AGM & NEW COUNCIL MEMBERS

The Trustees’ Report and Group Consolidated Financial Statements for 2024 were approved by members at the AGM on 24 June. The accounts can be read here.

Jim Cormack KC WS oversaw proceedings — his first AGM since his appointment as Deputy Keeper of the Signet — and commended the Society on achieving a modest surplus. Jim celebrated the Society’s key highlights over the year, including it’s excellent CPD programme, new Heritage Portal, development of students and junior lawyers, stream of new members and number of high profile events. Pulling a quote from a recent member Spotlight, Jim repeated a few sentences which eloquently summarised his own thoughts on membership:

Being a WS has contributed immeasurably to my development – both in terms of the professional opportunities it has generated and from a personal perspective. I feel really strongly that the WS Society provides a platform for lawyers to engage with each other and share insight in a unique way. We all leave our “day jobs” at the door and the focus is always on sharing knowledge and experience, helping each other to develop our skills and grow our networks, and honouring the integrity of our profession.

Jim thanked all members, Council, Trustees and Executive staff for their engagement, support and hard work throughout the year.

With particular thanks from everyone at the Society, Council members retiring at the AGM last week were Stuart Clubb WS, Shoosmiths; Lynsey Kerr WS, Lindsays; Richard Murray WS, Connell & Connell WS; and Chris McGill WS, Shepherd + Wedderburn.

Council serves as a representative body of WS members who are ambassadors for the Society, keeping in touch with the Society’s activities throughout the year, and meeting three times annually as a group for the Trustees to inform and consult on strategy and activities.

New Council members elected at the AGM are: Alan MacMillan WS, Burness Paull; Donna Reynolds WS, Blackadders; Katrina Lumsdaine WS, Anderson Strathern; Kelly Hardman WS, Fragomen; and Zoe Hamilton WS, Lloyds Banking. Signet Post will profile the new Council members next month.

SUPPORTING STUDENTS

The Society was delighted to host 10 students from The University of Edinburgh as part of the University’s Insights Programme. The Insights Programme helps Widening Participation students develop the confidence, skills and connections to consider a range of careers through introductions to Edinburgh alumni working in an exciting range of sectors and environments.

This visit was hosted together with Edinburgh University alumnus Stewart Gordon (Managing Associate at Addleshaw Goddard). The students sat down with Stewart and Sophie Mills WS (Principal Solicitor at The WS Society) to discuss navigating life as a first generation student and their careers.

James Hamilton showed the students a selection from the Signet Library’s texts and objects chosen to tie in with the group’s own academic interests and to reflect the range of the collections. These included William Playfair’s groundbreaking 1785 Commercial and Political Atlas (the first modern work of data visualisation and still considered a model today), newspapers printed in Edinburgh during the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion, a death mask of Sir Walter Scott cast by Writer to the Signet and education reformer George Combe (the inventor of phrenology), the indictment of William “Deacon” Brodie from his capital trial of 1788, and a set of John Lizars’ beautiful anatomical plates of 1856. Also on show were artworks depicting the library at different stages in its development.

Stewart commented “What an incredible programme to be involved in - you were all very engaging and asking lots of questions. It was a privilege to talk about my career journey and hear from Sophie Mills WS on hers. Hopefully you will takeaway from it that no matter the challenges you face in your careers, they can be overcome.”

A participant of the programme provided feedback “… It was a great learning experience for us. Understanding the formality of work, while keeping one's personality intact is a great challenge and you all showed us how to be professional and humble at the workplace.”

On the other side of the pond, Stephen Cullen WS also hosted a group of students. Stephen commented that he had the “… huge pleasure of spending the morning at Miles & Stockbridge DC office with the US cohort of Insight students. What an amazing group. America can learn a lot from them.”

VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT — DR KIT BASTON

Dr Kit Batson

Dr Kit Baston is one of the WS Society’s dedicated volunteers. This month, we spoke to Kit about her long association with the Signet Library and recent projects. Dr. Kit Baston is the author of Charles Areskine’s Library: Scottish Lawyers and Their Books at the Dawn of the Enlightenment (Leiden: Brill, 2016) as well as many other chapters and articles on the subject of the history of the book in Scotland.

