Scottish barrister Baroness Kennedy to open Law Society conference

Baroness Helena Kennedy will speak at the capital event. Picture: Chris McAndrew/UK Parliament

The Law Society of Scotland’s 70th anniversary conference, held at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre tomorrow, will see Kennedy discuss law and politics in an age of disruption.

The Glasgow-born barrister and Labour peer has been involved in prominent cases including the Brighton Bombing trial and the Guildford Four appeal.

Other speakers will include Karyn McCluskey, chief executive of Community Justice Scotland, a national body for reducing reoffending; keynote speaker Bjarne Tellmann, who will draw on more than 20 years of leading global organisations; and Jacqueline MacLennan, an EU and human rights lawyer who also leads White & Case LLP’s global pro bono practice.

John Mulholland, president of the Law Society. Picture: Jamie Williamson

Law Society of Scotland chief Lorna Jack will be joined by counterparts from England and Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to examine how to enshrine equality in the legal sector in all four jurisdictions.

The conference, which features more than 60 speakers and panellists from the legal, academic and business worlds, will also look at whether the UK should develop a written constitution.

John Mulholland, president of the Law Society, said: “The conference celebrates what it means to be a Scottish solicitor in the 21st century.

“The legal profession has developed in ways that could never have been foreseen 70 years ago and, despite the myriad challenges we face, from the current uncertainty over Brexit to the constant pace of change within the legal sector, we have a strong, collegiate profession which continues to innovate and thrive.”