palazzo” or townhouse.

The Category-A listed building, a jewel in the city’s architectural heritage, is currently undergoing a £200,000 programme of renovations.

To find out more information and to join RFPG see www.rfpg.org.uk.