THE LIBRARY’S FLORENCE VASE

This article was published as a Feature. Explore more of our articles here.

Gracing the west end of the upper hall of the Signet Library is a remarkable object. Its story weaves together Greek mythology, Ancient Rome, the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, the Industrial Revolution, and the film industry. A monumental presence at the far end of that most beautiful of interiors, the Garnkirk Florence Vase has stood mute witness to over 150 years of history at the WS Society.

The Garnkirk is a replica of an original Medici Vase. This ancient masterpiece is a marble bell-shaped krater or crater (a type of mixing vessel) believed to have been sculpted in Athens in the 1st century AD for the Roman market. It was conceived as a garden ornament for well-to-do Roman gentry at a time when ambitions of pastoral elegance were clearly in vogue. It was uncovered in Rome in the sixteenth century…

CPD — WS CHARITIES CONFERENCE

The WS Society’s legal education programme begins on 3 April with the popular Charities Conference.  The event brings together charity lawyers, charity trustees and charity professionals to explore the latest themes in charity law, governance and policy.  Sessions will help empower your charity to stay compliant with OSCR and employment law, strengthen your finances, protect your data, and discover pathways to a sustainable future.

Speakers at the conference include Lorraine Davidson (Chief Executive, Scottish Council for Independent Schools) and Gair Brisbane (Partner, LGT Wealth Management). We will also hear from OSCR. The conference will be chaired by Gavin McEwan WS (Head of Charities, Turcan Connell). Full speaker line up with be announced soon.

Sessions:

  • A candid discussion on current challenges and pathways forward.

  • An update from OSCR.

  • Employment law update.

  • Responding to financial pressures and staying a going concern.

  • Navigating and safeguarding your charity's data.

  • Building a sustainable future for your charity through prudent investment management.

Join us for this engaging and popular event. With thanks to conference sponsors, LGT Wealth Management.

For conference rates and booking details, please visit here.  

SCOTLAND'S GREAT PALACE

THE TREASURES OF HAMILTON PALACE

Wednesday 21 May 2025, 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm, Signet Library

Hamilton Palace in South Lanarkshire was once one of the premier country houses in the British Isles, replete with fabulous collections of outstanding works of art, furniture, and furnishings.

Beginning in the 16th century, leading authority Dr Godfrey Evans (Principal Curator of European Decorative Arts at National Museums Scotland) traces the architectural development of the palace down to the 19th, when extraordinary interior works of black marble, copious gilding, vibrant furnishing, and exotic ornamentation created a truly majestic whole. This fascinating talk will explain and illustrate how the Dukes of Hamilton — premier peers of Scotland — enlarged the palace and amassed their great collections to create one of Europe’s grandest, most ostentatious statements of power, wealth and taste.

The Virtual Hamilton Palace Trust’s project is to bring the palace alive online for scholars, researchers, and everyone to marvel at this lost magnificence.


Booking is required. The event is free to attend, however a voluntary donation can be made to support the work of the Trust.

Please note the event is held in the Upper Library which is only accessible by stairs.

Please contact 0131 220 3249 if you have any questions about the event or venue.

SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS

The WS Society’s Special Interest Groups (SIGs) continue to be popular with members. This month the AI SIG met for its inaugural meeting. Last week, the Charity and Third Sector SIG was joined by members of the team at OSCR to discuss upcoming changes to charity law. The Book Club met this week to discuss The Importance of Being Seven, Alexander McCall Smith.

Future dates for AI, Art, Charity & Third Sector and History are to be confirmed. Please keep an eye on our SIG page for further updates.

The fourth Book Club meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday 15 April, 17:30 – 18:30 and the book chosen is Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. You can register to join this meeting here.


The fifth book has also been selected and this will be On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong (the date for the fifth meeting is to be confirmed).

If you would like to note your interest in any of the WS Society SIGs, please email membership@wssociety.co.uk. If you have any ideas or questions regarding SIGs, please contact Sarah Leask.

DISABLING BARRIERS SCOTLAND - CREATING A CULTURE OF BELONGING IN THE SCOTTISH LEGAL PROFESSION

Following a momentous 2024, Disabling Barriers Scotland (DBS) announces partnerships with six new legal partners; Addleshaw Goddard, Brodies, Thorntons Solicitors, McGovern Reid Court Lawyers, Scullion Law and Shepherd and Wedderburn.

The charity will be hosting a variety of events with their new partners in 2025, starting with Creating a Culture of Belonging in the Scottish Legal Profession with Shepherd and Wedderburn.

