A GLASGOW solicitor has been elected Dean of the Royal Faculty of Procurators in Glasgow.

Austin Lafferty, who has run his own legal firm in the city for more than 30 years said he was thrilled to be at the helm of the organisation, which serves the legal profession in Glasgow and across the west of Scotland.

He added: “I am honoured and very proud of this appointment. It means a lot to me.

“I regard this one of the pinnacles of my wider work.

Stephen Vallance of Harper Macleod was appointed Vice Dean.

The Royal Faculty was incorporated prior to 1668 but opened at its current site in Nelson Mandela Place in 1857.

It houses a 200-year old law library, modelled on Sansovino’s Library in Venice, and is designed in the style of a Venetian “palazzo” or townhouse. The building is currently undergoing a £200,000 programme of renovations.

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.

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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.”