WS SUMMER SCHOLARS

Over the summer, nine law students divided into groups of three participated in a two-week research and personal development placement. The scholarship is a key element of our engagement with early-stage lawyers. Participants are given a contemporary legal issue working towards a digital presentation to external delegates and a written report for publication. The students work under the supervision of experienced practicing Solicitors and the Trainee Solicitor within the Executive team.

“The WS Summer Scholars programme was a great way to meet contemporaries from an array of different backgrounds, and the surprise topic was an excellent way to challenge oneself to approach a thought-provoking topic in an innovative way. I am proud that we managed to collaborate so seamlessly to deliver a satisfying presentation with online article. And I would highly recommend applying for it to anyone considering it as a next step!”

-        Noah Norbash, Trainee Solicitor, Digby Brown

"The WS Society Summer Scholars Programme was an exceptional experience, seamlessly blending historical ambiance with contemporary legal discourse. The opportunity to delve into intricate topics and present before esteemed professionals was invaluable. It was a transformative journey that I'll cherish for years to come.”

-        Matthew Paton, The University of Aberdeen

“I‘d say my time with the signet library was a fantastic way of getting to know Scotland’s legal landscape by meeting lots of wonderful people in various legal sectors. It provided an excellent opportunity to gain exposure to unfamiliar practice areas, which as a recent graduate, proved to be incredibly valuable.”

-        Asymina Aza, Trainee, NOYB

The scholars’ articles are now all published on our website:

Legal Aid - What is the Cost of Justice?

Conceiving Change: In Vitro Fertilisation - Past, Present and Planning for Scots Law Practitioners.

The Legal Approach to National Heritage: Restitution and Repatriation of Cultural Property.

Applications for 2024 scholarships will open in March 2024. For more information, please contact Sophie Mills (smills@wssociety.co.uk).

PORTRAITS OF WOMEN IN LAW

Over the course of this week the Signet Library has provided the backdrop to a new project by the celebrated Dutch art historian and photographer, Dr Carla van de Puttelaar. 

Dr van de Puttelaar is a regular visitor to the Signet Library, having researched the early David Scougall paintings which hang in the Commissioners’ Room for her book on 17th century Scottish Portraiture in 2022.  Her new project, supported by Museums & Galleries Edinburgh, is an exhibition on Scottish portraiture in the legal profession, past and present. Featuring around 40 artworks, the show will include a small group of 17th and 18th century oil paintings of lawyers and judges in Scotland by leading portraitists of the era, including Scougall, John Baptiste de Medina, as well as Allan Ramsay and Henry Raeburn. The law was an entirely male dominated occupation at that time, and to bring the exhibition up to the present, displayed alongside these artworks will be contemporary photographs of women working in the profession in Scotland today. The exhibition will amplify the advances that have taken place over the centuries, which now enable women to fill positions in the highest echelons of the legal profession. Many Writers to the Signet have been invited to the Signet Library this week to participate. We look forward to seeing their portraits when the exhibition opens at the City Art Centre in late 2025.

  SECRETARY JOHN KERRY AT THE SIGNET LIBRARY

There was an electric atmosphere at the Signet Library on 24 August, as members of the media and press joined an audience of 250 guests from the law, international politics, business, and academia for Secretary John Kerry’s exceptional address on the Climate Crisis. Many more joined us online by the livestream.

The event launched a new annual lecture series called ‘Scottish Global Dialogues’.  Scottish Global Dialogues is a joint initiative of Beyond Borders Scotland and the WS Society, which will bring a speaker of international standing to the Signet Library each year during the Edinburgh Festivals. The series aims to promote non-partisan debate on international relations and global politics, in the interests of advancing citizenship and cultural exchange. The series is supported by the Scottish Government and Scottish Council on Global Affairs.

Secretary Kerry’s compelling speech took inspiration from figures of the Scottish Enlightenment, reflected in his surroundings at the Signet Library, in his call for cohesive and innovative climate action. Secretary Kerry was introduced by First Minister of Scotland, Humza Yousaf MSP.

A recording is available to watch online here.

ANNUAL DINNER 2023

A packed upper library will gather for the WS Society’s Annual Dinner on Friday 10 November, the inaugural dinner for Lady Elish Angiolini LT as the new Keeper of the Signet, following her appointment to succeed Lord Mackay of Clashfern. To mark the occasion, Lady Elish has kindly agreed to be the main speaker at the event. A distinguished audience of Writers to the Signet, law firms, clients, contacts, friends and more will assemble to enjoy the special atmosphere and timeless quality of this highlight in the legal year.

