Deans galore for Faculties first

The Deans of Faculties of Procurators from throughout Scotland were guests of the Dean of the Faculty of Advocates at a dinner which is believed to be the first event of its kind.

The Deans' Dinner was held in the Reading Room of the Advocates Library and proved a great success.

James Wolffe, QC, Dean of Faculty, revealed that the Dean of the Faculty of Procurators in Paisley had, unwittingly, been responsible for the dinner.

"It was when I was appearing in his court, and read a notice in his Library, issued by him, that I conceived the idea that, as Dean of the Faculty of Advocates, I should host a dinner for Deans of Faculty from across Scotland," said Mr Wolffe.

"I was delighted to welcome so many Deans of so many Faculties, from Caithness to Dumfriesshire, from Dunbartonshire to Angus, from Scotland's great cities as well as from its rural sheriffdoms. This was, so far as I know, the first time that we had held an event such as this."

Mr Wolffe said the Faculties were woven into the fabric, not only of the legal profession, but of the country and its communities.

"It seems to me to be a matter of more than incidental interest that lawyers, as members of a learned profession, join together - like academics - in Faculties which are headed by Deans," he added.

"This says something, perhaps, about the nature of Scotland's rich legal culture. It is a culture which has been shaped - and which continues to be shaped and transmitted - by the institutions to which we belong. As leaders of those institutions, we are the guardians of that culture and of the values of our profession."