‘It's never difficult to distinguish between a Scotsman with a grievance and a ray of sunshine,’ quipped PG Wodehouse. And it’s fair to say that a great many Scots – or Scottish solicitors at any rate – have a grievance pertaining to the nation’s embrace of ‘Tesco law’.

The Law Society of Scotland’s members’ poll on alternative business structures was a virtual dead heat (see news), which hardly resolved the situation. But McGrigors’ compromise proposal – that majority ownership of a legal business must remain with solicitors, except where solicitors are in business with other regulated professionals – just might. If, of course, it is passed by members and the Scottish government agrees to amend its legislation.

So why does this matter in England and Wales? Well, it will matter to the big Anglo-Scottish firms, like McGrigors and Dundas & Wilson, which made hay while the sun shined in the London market until the recession hit.

Scotland’s justice ministry warned again last week that ABSs in England threaten the long-term sustainability of the Scottish legal profession unless Scottish firms are able to operate on a level playing field. That level playing field may not now be forthcoming, with Scottish firms enjoying less freedom to change their ownership structures and seek external investment. This may, however, be a price worth paying to keep the Scottish profession united.