GRADUATION DAY

The Society’s Chief Executive, Robert Pirrie WS, was in London last week for his Doctoral graduation at the Royal Festival Hall. Robert recently completed his research thesis and was awarded a PhD in History by King’s College London (KCL).  Robert’s research studies were focused on the Hanoverian monarchy’s relationship with Scottish and British national identity. His thesis supervisors were Professor Arthur Burns and Professor Paul Readman of KCL, and external examiners were Professor Colin Kidd, University of St Andrews, and Professor Stephen Conway, University College London. Robert’s thesis, titled ‘Imagined Monarchy: Constructing North Britain, c. 1746-1830’ is being published online by KCL. Robert is seen here taking in the sunshine outside Royal Festival Hall in his graduation gown. 

MODERNISING SCOTTISH TRUST LAW

The WS Society and STEP Scotland annual joint conference for private client lawyers, taking place at the Signet Library on 5 October 2023, will focus on trust law reform. The role and practical value of trusts as vehicles for protection across the UK financial system has long been underplayed.  As the Trust and Succession (Scotland) Bill moves through Parliamentary process, the conference agenda addresses the proposed changes to the administration of trusts and management of trust assets, and the consequent impact on individuals, businesses, charities, and institutions. The keynote address with be given by The Rt Hon Lord Drummond Young, who will be joined by further expert speakers, including Professor Roddy Paisley (Chair of Law, University of Aberdeen) to cover the legal, tax and practical aspects of the proposed legislation. The conference will be chaired by Sandy Lamb WS (Lindsays) and supported by Finders International.  Further information and booking here.

ACCESS TO JUSTICE AND VICTIM SUPPORT

As part of the WS Society’s continuing agenda of events centred on fundamental human rights and the law, we are proud to launch the inaugural WS Abuse Law Symposium, which will address effective access to justice and remedies for survivors of abuse in Scotland. 

Building on the momentum of past legal conferences in personal injury law, the symposium, which will take place on 12 September 2023, is designed for legal practitioners and other professionals active in this sensitive and demanding area of practice.  

With a focus on trauma-informed advice, the programme includes updates from Julie Anne-Jamieson, Chief Executive of the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry and Joanna McCreadie, Chief Executive of the Redress for Survivors Scheme.  Bringing further perspective, we are pleased to have contributions from Assistant Chief Constable Bex Smith, Police Scotland and a medico-legal view from expert clinical psychologist, Professor Craig White.  The symposium is chaired by Kim Leslie WS, Digby Brown and sponsored by Digby Brown.  Booking opens soon.  For further information please contact Anna Bennett WS

SUMMER EXHIBITION 2023

One of the WS Society’s charitable purposes is to advance the arts, heritage and culture through the Signet Library and its collections. To pursue this, we produce opportunities to welcome new audiences to the library, to experience the history of the Society and the finest neoclassical interior in Edinburgh. This summer, we are proud to produce an exhibition of new work by the international artist David Eustace, in collaboration with the Fine Art Society. Between 31 July and 13 August, the Signet Library will be open to the public to enjoy a collection of David’s beautiful photography and sculpture, under the title ‘THEREAFTER’.  

Everyone is welcome and admission is free, 10.00 am and 4.00 pm each day.

We look forward to members, friends and new visitors joining us, from near and far, during the peak of Edinburgh's annual cultural life - festival season.

Our thanks to sponsors The Times, Vialex, Midton, Heritage Portfolio, Edinburgh Napier University and Balblair Whisky.

Photography: Albie Clark

SPORTS LAW CONFERENCE v2.0

With our partners at Lombardi Associates, we are pleased to bring some of the industry’s most experienced and recognised figures to Edinburgh for the second WS Sports Law Conference on 13 October 2023. In an exciting year for sport, the conference is timed to take place following the FIFA Women’s World Cup and during the Rugby World Cup, and because of this we are delighted to be joined by both Polly Hanford, Director of Legal, The FA and Gill Treasurer, Director of Legal, British & Irish Lions, among other expert speakers. The comprehensive programme covers the main issues of the day for sports lawyers and their clients, including the moving regulatory landscape in football and rugby, dispute resolution, transfer contracts, disciplinary issues, and representation. Attendees will also hear from a panel featuring a line up of in-house sports lawyers, working in both clubs and professional bodies.   The conference is chaired by Ian Laing WS, Counsel, Lombardi Associates. Booking and further information here.

