Men of law who became both notaries and advocates
The two professional groups of notaries and advocates should not be regarded as entirely distinct. Nineteen of the men who appear as notaries in the sheriff court records also seem to have been admitted as advocates before that court.102 The aforementioned John Chalmer is a particularly interesting example of this group.
He is mentioned four times in the sheriff court records as having worked as a notary in the 1630s, a number which indicates his business was presumably quite successful.103 He subsequently acted as sheriff clerk depute to his brother, Patrick Chalmer.104 He received the clerkship himself in 1646. He was therefore well established in his profession as a clerk and notary by 1649, when he was admitted as a local advocate and resigned his clerkship.105This raises the question as to why these men qualified as both notaries and advocates. The biographical sketches compiled by Henderson suggest that qualification as a notary was not a prerequisite to entering as a local advocate, as it was for admission as a writer to the signet in Edinburgh.106 Rather, as Finlay has noted, local advocates admitted by the sheriff court should be distinguished from notaries �who were admitted centrally’.107
It is possible that dual recognition both as a notary for competence in drafting legal documents and as an advocate for competence in pleading cases was helpful for those trying to earn a living in Aberdeen and its environs. Indeed, several men continued to identify themselves as notaries in connection to their professional expertise both before and after their admission as advocates. For example, John Hunter was an established notary by the 1610s when he served, possibly for the first time, as sheriff clerk substitute.108 In 1630, he was also made clerk to the lands and barony of Grandoun as well as sheriff clerk depute.109 In 1632, however, he also entered as an advocate.110 Yet he appears to have continued to identify himself as a notary public after his admission as an advocate, notably both in connection to his notarial work and in his own private matters.111