Event Details

Date: Tuesday 11 February 2025, 12:00 - 13:00

Speakers: Gillian Carty (Partner and Chair, Shepherd and Wedderburn), Lindsay Jack (Head of Diversity, Careers and Outreach, Law Society of Scotland) and Fraser Mackay (DBS Chair and Co-Founder).

This event explores the importance of fostering inclusive and welcoming environments within the Scottish legal profession. The challenges and opportunities surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion will be explored. Panellists will discuss how to build a profession where everyone feels valued, respected, and empowered to succeed. Through engaging discussions, expert insights, and practical strategies, attendees will gain a deeper understanding of how to create lasting, positive change within their workplaces and the wider legal community. This event is essential for anyone committed to building a more representative and equitable future for the Scottish legal profession.

Read more about the mission of DBS and their recent achievements in the article below.

For further information, please visit Disabling Barriers Scotland on LinkedIn or email contactus@dbscotland.org.

DBS is a Scottish registered charity SC053043 administered by the Society’s Governance and Charities team.

WS CPD CONFERENCES 2025

The Society’s leading CPD programme continues this year across a wide range of practice areas. Events are open to all, with discounted rates for WS members. All events will take place, in person, at the Signet Library. Further information on speakers, timings and online booking will be available on our event page.

SPRING

  • WS Charities & Third Sector – 3 April 2025, 9.00 am - 1.00 pm

  • WS Intellectual Property – 24 April 2025 , 9.00 am - 1.00 pm

  • WS Personal Injury – 1 May 2025, 9.00 am - 1.00 pm

  • ALA/WS Joint Agricultural Law – 6 June 2025, 9.00 am - 1.00 pm

AUTUMN

  • WS Commercial Dispute Resolution Conference – 4 September 2025, 9.00 am - 1.00 pm

  • WS Sports Law Conference – 11 September 2025, 9.00 am - 5.00 pm

  • WS Employment Law Conference – 25 September 2025, 9.00 am - 1.00 pm

  • WS/STEP Joint Conference for Private Client Advisers – 9 October 2025, 9.00 am - 1.00 pm

  • WS/PNLA Joint Conference on Professional Negligence Law – 23 October 2025, 9.00 am - 1.00 pm


Please contact Sophie Mills WS if you have any questions.

JANUARY HISTORY TALKS

This January the WS Society hosted its first January Lecture Series, an extension of the History Special Interest Group. We hosted three excellent speakers who covered a range of historical subjects, many with links to Writers to the Signet or the Signet Library’s collections.

Our first speaker was Dr Kit Baston who gave a lecture on ‘The Bibliotheca Polonica: Poland and the Signet Library’. Dr Baston’s new research into one of the Signet Library’s most storied collections of books revealed a curious, open and sympathetic history of the Signet Library during the Polish revolutionary wars. A collection of Polish books, the Bibliotheca Polonica, was donated to the Signet Library to protect them from near constant conflict in Poland and out of reach of the Prussians and the Czar. This rare collection, now in the care of the National Library, demonstrated a forward-thinking Signet Library in the nineteenth century. Dr Baston reflected on the similar threats to books and libraries in present day Ukraine. Dr Baston and the Signet Library team curated a detailed exhibition with artefacts and documents related to the Bibliotheca Polonica, which is still available for viewing in the Upper West Library.

Richard Blake WS followed with a lecture on his new book Sugar, Slaves and High Society: the Grants of Kilgraston 1750-1860. This book explores the fortunes of the Grants of Kilgraston who were interlinked with the rise and subsequent decline of the British Empire and the Caribbean slave economy. Richard Blake WS presented a wonderfully varied cast of characters who were colourful, idiosyncratic, wayward and talented. As the British Empire extended its dominion, the Grants cemented their position in high society and left their mark on history as they encountered royalty and the White Rajahs of Sarawak. This history offered attendees a moving insight into a local family with global connections (and several Writers to the Signet to note).

Our last speaker in the series was Chloë Kennedy, Professor of Law and History at the University of Edinburgh. Professor Kennedy’s lecture was based on her new monograph, Inducing Intimacy: Deception, Consent and the Law. Professor Kennedy utilised the Commissioner Room’s extensive historic texts on criminal law for parts of her research. Her lecture considered the law’s response to deceptively induced intimacy across both civil and criminal law over more than two centuries. Encompassing legal responses within a fresh model of socio-legal history, Professor Kennedy takes a long-term historical view which has important implications for the law’s treatment of induced intimacy today.