CROWN JEWELS AT THE SIGNET LIBRARY

Deputy Keeper Mandy Laurie and other leading representatives of the Scottish legal profession were in attendance at the Service of Thanksgiving and Dedication at St. Giles Kirk on 5 July during which His Majesty King Charles III, accompanied by Queen Camilla, was presented with the Honours of Scotland. Participating in the ceremony itself were Writers to the Signet Adam Bruce (Marchmont Herald) and John Stirling (Ormond Pursuivant), both Officers of Arms at the Court of the Lord Lyon. The Honours of Scotland were received at the Signet Library following the Service, with the Crown of Scotland, the oldest surviving crown in the British Isles, borne by the Duke of Hamilton and Brandon. It was accompanied by the Sceptre, originally a gift from Pope Alexander VI to King James IV in 1494, borne by Lady Dorrian, and the new Sword of State, the Elizabeth Sword, in use for the first time and borne by Dame Katherine Grainger. The Honours were guarded by another institution with profound links to the WS Society, the Royal Company of Archers.

Speech by Former US Secretary of State, John Kerry

Photography: US State Department

We are truly delighted to partner with Beyond Borders Scotland to bring John Kerry to speak at the Signet Library on 24 August 2023. The event will launch an annual joint series of ‘Scottish Global Dialogues’ with Beyond Borders, to feature guests of international standing, held each year in the height of the Edinburgh Festivals. The series aims to promote non-partisan debate on international relations and global politics, in the interests of advancing citizenship and cultural exchange. The series is supported by the Scottish Council for Global Affairs.

John Kerry is an American attorney, politician and diplomat. Kerry previously served as the 68th United States Secretary of State from 2013 to 2017, in the administration of Barack Obama.  He represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate from 1985 to 2013. Kerry was the Democratic nominee for President of the United States in the 2004 election.  In January 2021, Kerry assumed a full-time position in President Biden’s administration serving as a Special Envoy for Climate.

John Kerry will make a keynote address on an issue of global concern. 

Admission to this event is by invitation. The event will be livestreamed to allow wider participation. Joining details will be circulated in due course.

Enquiries to Anna Bennett WS.

SUMMER STUDENTS

The WS Society recently hosted three first year law students as part of the University of Edinburgh’s Insights Programme.  The Insights Programme is designed to remove some of the barriers which prevent students from fulfilling their full potential. The programme is open to students who come from families, schools and/or communities where university is not always a typical destination.

The executive team at the WS Society spent time with the students, sharing knowledge, providing advice, widening their legal networks, and demystifying the professional working environment.  During their week with the Society, the students were also tasked with researching and presenting on the Charities (Regulation and Administration) (Scotland) Bill currently going through the Scottish Parliament. As part of the week’s programme, students also met Isla Davie KC, Advocate, who very generously gave some of her time to provide an insight into the Scottish Bar, and Alison Howells, of Lisa Rae & Co, who kindly provided insight into family law practice.

The WS Society is committed to broadening access to the legal sector and encouraging students to pursue a career in law.  The Society was delighted to partner with the University of Edinburgh to successfully deliver this initiative. Feedback received from some of the students following their week with the Society is below:

“This experience with the WS Society at the Signet Library has been one of the most intriguing, incredible, amazing and informative weeks I have ever had. I have found new areas of law that I would like to delve into more, and has also given me an opportunity to make connections with solicitors and advocates so that I can have people I can ask for experience or to have a talk about my legal career. I have decided that whilst I am still going to work towards working in counter-terrorism, I am going to look at other areas of law that have peeked an interest. I would like to thank WS Society for giving me this experience, and I look forward to becoming a member.”

 – Brooke Stewart

“I really enjoyed my week at WS Society and cannot thank Sophie and Anna enough for giving us the opportunity to experience this through the Insights Programme. They were able to open us up to new experiences and areas of law I had never heard or thought about before. We made some really great connections and spoke to some amazing people. Thank you!”

 – Amy McInally

You can find out more about the Insights Programme at the University of Edinburgh here.  For enquiries to the WS Society regarding the Insights Programme, please contact Sophie Mills (smills@wssociety.co.uk).

AUTUMN CPD

The Society’s leading CPD programme continues with six further conferences during September and October, 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 is available here.

  •  WS Commercial Dispute Resolution Conference – 7 September 2023

  • WS Abuse Law Symposium – 12 September 2023

  • WS/PNLA Joint Conference on Professional Negligence Law – 21 September 2023

  • WS Employment Law Conference – 28 September 2023

  • WS/STEP Joint Conference for Private Client Advisers – 5 October 2023

  • WS Sports Law Conference – 13 October 2023

RESTORING PATRICK GEDDES’ EVERGREEN

Signet Library conservator Jo Hockey has recently completed the restoration of the Signet Library’s rare complete set of Sir Patrick Geddes’ Celtic Revival journal, The Evergreen. These beautiful volumes, famous for their beautiful leather Tree of Life bindings and Celtic page decorations, were originally published seasonally in the mid-1890s. They inspired a revival in interest in Celtic and Highland culture, including the Gaelic language, and were a platform for major artists and writers such as John Duncan.

