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.
Booking is now open for the highlight of the legal year, the Society’s Annual Dinner on Friday 14 November in the splendour of the Signet Library. The individual ticket price is £140 (plus VAT) or £1,400 (plus VAT) for a table of 10.
The Right Honourable Lord Hodge, Deputy President of the UK Supreme Court, will be the Society’s guest speaker.
For further information, please contact Sarah Leask.
The WS Sports Law Conference returns on 30 October with an international roster of speakers. With our partners at Lombardi Associates, we are pleased to bring some of the industry’s most experienced and recognised figures to Edinburgh for this popular event in the Society’s education programme.
A highlight of the event will be a session featuring two of the three arbitrators from the high profile ITIA v Jannik Sinner case, providing insights into the reasoned decision in this pivotal anti-doping decision. The conference is a must-attend for legal professionals, academics, and stakeholders passionate about the legal integrity of sport.
Among others, we will hear from Gillian Treasurer, Director of Legal & Governance, British & Irish Lions, fresh from a successful tour to Australia, as well as Angela McCracken, Head of Legal for the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth games about the work that goes into such a large event. Attendees will also hear from both the legal and operational teams at Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club, widely acclaimed as one of football’s best run organisations.
We are delighted to welcome Street Soccer Scotland back as the conference’s charity partner and pleased that we will be joined by COO Gerry Britton on the day to talk about the work this brilliant charity does. Street Soccer Scotland uses football as a vehicle to help people experiencing mental health issues, helping them to engage in sport and exercise to create positive habits and assisting them in accessing support services. Street Soccer Scotland are also the official team partner of Team Scotland, winners of the Homeless World Cup on two occasions, in 2007 and 2011.
It is also a pleasure to have the support of our Media Partner, LawInSport. The go to industry resource, attendees will have the opportunity to hear from Founder & CEO, Sean Cottrell, about the year so far and what to look out for in 2026.
SPEAKERS:
Ian Laing WS, Lombardi Associates (Conference Chair)
Paolo Lombardi, Lombardi Associates
Sean Cottrell, Law in Sport
Lloyd Thomas, Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club
Finlay Stark, Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club
Gerry Britton, Street Soccer Scotland
Dr David Sharpe KC, 12KBW
Tammi Gaw, Advantage Rule LLC
Craig Joiner, LGT Wealth Management
John Colquhoun, Sports Entrepreneur & Football Consultant
Patrick Kelly, Trainee Solicitor, Shepherd + Wedderburn
Gill Treasurer, The British and Irish Lions
Angela McCracken, Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games
TOPICS:
Reflections on a career in sports law.
Successfully building a legal team inside a football club.
Street Soccer Scotland
ITIA v Jannik Sinner – reflections on anti-doping matters
Athletes off the field
Lions on Tour
DELEGATE RATES:
Writers to the Signet: £270+ VAT
Standard rate: £300+ VAT
Law student/trainee solicitor: £160+ VAT
Make sure your organisation is represented by reserving a place now.
With thanks to our sponsors:
The PNLA and WS Society joint conference on Professional Negligence Law is designed to address the latest issues for professional negligence litigators in Scotland.
A popular fixture in the WS Society’s education programme, the WS Employment Law Conference is back at the Signet Library on 22 October 2025. The conference agenda provides an update across both fundamental and emerging issues in employment law, for practitioners at all stages of their career path. The conference will be chaired by Innes Clark WS.
Speakers
Innes Clark WS, Morton Fraser MacRoberts (Conference Chairman)
Darren Newman, Darren Newman Employment Law
Jen Skeoch WS, Burness Paull
Sarah Gilzean, Morton Fraser MacRoberts
Stephen Miller WS, Clyde & Co
Sessions
Employment Law Roundup 2025
Employment Rights Bill
Investigating allegations of a toxic workplace
Case law review
Full programme to be released shortly.
Delegate Rates
Writer to the Signet: £140 plus VAT
Standard rate: £170 plus VAT
Student/Trainee solicitor: £100 plus VAT
All rates include lunch and refreshments at the Signet Library
Further information
CPD/TCPD: 3 hours (Law Society of Scotland)
The conference will be held in the Upper Library which is only accessible by stairs.