We were delighted to attract a full house for each lecture in the Commissioners Room. Our guests enjoyed a drinks reception before each lecture and had ample opportunity to discuss their historical interests.

SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS UPDATE

Since launching our Special Interest Groups, a WS Society membership benefit available to all members, we have introduced five groups.

Art, led by Valerie Paterson WS, have met twice since launch. During their first meeting, they were joined by guest Adebanji Alade, President of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters. This month they held a Meet and Greet the Artist with Peter Graham ROI RSW, at The Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour Annual Exhibition. To register your interest in joining the Art SIG, and to keep up to date with future meetings, please contact membership@wssociety.co.uk.


Artificial Intelligence (AI) SIG have their first meeting on Thursday 6 February, via Zoom, at 12:30 – 13:30. This SIG is led by by Fiona Killen, who is a solicitor specialising in Information Law and Privacy, and who is currently a Visiting Researcher (AI: Governance, Ethics and Accountability) at the University of Strathclyde.  The purpose of the AI SIG will be discussed, along with emerging legal issues of mutual interest in AI. There is still time to register!


Book Club has met twice to discuss Act of Oblivion by Robert Harris and Ian Rankin’s A Heart Full of Headstones. Led by Caroline Doherty WS, the next Book Club meeting is to be held on Tuesday 25 February, 17:30 – 18:30, to discuss The Importance of Being Seven, by Alexander McCall Smith. Register to attend this meeting here.

Future books include:

  • The Last Witch of Scotland by Phillip Paris

  • Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder

  • The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene

  • The group is also looking at returning to works by F. Scott Fitzgerald; Sylvia Plath; Thomas Hardy and Albert Camus.


Charity and Third Sector SIG, led by Sarah Brown WS, held their inaugural meeting last November. The next meeting is on Thursday 20 February, 12:30 – 13:30. New members are very welcome and will be joined by a member of the team at OSCR, to discuss upcoming changes to charity law. Click here to sign up.


History SIG benefitted from the launch of a new season of Thursday evening talks on history at the Signet Library, taking part throughout January. Speakers included Dr Kit Baston, Richard Blake WS and Professor Chloë Kennedy. The History SIG is led by James Hamilton, Research Principal at the WS Society. To register your interest, and to keep up to date with future meetings, please contact membership@wssociety.co.uk.

Each SIG is open to all categories of members, from student to employed to retired. No level of experience or expertise is required. Joining a SIG is free and included within your WS membership. If you have any questions or ideas for SIGs, please contact Sarah Leask (sleask@wssociety.co.uk).

RETIREMENT RECEPTION FOR THE LORD PRESIDENT AND LORD JUSTICE CLERK

Last week, the Society and other Scottish solicitor bodies joined to hold a drinks reception at the Signet Library to mark the retirement of the Lord President and the Lord Justice Clerk.

Susan Murray, the Law Society of Scotland President, paid tribute on behalf of the solicitor profession to the Lord President and Lord Justice Clerk:

“In their roles at the head of our judicial system [they] have put that huge wealth of knowledge and experience to very good use, for the benefit of the public and also for the benefit of the legal profession.

They have long held an important place in our legal establishment; driving and overseeing developments in how our courts operate and right across our justice system. These developments have improved processes in terms of efficiency and effectiveness and have delivered greater transparency within our courts.

As we look ahead, I am certain that Lord Pentland, who will succeed Lord Carloway next month as Lord President, and fellow members of the judiciary, will continue to achieve these high standards of leadership and we, the Scottish solicitor profession, look forward to continuing our positive and productive relationship with the Scottish judiciary.

The retirement of two such esteemed figures as Lord Carloway and Lady Dorrian will be a significant event within the long history of Scotland’s justice system. They will each leave an important legacy behind them. On behalf of the entire solicitor profession in Scotland [we] wish you both very long, happy, healthy and active retirements.”

JOHN WATSON’S TRUST SEEKING NEW TRUSTEES

The Trustees of John Watson’s Trust (Scottish Charity SC014004) are looking to recruit three new trustees in early 2025. John Watson’s Trust is a grant-making educational charity which supports children and young people in Edinburgh and the Lothians aged 21 and under whose education has been threatened or hindered by poverty, disadvantage or ill health.

