The Law Society of Scotland has issued the guidance below to state that trainee solicitors should NOT sign the prescribed certificate under sections 15, 16 and 16a of the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000. As a result from 3rd April 2017 we will no longer accept a prescribed certificate signed by a trainee solicitor. This change comes into force on 3rd April 2017 and applies to PoA documentation signed after this date.
The guidance is as follows:
“A trainee without a practising certificate could not be a ‘practising solicitor’ and therefore could not sign the certificate. A trainee (with a practising certificate) could be a ‘practising solicitor’ but since these are onerous responsibilities requiring a degree of experience of practice it is considered by the Society that such responsibility should not be placed on a trainee solicitor with a restricted practising certificate and therefore that a trainee should not sign the certificate.”