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No specific foundation date can be determined for Aberdeen?s Society of Advocates, as many of its pre-18th century records were lost in a fire at the offices of the Commissary Clerk of Aberdeenshire in Castle Street in 1721. Although the Society obtained its first Crown Charter in 1774, it seems evident from surviving material elsewhere that a fraternity of procurators and notaries, concerned with the exchange of professional expertise and mutual assistance, was in existence from the 16th or 17th century. According to the historian William Kennedy (Annals of Aberdeen, 1818), legal practitioners in Aberdeen had distinguished themselves as ?advocates? from as early as the mid-1500s. However, it has not been determined on whose authority this honour was allegedly granted. The title of The Society of Advocates in Aberdeen was confirmed by a succession of royal charters of 1774, 1799 and 1862, and conferred on members the right to designate themselves as ?advocates?. The Society was formed in order to defend the interests and maintain the standing of the profession. In 1764 it established sixteen rules, which had to be sworn to by incoming members, to guide their conduct, charges and quality of work.
Membership of the Society was obligatory for any person intent on entering the legal profession in Aberdeen until well into the 19th century. Hopeful applicants had to demonstrate their knowledge of Latin and to have attended two sessions at either King?s or Marischal College. They had also to be ?of good character?. Having got thus far, applicants were apprenticed to a member for five years (four years if a graduate in Arts). On completion of their apprenticeship, the applicants were examined by a committee to determine their proficiency in Scots Law and Conveyancing. If they passed this, they were admitted as full members of the Society, with its attendant privileges and obligations.
The most important function exercised by the Society, prior to the establishment of The Law Society of Scotland in 1948, was the consideration of bills before Parliament. These were debated at length by members before their comments or amendments were forwarded to Westminster.
In addition to passing professional judgement on legislation, the Society was early committed to providing financial assistance to needy members, their widows and orphans. To this end, a fund was established, possibly in 1685, from which allowances were issued to various qualifying persons. The fund was supported by entry monies, annual subscriptions and apprentices? fees. Revenue was also secured by investment in property, though by the mid-20th century the burdens associated with land ownership resulted in the Lands Committee selling the properties and investing the capital in stocks and shares. The Society of Advocates was also responsible for a considerable library of reference works, although pressure on space resulted in the sale at auction of several thousand volumes between 1976 and 1978.
Meetings of the Society took place variously in the New Inn, the Lemon Tree Inn or the Record Office until, in 1820, the members were granted the use of a room in the new Court House. A purpose-built Hall at the corner of Back Wynd and Union Street was designed in 1837 by the City Architect, John Smith. This property was subsequently sold in 1870 at which date the Society moved to a new Advocates? Hall in Concert Court, designed by James Matthews.
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