Each of the three trustees will be a Writer to the Signet. Two trustees are sought for the John Watson’s Trust Grants Committee which meets five times per year disbursing grants to individual young people, organisations and schools. The current budget is approximately £110,000.00 annually. One trustee is sought for the Finance Committee which oversees the management of the Trust’s investment portfolio. The Finance Committee meets four times a year. All meetings are currently held in person at the Signet Library (or online) on Tuesdays during office hours. It is anticipated that trustees will serve a term of five years before seeking re-appointment.

Time commitment is limited to preparation for and attendance at trustee meetings and committee meetings. The day-to-day operations including grant making and finance administration is managed by James Hamilton and Sophie Mills WS.

This is a great opportunity to become involved in the lives and futures of deprived young people living in and around the Scottish capital and to make a real difference to their futures.

John Watson’s Trust has an ancient association with the WS Society, being the successor to John Watson’s Institution, the Edinburgh school endowed by the bequest of John Watson WS (d. 1762).

More information on the charity can be found here.

For more information or to submit a note of interest, please contact Clerk and Treasurer Sophie Mills WS.

AI SIG

We are delighted to announce the launch of our fifth Special Interest Group (SIG), the WS Society AI SIG. This SIG will offer a forum to exchange ideas, informally, about a rapidly changing area.

Our AI SIG will be led by Fiona Killen, who is a Solicitor specialising in Information Law and Privacy, and who is currently a Visiting Researcher (AI: Governance, Ethics and Accountability) at the University of Strathclyde. 

The first meeting will be held on Thursday 6 February at 12:30 – 13:30 via Zoom. Please register to attend. Further details will be sent closer to the meeting.

Our SIGs are a benefit that give members the space to foster connections, share knowledge and advance their specific interest areas. The SIGs are a WS membership benefit and meetings are not open to non-members (with the exception of guest speakers or invited guests as dictated by the SIG lead). Each SIG is open to all categories of member, from student to employed to retired. No level of experience or expertise is required.

For FAQ on SIGs, please see here.

HISTORY TALKS

In January we will be launching a new season of Thursday evening talks on history at the Signet Library. The talks are free to members and guests and places will be reserved on a first come first served basis. Please book your ticket via the links below or contact library@wssociety.co.uk if you have any questions.

Thursday 9th January, 6pm for 7pm

The Bibliotheca Polonica: Poland and the Signet Library

Speaker: Dr. Kit Baston

When refugees and exiles turned to the Signet Library to save a great European culture from destruction.

In the years after Napoleon, Polish culture found itself under threat from enemies east and west. The effort to save it began here at the Signet Library in Edinburgh when a group of exiled Polish nobles and intellectuals donated a collection of rare and important books to the Library, creating a unique oasis of Polish culture out of reach of the Prussians and the Czar. Later collections would be established in Paris and London, but the Signet Library’s Bibliotheca Polonica was the very first and marked the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship between the WS Society and the Polish nation. Dr. Kit Baston’s talk is based on her research into and survey of the collection which is now in the care of the National Library of Scotland.

Accompanied by an exhibition in the Upper West Library.

 

Thursday 16th January, 6pm for 7pm

Sugar, Slaves and High Society: the Grants of Kilgraston 1750-1860.

Speaker: Richard Blake WS

The fortunes of the Grants of Kilgraston in Perthshire were interlinked with the rise and subsequent decline of the British Empire and the Caribbean slave economy. The men and women are a wonderfully varied cast of characters who were colourful, idiosyncratic, wayward and talented. As the British Empire extended its dominion, the Grants cemented their position in high society and left their mark on history as they encountered royalty and the White Rajahs of Sarawak. Drawing from his new book, Richard Blake WS explores the links between the men and women of the Grants of Kilgraston and Sarawak in south east Asia, Nova Scotia, Jamaica and Edinburgh, illuminating a crucial period in colonial history with a wonderfully varied cast of characters from an important and influential Scottish family who left a deep mark upon their times. It is hoped to have copies of the book available for purchase on the night.

 

Thursday 30th January, 6pm for 7pm

Inducing Intimacy: Deception, Consent and the Law

Speaker: Dr. Chloe Kennedy

Based in part on research conducted at the Signet Library and based upon her new book, Dr. Chloe Kennedy considers the law's response to deceptively induced intimacy across both civil and criminal law over more than two centuries. Encompassing both criminal and civil law responses within a fresh model of socio-legal history, Dr. Kennedy takes a long-term historical view which has important implications for law's treatment of induced intimacy today.