WS SUMMER SCHOLARSHIP

Applications are now open for the Society's Summer Law Scholarship programme 2024.

Designed for law students to enhance their professional and personal development, this is a unique opportunity for participants to spend two weeks as a WS Summer Scholar with the resources of the Signet Library at their fingertips.

The programme empowers participants to raise their profile and sharpen their research and presentation skills in preparation for the world of legal work.

Participants will join a team-based research project on a contemporary legal issue, working towards a digital presentation to external delegates and written report for publication.

The programme is open to 3rd and 4th year students from the Scots LLB undergraduate degree, 2nd year students from the accelerated Scots LLB degree, and Diploma students.

For further information and how to apply please see here.

Please submit questions and applications to Diana Stoica, dstoica@wssociety.co.uk.

AUTISM AWARENESS WEEK

World Autism Acceptance Week takes place from 2 to 8 April 2024. This is a time to celebrate the incredible diversity of the autistic community and raise awareness about the ways we can create a more inclusive world.

The WS Society’s Governance and Charities team provides administrative services to two charities which pay particular attention to children and young people with autism.

Trefoil exists to support the development of children and young people with additional needs in Scotland, to enable them to maximise their capabilities and achieve as much independence as possible. Trefoil provides grants to organisations and individuals. Read an example of how a personal development grant allowed a young person with autism to access tutoring in the link below:

John Watson’s Trust is a local charity which services Edinburgh and the Lothians. The Trust awards grants for educational purposes to children and young people up to and including the age of 21 who have a physical or learning disability or who are socially disadvantaged.

For more information about the charities, please contact Sophie Mills.

SIGNETCPD PROGRAMME

Dates announced

Dates have been fixed for the Society’s 2024 CPD conference programme — see the ‘departure board’ below.

Announcing the programme, the Society’s Principal Solictior, Sophie Mills, said:

‘We’re looking forward to another year of first class events in the splendour of the Signet Library. We’ve re-branded as SignetCPD with an airport departures theme. We are also making changes to promote networking and sustainability. We will be launching paperless conference packs, relying on digital materials which will improve accessibility and reduce the Society’s carbon footprint. We’ll advertise conferences by email and by Signet Post when bookings open for each ‘departure’. Meantime, those looking to attend should save the date. A highlight this year is a repeat of the Immigration & Asylum Symposium which we introduced last year’.

 

TREFOIL SEEKING A NEW TRUSTEE

Grant making charity looks to recruit trustee in 2024

The Board of Trustees of Trefoil House (Scottish Charity No SC013744) is looking to recruit a new trustee in early 2024. Trefoil is a grant-making charity which supports children and young people in Scotland under 25 years old who have additional support needs.  

 

Trefoil provides three types of grants: personal development grants, organisational grants and holiday grants. Trefoil’s trustees consider applications for these grants four times per year at meetings held in the Signet Library. The annual budget for Trefoil is £150,000. Read more about Trefoil here.  

 

Trefoil has a long association with the WS Society. The Society’s Governance and Charities team provide administration services; and several Writers to the Signet have served as trustees. If you are interested in becoming a trustee of Trefoil, or would like more information on the role, please email Sophie Mills (smills@wssociety.co.uk).  

WS CHARITIES CONFERENCE

Bookings now open 

The WS Society’s legal education programme begins on 14 March 2024 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.  We will be joined by expert speakers from across the UK to explore topics including the motivational drive to legacy through charity and the implications of source of wealth on charity governance, as well as a roundup of legislative and practice matters.  

Speakers: 

  • Gavin McEwan WS, Partner, Turcan Connell (Conference Chair) 

  • Simon Steeden, Partner, Bates Wells 

  • Katherine Crawford, Chief Executive, Age Scotland 

  • Jenny Ebbage, Trustee, Halifax Foundation for Northern Ireland 

  • Kelly Adams, Head of Non-Profit Team, RSM 

  • Dr John Picton, Reader in Law, University of Manchester 

  • Julie Hutchison WS, Charities Specialist, LGT Wealth Management 

 

For conference rates and booking details, please visit here.  

A NEW PROJECT – AND A NEW DISCOVERY

Mapping the WS Society’s early history 

This week saw the beginning of a new project to catalogue the seventeenth and eighteenth century unbound paper archive of the WS Society and Signet Library, with this material being added to the existing online catalogue of bound WS Society and Signet Library archive records created during the COVID years.  

Interesting things are already emerging: bar bills from early Georgian WS Society events; maintenance records giving light onto the still largely unknown first home of the WS Society in Writers Court;  and evidence of early Signet Library donations and acquisitions.  

But perhaps the most exciting is a pair of receipts concerned with the acquisition of the WS Society’s portrait of the writer and donor of the Signet Library’s first book, George Dallas WS of St Martins (1636-1701). For centuries it has been believed that the painting is a copy in oils of an original by the Flemish artist Sir John Medina, who settled in Scotland with his family in 1694. The receipts throw up new information about the picture’s provenance – and raise new questions as to the origins of the original painting. 

2024 CPD - CHARITIES CONFERENCE

Next year’s legal education programme begins with the annual Charities Conference on 14 March 2024. 

The event brings together charity lawyers, charity trustees and charity professionals to explore the latest themes in charity law, governance and policy. Speakers at the conference include Dr John Picton (Charity Law Unit, University of Manchester), Jenny Ebbage (Charity Consultant and Trustee, Halifax Foundation) and Julie Hutchison WS (Charities Specialist, LGT Wealth Management). The conference will be chaired by Gavin McEwan WS (Head of Charities, Turcan Connell). The programme will explore topics such as the motivational drive to legacy through charity and the implications of source of wealth on charity governance, as well as a roundup of legislative and practice matters. 

Save the date and join us for this engaging and popular event. With thanks to conference sponsors, LGT Wealth Management.