The Evergreen was just part of the astonishing career of the polymath Sir Patrick Geddes, who began life as a biologist but found fame as a city planner, an educator and a campaigner for peace. In Edinburgh he is remembered for his attempts to revive the Old Town, creating community gardens, encouraging inhabitants to improve their environments, running international summer schools, building Ramsay Gardens and renovating Milne’s Court as student residences, and, most famously, transforming the Outlook Tower into an international university of town planning and an international inspiration for the restoration of communal life. His memory in the city is preserved in the Patrick Geddes Centre at Riddle’s Court: he himself would eventually leave Edinburgh for a late career blossoming in Israel, India and France.

Those copies of Geddes’ Evergreen that have survived have suffered heavily from discolouration and the decay of the leather in the bindings (most bookbinding leather of the time was treated with sulphuric acid in the production process, which means that bindings from the middle of the nineteenth century onwards display deterioration beyond their seventeenth- and eighteenth-century equivalents). Jo Hockey has treated the leather to halt the decay and restore much of the dwindled colour, and has replaced the long-lost leather book spines with Japanese paper tinted to match the shade of the boards.

Jo’s full account of the restoration of the volumes, along with a full account of Sir Patrick Geddes’ revolutionary life and career, can be read here. An exhibition of The Evergreen alongside other Geddes materials from Signet Library collections will run in the Upper West Library until the end of July.

ARRIVEDERCI STEFANIA SOSSI

This month the Society’s Executive Manager, Stefania Sossi, moves on from her post, with our deep gratitude and best wishes. Stefania joined the WS Society in November 2015, from her former position as Duty Manager for a large American hotel company. Stefania graduated as an interpreter in Milan, and before coming to the UK, completed a Masters in the Economics of Tourism in Italy. During her 8 years with the Society, Stefania has demonstrated her flexibility and professionalism in her multi-faceted role in managing our office function, hospitality and charity administration, including finance, membership, events, HR and IT.  We know the Society’s members, and visitors to the Signet Library, will miss her warm presence and calm efficiency. Stefania leaves the WS Society to spend time with her young son, husband and family in Italy, before taking up a role with an international NGO later in the year.

SUMMER EXHIBITION

The Trustees of the WS Society are delighted to announce the public opening of the Signet Library from 31 July to 13 August 2023, for an exhibition with the artist, David Eustace, to coincide with the Edinburgh International Festival. For the first time in Scotland, David Eustace will exhibit his sculpture work including works in acrylic, steel and granite, as well as a print portfolio of 24 unseen images, in a collective body of work, entitled ‘Thereafter’.

The exhibition is produced in collaboration with the Fine Art Society, media partners, The Times and academic partners, Edinburgh Napier University  We are grateful for the support from sponsors Vialex, Midton and Balblair Whisky.

The exhibition is open to all, with free admission, 10 am – 4 pm each day, offering the chance for visitors from around the world to experience the beauty of the Signet Library’s interiors and David’s striking work.

SPOTLIGHT ON EQUALITIES IN THE LEGAL PROFESSION

We were proud to collaborate with the Scottish charity, FJSS Group (SC042868), to produce their 2023 Equalities Workshop at the Signet Library on 8 June. The workshop is a flagship event for the Scottish justice sector.  It has been running for four years, following its launch in June 2019, at the Scottish Justice Conference. The event is focused on improving diversity and inclusion in the justice sector. This year, the spotlight fell on the Scottish legal profession, with an analysis of how far the profession has come in terms of race and ethnicity equality, fair representation and inclusivity. The calibre of the expert speakers, who participated from across the country, was outstanding and included, amongst others, Professor Sir Geoff Palmer OBE, Siobhan Brown MSP (Minister for Victims and Community Safety), Professor Amos Haniff (Dean, Heriot Watt University), Silence Chihuri (CEO, FJSS Group) and Assistant Chief Constable Gary Ritchie (Police Scotland). The event also marked the launch of FJSS’s ‘Roadmap to Diversity and Inclusion’, the culmination of several years of research and grassroots engagement.  We look forward to continuing to support our colleagues’ important work in this area.