SUMMER SCHOLARS

Today our first group of Summer Scholars began their two week programme at the Signet Library. Maria Taciuk-Cabrolier (University of Edinburgh), Struan Macdonald (University of Dundee) and Charles Phillips (University of Edinburgh) will be researching the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill and preparing a CPD presentation for lawyers working in this field. The Summer Scholars will be working alongside Sophie Mills WS and the Governance and Charities team and James Hamilton and the library team, as well as meeting members of the Society.

The Society’s Summer Scholars Programme is a competitive and well-established summer scheme for Scots law LLB and DipLP students. We look forward to working with our nine 2025 Summer Scholars!

If any Members would like to meet this year’s Summer Scholars to share insights into their careers, please contact Sophie Mills WS.

SIG ROUND UP

 
 

Charities and Third Sector SIG will meet on Thursday 24 July, 12.30 - 13.30 pm. They will be joined by Mark Wilson, co-founder of TrusteeConnect, to discuss 'Trustee Recruitment and Induction'. If you would like to join, please register for the Zoom meeting, here.

Our Student SIG will meet on Wednesday 30 July, 17.30 - 18.30 pm. The students will be joined by WS Member speaker: Neil Hay, Solicitor-Advocate to discuss career development. The Student SIG is open to all WS Society Student members. Register for Zoom meeting, here. If any Affiliate members are keen to join the Zoom for career development, you are welcome.

Last week our AI SIG and Book Club met and future dates will be confirmed shortly, along with dates for the History SIG and Art SIG. 

Check the Special Interest Groups page for updates and register your note of interest by emailing membership@wssociety.co.uk.

Information is also updated here.  

CRAIGCROOK MORTIFICATION

Craigcrook Mortification (SC001648) is an ancient charity founded in 1719 and currently governed by the Craigrook Mortification Act 1897. The charity was established by the deed of mortification of John Strachan of Craigcrook, Writer to the Signet. Craigcrook provides a yearly grant of £1,230 to men and women over the age of 60 who were born in Scotland or have resided in Scotland for not less than 10 years who appear to be in poor circumstances. John Strachan WS’s deed of mortification specifies that the charity is to be governed by two Writers to the Signet, two members of the Faculty of Advocates and nominees of the Presbytery of Edinburgh.

The Trustees meet twice per year in May and November and oversee management of the charity’s investment portfolio and land in the Craigcrook area of Edinburgh, as well as the grant administration. The WS Society’s Governance and Charities team carries out the day-to-day administration of the charity.

Craigcrook is seeking a Writer to the Signet to join the Board of Trustees. Please contact Sophie Mills WS with notes of interest or questions.

EDINBURGH 900 EXHIBITION

‘The Signet Library, Edinburgh’ by Patrick William Adam (1854-1929), painted in 1910 is included in an online exhibition celebrating 900 years of Edinburgh.

Patrick Adam painted the Signet Library at least six times in the Edwardian and Great War period and his works form a unique record both of the library’s decorative scheme (designed by Sir Robert Rowand Anderson) of the time and of the building’s life and use.

The exhibition ‘Edinburgh: A City of Contrasts and Continuity: An Exhibition to Celebrate Edinburgh900’ was curated by Martin Olu-Osagie and can be viewed below.

COLONNADES

An exquisite acknowledgement for an exquisite setting! Colonnades at the Signet Library is delighted to announce its recent features in the esteemed pages of Condé Nast Traveller and BBC Good Food. We invite you to savour the unique ambiance and culinary excellence that has garnered such distinguished attention. It's a true testament to the team's dedication to providing an unforgettable experience amidst the stunning surroundings of the Signet Library.

Members are entitled to a 15% discount when dining in Colonnades.

HAMILTON PALACE TALK BY DR GODFREY EVANS

Hamilton Palace in South Lanarkshire was once one of the premier country houses in the British Isles. This month Dr Godfrey Evans (Principal Curator of European Decorative Arts at National Museums Scotland) gave a fascinating talk, explaining and illustrating how the Dukes of Hamilton enlarged the palace and amassed their great collections of outstanding works of art, furniture, and furnishings.

Dr Evans was introduced by Dr Robert Pirrie WS, Chief Executive of The WS Society and trustee of the Virtual Hamilton Palace Trust.

We were joined on the evening by His Grace, The Duke of Hamilton, trustees of the Virtual Hamilton Palace Trust and members of the public. Thank you to all who attended.

