| Society of Writers to Her Majesty’s Signet |
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|---|---|
| Abbreviation | WS Society |
| Formation | 1594 |
| Type | Professional body |
| Purpose/focus | Promotion of standards in legal services |
| Headquarters | Signet Library |
| Location | Edinburgh |
| Region served | Scotland |
| Keeper of the Signet | Lord Mackay of Clashfern |
| Main organ | Council |
| Parent organization | College of Justice |
| Website | www.thewssociety.co.uk |
The Society of Writers to Her 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 documents which required to be signeted, but these have since disappeared and the Society is now an independent, non-regulatory association of solicitors. The Society maintains the Signet Library, part of the Parliament House complex in Edinburgh, and members of the Society are entitled to the postnominal letters, WS.
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Solicitors in Scotland were previously known as "writers"; Writers to the Signet were the solicitors entitled to supervise use of the King's Signet, the private seal of the early Kings of Scots. Records of that use date back to 1369.[1] In 1532, the Writers to the Signet were included as Members in the newly established College of Justice, along with the Faculty of Advocates and the Clerks of the Court of Session. The Society was established in 1594, when the King's Secretary, as Keeper of the Signet, gave commissions to a Deputy Keeper and 18 other writers.[1]
In civil actions in the Court of Session, a pursuer is required to have his writ stamped with the Signet to give him authority from the Queen to serve the writ on the defender. That conferral, called "passing the Signet," was previously carried out by the Signet Office, the administration of which was one of the Society's responsibilities. In 1976 the Signet Office was merged into the General Department of the Court of Session and the Society was relieved of any responsibility for it. Nevertheless, the requirement of "passing the Signet" survived.[2]
Nowadays, these functions are no longer performed by the Society, which has become an independent professional body of solicitors. The Society's stated purpose is "promoting the highest standards in legal services,"[3] This is achieved through the provision of education services including the Professional Competence Course (PCC) and Continuing Professional Development courses (CPD).[4]
The Keeper of the Signet is one of the Great Officers of State of Scotland, and is one of the offices held by the Lord Clerk Register. The current Keeper of the Signet is Lord Mackay of Clashfern, former Lord Advocate of Scotland and Lord Chancellor of the United Kingdom.
The office is now a purely ceremonial one, as the Keeper of the Signet grants a commission to the Principal Clerk of Session to allow the Signet to be used. The Keeper of the Signet is the senior officer of the Society of Writers to the Signet and issues commissions to new members. Although the Society is a private body, the Register of Commissions forms part of the records of the Court of Session, held by the National Archives of Scotland. The Keeper does not exercise administrative functions over the Society, these being delegated to the Deputy Keeper. The present Deputy Keeper is Caroline Docherty, Consultant at Morton Fraser LLP.[5]
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