If you have any questions, please contact Sophie Mills WS.
Join us on 9 October for the WS annual joint conference with STEP for private client lawyers. The conference will be chaired by Susie Tweedie, Shepherd + Wedderburn.
This year the WS Society & STEP Scotland are excited to bring you another conference, looking at some of the key developments across the private client sector. This essential event will explore crucial and evolving areas impacting your clients, from navigating complex estate matters and tax challenges to understanding the implications of recent legislative changes and landmark court decisions. Join us to gain valuable insights, practical strategies, and connect with peers to enhance your expertise and better serve your clients in today's dynamic legal landscape.
Speakers
Susie Tweedie, Shepherd & Wedderburn (Conference Chair).
Roddy Macleod, Terra Firma Chambers.
Joseph Slane, Turcan Connell
Alexa Payet, Michelmores
Karin Shanks, PwC
Ben Roseff, PwC
John Martin, Fraser & Fraser
Morna Grandison, Law Society of Scotland
Fergus Colquhoun, Terra Firma Chambers
Sessions
Assisted Dying Panel, Discussion to include forfeiture issues
Tax Disputes
International probate
Judicial Factors (Scotland) Act 2025
Key cases from 2024 - 2025
Delegate Rates
Writer to the Signet/STEP members: £140 plus VAT
Standard rate: £170 plus VAT
Student/Trainee solicitor: £100 plus VAT
All rates include lunch and refreshments at the Signet Library
Further information
CPD/TCPD: 3 hours (Law Society of Scotland)
The conference will be held in the Upper Library which is only accessible by stairs.
If you have any questions, please contact Sophie Mills WS.
The event is kindly sponsored by Fraser & Fraser.
The ALA and the WS Society present their 28th Joint Annual Conference on Agriculture, which will be held at the Signet Library on Friday 6 June 2025.
Speakers and topics
Heather Bruce, Turcan Connell – Conference Chair.
Michael Upton, Advocate – Case Update.
Margi Campbell, Saffery – IHT and Farming Businesses.
Kirsten Mitchell, Savills – The Cost of Farming: Subsidy and the other Valuation Conundrums.
Panel – A Vibrant Tenanted Sector? Considerations Past, Present and Future Through the Tenant's Lens and Through the Landlord's Lens.
Alexandra Lane, Shepherd + Wedderburn
Christopher Nicholson, Scottish Tenant Farmers Association
Grierson Dunlop, Turcan Connell
Jackie McCreery, Scottish Land & Estates
Rob Black, Tenant Farming Commissioner – Tenant Farming Commissioner's Update.
Catherine Bury, Stewart and Watson – The Accidental Agricultural Lease.
Tom Turnbull, Association of Deer Management Groups – Managing Game in the Legislative Landscape.
Rates
The event is open to all, with a preferential rate for ALA members and Writers to the Signet.
ALA members/Writers to the Signet: £190 plus VAT
Standard rate: £230 plus VAT
Student: Free
All rates include a sit down lunch and refreshments at the Signet Library.
Deadline for bookings is 5.00 pm on Thursday 22 May 2025.
Further information
Registration open at 9 am for a 9.30 am start.
CPD/TCPD: 5.5 hours (Law Society of Scotland)
The conference will be held in the Upper Library which is only accessible via steps.
If you have any questions, please contact Mike Holland MRICS, Secretary & Adviser, Agricultural Law Association or Sophie Mills WS at the WS Society.
THE TREASURES OF HAMILTON PALACE
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.
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. 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.
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.
The WS Society (charity SC050987) in association with the Virtual Hamilton Palace Trust (charity SC034592).
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).
Speakers:
Gavin McEwan WS, conference chair
Lorraine Davidson, Scottish Council for Independent Schools
Charles Willis, OSCR
Valerie Armstrong-Surgenor, Morton Fraser MacRoberts
Keith Macpherson, Henderson Loggie
Gair Brisbane, LGT Wealth Management
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.