TROTTER SOFAS RETURNED

Last week saw the return of the three Signet Library William Trotter sofas after restoration and reupholstering. The sofas date from the early 1820s and form part of a complete set of pieces acquired to furnish the Upper Hall. William Trotter was one of the greatest cabinet-makers in Scottish history – a Scottish Chippendale, whose work is prized and collected, and sets of this kind are few and far between (the Signet Library’s set is the most famous surviving Trotter commission alongside that of Paxton House). His workshops on a site now occupied by Waverley Station and the North British Hotel. Not long after the completion of the Signet Library set, Trotter served two years as Lord Provost.

The sofas were last reupholstered in the early 1960s as part of the then-new colour scheme and carpeting, and during the restoration evidence of this work and earlier reupholstering and repairs has been gathered and will be kept as documentation of the sofas long career. In their original form, they were upholstered in a pale blue silk which would usually have been obscured by a cloth cover as seen in their depiction by Thomas Shepherd in his famous 1829 engraving. For most of their lives, however, the sofas have been upholstered in leather in a variety of shades, including oxblood, the 1960s green, and the new shade.

The presence of sofas – let alone sofas large enough to accommodate five people – in a library might surprise some, but it reflects the different tradition of a Scottish lawyers’ library which were intended as places for sociability and society as well as learning and study, more comparable with the Long Library at Blenheim Palace in use and intent than academic or clerical foundations like Chetham’s Library in Manchester or the Chained Library at Hereford. 

LORD HIGH COMMISSIONER RECEPTION

On Monday 19 May, the Society hosted a special Reception for Her Grace The Right Hon. Lady Elish Angiolini LT KC, Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, and her official entourage. Jim Cormack KC WS, Deputy Keeper of the Signet, gave an address praising Lady Angiolini for her outstanding career and her many ‘firsts’ in the legal profession and beyond.

The theme of the event was ‘Law and History’ both of which are core to the life of the WS Society. We were honoured to host faith representatives, prison chaplains, law school faculty, historians, and museum curators. Among the guests were Fellow of the Society, Sir Alexander McCall Smith and Lady McCall Smith, Sheriff Principal Nigel Ross, and Lord Advocate The Right Hon. Dorothy Bain KC.

Please find photos of the evening here.

DIET OF ADMISSION

On Friday 16 May, the Society welcomed over 30 new members of different categories. 17 members attended in person along with their families and friends, at our Diet of Admission.

Deputy Keeper of the Signet, Jim Cormack KC WS conducted the ceremony. Jim commented “It was a joy to admit such a fantastic group of new members and to celebrate with them and their families and friends.”

Our new members also had the opportunity to take part in a tour of the Signet Library with Principal Researcher, James Hamilton.
 
We would like to say a warm welcome to all our new members.

Click here for photos of the evening.

WS SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS

 
 

Charities and Third Sector SIG hosted their ‘The view of the CEO - common charity board challenges' meeting this week. They were joined by guest speaker, Lucinda Godfrey, Chief Executive of ACOSVO. In July they will be joined by Mark Wilson, co-founder of TrusteeConnect, to discuss 'Trustee Recruitment and Induction'. If you would like to join, please register for the Zoom meeting, here.

This weekend, the Art SIG will meet at the Glasgow Art Club. Keep an eye on our Special Interest Groups page for updates on future meetings.

Next week, our Student SIG, have their inaugural meeting on Tuesday 3 June, at 16:30. The Student SIG is open to all WS Society Student members. Please register for the Zoom meeting, here.

The AI SIG will meet on Wednesday 25 June, 12:30 - 13:30, for their second meeting. You can register for the Zoom meeting, here.

Future Book Club and History dates will be confirmed over the next few weeks, check Special Interest Groups page for updates and register your note of interest by emailing membership@wssociety.co.uk.

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Latasha Kirimbai Aff WS

Meet Latasha Kirimbai AffWS, a Junior Associate at Ashurst in the Digital Economy team and an affiliate member of the WS Society. From debating as a child to navigating the fast-paced tech law world, Latasha shares insights into a dynamic typical week and the value of the WS Society for professional growth and community in the Scottish legal sector.

A TOAST TO THE WS SOCIETY

The Annual Dinner of The Edinburgh Walter Scott Club held on 1 May 2025 offered a toast celebrating Walter Scott's legal roots as the son of a Writer to the Signet, tracing how his legal background informed and enriched his literary career. On the evening Dr Robert Pirrie WS was invited to respond and did so with a personal reflection on his journey from corporate lawyer to historian, revealing how his appreciation for Scott deepened after taking his role as Chief Executive of the Society.

The full speeches can be read here.