We are recruiting a Support Associate to help us deliver administrative and operational aspects across our continuing professional development (CPD) conferences and cultural events.
Please contact Sophie Mills WS with any questions or for an confidential discussion.
Disabling Barriers Scotland (Scottish Charity Number SC050813) are looking for enthusiastic and committed individuals to join their Board of Trustees, including a vital role of Treasurer.
The mission of DBS is to create a culture of belonging within the Scottish legal profession. DBS advocates for the removal of barriers that prevent disabled and neurodivergent people from entering or sustaining a career in the Scottish legal profession. DBS is building a community external to an employer to provide peer support and confidentially share lived experiences.
The charity is welcoming applications from candidates who share DBS’s values and mission of fostering inclusion, advocacy and supporting disabled and neurodivergent legal professionals and students. Notes of interest or questions should be sent to contactus@dbscotland.org.
DBS is a Scottish registered charity SC053043 administered by the Society’s Governance and Charities team.
The Signet Library’s online catalogue https://sign.koha-ptfs.co.uk/ has recently undergone improvements and updates that protect our data and make information about our collections more easily available to members and to researchers. The catalogue is run in conjunction with our longstanding partners Open Fifth (formerly PTFS-EU) and is based on a mature and widely-deployed open source platform, Koha, whose Maori name, meaning “gift”, reflects the software’s New Zealand origins.
When the Signet Library first launched an online computer catalogue in 2000, only the modern legal collections featured, but since 2010 we have been working to move the Library’s nationally-important historical collections there also. Although this is still very much a work in progress, a very significant part of the historic collection is now present. In 2020 this was augmented by a separate online catalogue of the WS Society archive, https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/data/gb1487-ws created in partnership with Jisc, the UK digital, data and technology agency.
The British Library cyberattack of late 2023 has highlighted the vulnerabilities of library data storage and the importance of vigilance. More recently, this concern has been joined by a new pressure, imposed by AI agents whose efforts to data-scrape the country’s institutions has become a predominant challenge to back end teams. The danger here is not so much one of knowledge theft as of server overload, and we are grateful to Open Fifth and Jisc whose efforts have kept our own data online with almost no interruption over this period.
Earlier this year, the Signet Library was awarded a research grant under the Old Edinburgh Club’s Jean Guild scheme to transcribe and conserve our archive of material relating to the former John Watson’s Institution, the Society’s school for orphans in Stockbridge which closed in the 1970s. The bulk of these records are application forms for orphans of both sexes seeking to enter the school in its first years of operation 1820-1850, and we have just posted an update on our progress with them on the Old Edinburgh Club’s website here.
James Hamilton and his team have covered about 160 applications so far, and they’ve been full of surprises, with applications coming from further afield than we’d expected. We’ve also been mapping administrative records, which have shone light on the early difficulties of the school building, designed by the WS Society’s architect William Burn, and at the same time have made the application records easier to interpret and understand. By the end of the autumn we intend to have the first searchable database of this material online for all to use.
We are interested in locating a portrait of the man (pictures below) who did more than anyone to bring the school into being – Vans Hathorn WS – which hung in the school until its closure. If anyone has information about its current whereabouts, we would be very keen to hear from you – please contact the team at library@wssociety.co.uk .
Last month we announced the introduction of a new WS member benefit, breakfast networking. This will be an opportunity for WS members to network with fellow members, in person, at the Signet Library. We plan to schedule these 8 am – 9 am on a weekday morning. We hope to schedule the first meeting for October.
Keep an eye out for further announcements. Contact Membership if you have any questions
Would you be interested in a Mediation Special Interest Group (SIG)?
We are looking at introducing a Mediation SIG to our SIG offering. Before we do, we would like to gauge member interest. Please follow the link the form and let us know your thoughts. Alternatively, email Sarah Leask.
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 its 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.
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.”
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.
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.
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 (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.
Booking is open for 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.
Or email Sarah Leask on sleask@wssociety.co.uk
The guest speaker for the dinner will be announced soon.
We are delighted to announce the introduction of a new WS member benefit.
In September, we will be introducing breakfast networking. This will be an opportunity for WS members to fellow members, in person, at the Signet Library. We plan to schedule these 8.00 am – 9.00 am on a weekday morning.
Watch this space for more information.
Contact Sarah Leask if you have any questions.
‘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.
An exquisite acknowledgement for an exquisite setting! Colonnades at the Signet Library is delighted to announce it has recently featured 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 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.
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.
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.