Delegate rates:
Writer to the Signet: £120 plus VAT
Standard rate: £150 plus VAT
Student/Trainee solicitor: £80 plus VAT
All rates include lunch and refreshments at the Signet Library
CPD: 3 hours (Law Society of Scotland).
For more information, please contact Sophie Mills at smills@wssociety.co.uk, 0131 220 3249.
Dr Robert Pirrie WS dissects the serial distortions of Scotland's past created or perpetuated by the Victorian era's most influential historian.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Annual Sports Law Conference in partnership with Lombardi Associates brings some of the industry’s most experienced and recognised figures to Edinburgh for this popular event.
Join us on 3 October for the WS annual joint conference with STEP for private client lawyers. The conference will be chaired by Susie Tweedie. Speakers will include Oliver Marr.
The PNLA and WS Society joint conference on Professional Negligence Law is designed to address the latest issues for professional negligence litigators in Scotland.
The ALA and the WS Society present their 27th Joint Annual Conference on Agriculture, which will be held at the Signet Library on Friday 7 June 2024.
SPEAKERS AND TOPICS:
Heather Bruce, Turcan Connell - Conference Chair
Michael Upton, Advocate - Case Update
Anna Gardiner and Jackie McCreery, Scottish Land & Estates - Housing Reforms and Agricultural Properties
Dr Bob McIntosh, The Tenant Farming Commissioner - Tenant Farming Commissioner’s Update
Margi Campbell, Saffery - Tax and Agricultural Land: An Update
Emma Robertson, Shepherd + Wedderburn and Tom Oates, Oates Rural - Resumption and Relinquishment: Risks or Rewards?
Andrew Linehan, Murray Beith Murray - Agricultural Arbitrations in 2024: How, When and Why?
Tim Macdonald, Anderson Strathern - Time Limits and Deadlines under the Agricultural Holdings Legislation
Andy Macdonald, Savills - Scottish Agricultural Support Systems – You’re Either Winning or You’re Learning
6 hours CPD
Deadline for booking is 5pm on Friday, 24 May 2024
The full conference time table is available here:
Rates
The event is open to all, with a preferential rate for ALA members and Writers to the Signet.
ALA members/Writers to the Signet: £228 (incl VAT)
Standard rate: £276 (incl VAT)
For further information please contact Mike Holland MRICS, Secretary & Adviser, Agricultural Law Association: mike.holland@ala.org.uk
The annual WS Personal Injury Law Conference is a dedicated legal and technical update for Scottish PI practitioners.
The WS Society’s annual IP Conference offers a varied and lively technical update in IP law, policy and regulation.
The Society’s legal education programme begins on 14 March 2024 with the popular Charities Conference.
Join us to celebrate Christmas at the Signet Library with the Choir of St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral.
The inaugural dinner for Lady Elish Angiolini LT will take place on 10 November 2023.
With our partners at Lombardi Associates, we are delighted to bring exceptional speakers to this year`s Sports Law Conference on 13 October.
Join us on 5 October for the WS annual joint conference for private client lawyers which will focus on trust law reform as the Trust and Succession (Scotland) Bill moves through Parliamentary process.
The popular WS Employment Law returns on 28 September with a comprehensive update on both established and emerging issues in employment law for practitioners at every stage of the career path.
New for 2023, the PNLA and WS Society have partnered to produce a joint conference on Professional Negligence Law, designed to address the latest issues for professional negligence litigators in Scotland.
Join us on 12 September 2023 for the part of the WS Society’s programme of events centred on fundamental human rights and the law, we are proud to launch the inaugural Abuse Law Symposium.
Join us on 7 September for the WS CDR conference which is the leading update for solicitors involved in commercial litigation in Scotland, and a flagship event in the WS Society’s education programme.
The US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate will address an audience at the Signet Library, and a worldwide audience online, on the climate crisis.
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 featuring David’s images of the statues of Père Lachaise cemetery, unseen to date, as a collective body of work entitled ‘THEREAFTER’.