NEW KEEPER

We are truly delighted His Majesty The King has appointed Lady Elish Angiolini LT DBE PC KC FRSE, as Lord Clerk Register of Scotland and Keeper of the Signet, the first woman to be appointed to the role. Formerly Lord Advocate for Scotland, Lady Elish has had the most distinguished legal career. She is currently Principal of St Hugh’s College, Oxford and Chair of the Public Inquiry into the murder of Sarah Everard.  In June 2022, Lady Elish was appointed by Her Late Majesty The Queen to the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle.  Further information on Lady Elish’s career in law and public service can be found here.

Lady Elish joined Deputy Keeper, Mandy Laurie WS, to present new Writers to the Signet with their commissions at the latest Diet of Admission on 6 June, and to welcome all new members of the Society. The new Keeper shared some personal remarks during the ceremony, recounting memories of her own admission as a WS in 2005, when her mother accompanied her to the Signet Library. Along with their families and friends, the 33 new members of the Society enjoyed chatting with Lady Elish over drinks after the formalities. 

EQUALITIES WORKSHOP

Photo by Alicia Bruce

The Scottish charity, Fair Justice System Scotland, is bringing its flagship annual event to the Signet Library on Thursday 8 June.  The well-established Equalities Workshop engages key stakeholders in the justice sector, including Government, to explore ways of making the justice system more diverse and inclusive, and reflective of current society in Scotland.  Siobhian Brown MSP, Minister for Victims and Community Safety, will deliver the keynote address on behalf of the Scottish Government. Further speakers include Professor Sir Geoff Palmer OBE, Silence Chihuri (CEO, FJSS), Usman Tariq (Advocate) and Assistant Chief Constable Gary Ritchie (Police Scotland).  We are delighted to collaborate with FJSS to support this event.  

Booking and further information here:

VISIT OF THE GROLIER CLUB OF NEW YORK

On Sunday 14th May the Signet Library paid host to a group of twenty delegates from New York’s Grolier Club. Founded in 1884 and with its own magnificent premises in the heart of the Big Apple, the Grolier Club is one of the most prestigious organisations in the book history world. Its library, exhibitions and publications are second to none and membership is seen as a recognition both of career achievement and personal contribution to bibliographic practice and knowledge. The Club has representatives worldwide, although its New York headquarters remains the focus of the Club’s activities.

The delegates were taken on a tour of the Signet Library’s halls and spaces before assembling in the Commissioners’ Room for an exhibition built around the life and career of the Signet Library’s own greatest bibliographer, John Philip Edmond (1850-1906 and Signet Librarian 1904-1906). Edmond was born and apprenticed into a family firm of Aberdeen bookbinders and printers. The family were religious – Edmond himself was an acolyte of the High Church Oxford Movement – and passionately interested in the history of their city. Over the course of the 1880s, Edmond researched and published a remarkable series of histories of the early Aberdeen printers, the pioneer of which, Edward Raban, arrived to set up his press in 1624.

Edmond’s research brought him into contact with James Lindsay, 5th Earl Crawford, whose family had built a vast private library at their Scottish seat at Balcarres. By the 1880s, that collection was largely dispersed and the family seat was at Haigh Hall near Wigan, where they had once again built a spectacular private library, rich in manuscripts and examples of early printing from Britain and the wider world. Despite the differences in their background, Edmond and Lindsay became close and committed friends, and in 1891 Edmond moved his family to Haigh to become Lindsay’s full time librarian. During his thirteen years there, Edmond would research and publish catalogues of spectacular quality and utility which were influential worldwide.

In 1890 Edmond and Dr. Robert Dickson co-produced the great Annals of Scottish Printing which rewrote the history of the first century of Scottish printing from the moment the Writer to the Signet Walter Chepman brought Scotland’s first press to Edinburgh in 1507 up to the moment that James VI left for London in 1603. The book remains the basis for all work on the subject since and copies are highly sought after.

In 1904 Edmond beat out a vast field of candidates to become the Signet Librarian in succession to the late Thomas Graves Law. Edmond would be at the Signet Library for only a short time before his tragic death in January 1906, but in that time he produced a fine new catalogue of the Library’s fifteenth century books (incunabula), and oversaw the move of books into the then-new West Wing extension.

Following his death, his wife donated the magnificent printing blocks from Annals of Scottish Printing to the Library, and these, accompanied by many examples of early printed Scottish books from the Signet Library’s collections, formed the core of the exhibition for the Grolier Club.

At the end of the visit, the delegates presented the Signet Library with a copy of the Grolier Club publication French Book Arts by H. George Fletcher.