We are delighted to once again celebrate Christmas at the Signet Library with the Choir of St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral. This year's concert will take place on Tuesday 12 December at 6.00 pm. With much loved music from across the centuries and different parts of the world, this concert is a wonderful occasion to entertain family, friends, and colleagues in the run up to the festivities. Put the date in your diary and look out for the booking details which will be circulated soon.
LEGAL EDUCATION
The Society’s annual legal education programme closes with two further legal conferences. The Private Client Conference, in collaboration with STEP Scotland, takes place on 5 October with a focus on trust law reform. Speakers included the Rt Hon Lord Drummond Young and Professor Roddy Paisley. The final event of the year is the popular Sports Law Conference, produced with our partners at Lombardi Associates. At that event we are privileged to be joined by both the Head of Legal at the Football Association, Polly Handford, and the Head of Legal at the British & Irish Lions, Gillian Treasurer. Booking for both events is still open here.
OPENING OF THE LEGAL YEAR
This week Writers to the Signet participated in the traditional services to mark the opening of the legal year. The Lord President introduced the new year with a ceremony in Court 1 at Parliament House on Monday 25 September, followed by a service in St Giles’ Cathedral. The ceremony included speeches from the Lord President, then Ronnie Renucci, Vice Dean of Faculty and Sheila Webster WS, President of the Law Society of Scotland. Lord Carloway welcomed fifteen members of the Faculty of Advocates to the rank and dignity of King’s Counsel. On the previous day, Writers to the Signet took part in the Red Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral in Edinburgh, with colleagues from all branches of the profession, as well as a delegation of lawyers and judges from the USA. Pictured here, left to right, are Ian Laing WS, Kenneth Law WS, the Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, the Most Reverend Leo Cushley JCD, Jamie Kerr WS and Grace McGill WS.
SIGNET 200 EVENTS
Last year, the Society held a series of event to celebrate 200 years of the Signet Library. Videos of these events are now available:
In Conversation with Richard Demarco
With Amanda Catto, Creative Scotland
Signet Library, Edinburgh, 5 August 2022
Identity, Imagination and George IV in Edinburgh, 1822
Chapter 1: Professor Arthur Burns
Chapter 2: Dr Robert Pirrie WS (starts at 15 minutes)
Chapter 3: Q&A (starts at 53 minutes)
Chapter 4: Lord MacKay closing remarks (starts at 66 minutes)
Signet Library, Edinburgh, 1 September 2022
An Evening with The Right Hon. Lord Mackay of Clashfern, KT
Signet Library, Edinburgh 7 September 2022
In Conversation with Professor Thuli Madonsela
Introduced by The Right Hon. Lady Dorrian With Meera Selva, Internews
Mansfield Traquair, Edinburgh, 13 September 2022
WS EXHIBITION: THE ENLIGHTENMENT IN THE COUNTRYSIDE
In December 1936, the Signet Library paid 3/- for a 1758 copy of the Edinburgh Almanac, bound in vellum and small enough to fit a gentleman's pocket. Its blank pages were written out as a meteorological and personal diary by an anonymous author in which people were identified only by their initials.
Extensive research by conservator Jo Hockey has revealed the author as Writer to the Signet James Carmichael of Hailes (1716-1781), the owner of the Easter Hailes estate near Colinton. Marriage to Jennet, the daughter of Sir John Clerk of Penicuik (1676-1755) would tie Carmichael into a brilliant circle that included the geologist James Hutton, the engraver John Clerk of Eldin and, beyond them, most of the great names of the Scottish Enlightenment.
Much has been made of the urban origins of the Scottish Enlightenment, but politics was dominated by the great landowners and their rural familial seats with much of the new thinking of the time orientated to the countryside. James Hutton was one of many eighteenth century figures seeking to "improve" agriculture: he also took an interest in mining practice. John Clerk of Eldin accompanied Hutton and drew for him on his epochal journey through Glen Tilt. Carmichael had the management of the estate at Easter Hailes in his aegis and was interested enough in mining to journey to the Isle of Man in 1758 to visit James Lowther's 'coall works'.
The Upper West Library exhibition for September reflects these interests in the lives and works of Carmichael, his circle and other reforming thinkers and workers of this crucial period. It includes the WS Society’s own record of James Hutton’s WS apprenticeship, examples of eighteenth century mining maps by major cartographers and engravers of the day, an album of John Clerk of Eldin’s artworks and examples from Signet Library collections of the literature of agricultural improvement.
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.
