Practice, procedure and progress
£200 + VAT (member) / £250 + VAT (non-member)
We are delighted to be returning to the Hilton Glasgow* for the first in our Scots Law 2025 Conference Series, exclusively available to delegates in person on the day.
Criminal law is rarely out of the headlines and following on from a hectic twelve months, our annual conference, chaired by Neil Hay of Levy & McRae, will take an in depth look at the most important legal developments, as well as considering how you can enhance your practice.
An expert panel of speakers will join Neil, including Gavin Anderson KC from Compass Chambers, Frances McMenamin KC, Laura Buchan from COPFS, Wendy Culross of Optimum Advocates and David McKie from Levy & McRae.
What's being covered?
The Crown: a policy perspective
Law officers’ priorities will be discussed in this session which will also look ahead to new legislation and consider other initiatives, such as the summary case management pilot, Digital Evidence Sharing Capability service (‘DESC’).
Laura Buchan, COPFS
Dealing with hearsay evidence in criminal trials
What hearsay evidence is and why it is generally inadmissible will be discussed, together with how to object to hearsay evidence, The common law and statutory exceptions to the Hearsay Rule will be assessed and guidance will be given on when hearsay can be used in criminal trials.
Neil Hay, Levy & McRae
Balancing the rights of the child against the rights of the accused
Procedures have moved on considerably when dealing with those now defined as a “child” in our criminal courts from the Scottish Law Commission’s “Report on the Evidence of Children and Other Vulnerable Witnesses” in 1990. Bringing this up to date is the Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Act 2024, which embeds the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in our law and places obligations on our courts to consider age appropriate measures to safeguard the welfare and safety of children in criminal proceedings. This talk will consider the balancing exercise which needs to be carried out to ensure that the right to a fair trial is also safeguarded.
Frances McMenamin KC
An introduction to Fatal Accident Inquiries
Gavin Anderson KC will provide an overview of the FAI regime, designed to assist criminal lawyers who may be instructed from time to time in inquiries concerning criminal offences or deaths in custody. The talk will signpost the relevant legislation and consider engagement with the Crown, disclosure and use of information, as well as court procedures.
Gavin Anderson, KC
Is preparation the secret? The organisation and presentation of cases in the current chaos of Scottish criminal law
Criminal law workload is at an unprecedented level; while the numbers of people to engage in it is at an unprecedented low. This talk will look at tools and techniques to order and manage the workload to achieve high quality results.
Wendy Culross, Optimum Advocates
Countryside and wildlife laws: an overview
David McKie will provide an introduction and overview of how the criminal law interacts with the countryside. In particular, his talk will cover the Wildlife and Countryside Act and how that UK statute differs so markedly in Scotland from England; the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act and the extended powers of the Scottish SPCA; and firearms law which is very heavily regulated. For around 20 years, David has been the legal adviser to many major sporting estates (representing both owners and managers) across Scotland, as well as to a number of the representative bodies, including the Scottish Gamekeepers’ Association, Scottish Land and Estates and BASC.
David McKie, Levy & McRae
*A reduced parking rate of £10 per car is available onsite at the hotel. A code will be issued during the conference which can be entered into the pay station when paying before leaving the car park.
