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Advocates mark International Women’s day with special photos

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Some of the finest legal minds in Scotland have gathered for special photographs to commemorate International Women’s Day 2017.In the first image, a group of members of the Faculty of Advocates – practising counsel and others now serving as Court of Session and High Court judges – was captured in Parliament Hall, Edinburgh.The hall houses portraits of many eminent legal figures, including Dame Margaret Kidd QC, the first female member of Faculty (1923) and the first woman in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth to take silk (1948), and Lady Cosgrove, the first woman to be appointed a Senator of the College of Justice (1996).

Lady Dorrian, the Lord Justice Clerk, is the woman who has attained the highest position in the Scottish legal system.

She said: “In 1901, the Court of Session ruled that women were not ‘persons’ for the purposes of the Law Agents Act 1873, and thus could not be admitted to the practice of law.

“This year’s theme of International Women’s Day is Women in the changing world of work. To reflect the massive changes which have occurred for women in Scotland in the world of work over the last century, it seems very fitting to mark IWD with photographs of what is in fact only a small number of the women who currently practise in Scotland, in all branches of the legal profession and at all levels.”

The Parliament Hall photograph was taken by Victoria Young, Advocate, who took a second image of other members of Faculty outside the High Court in Glasgow:

Frances McMenamin QC, is the Scottish bar’s senior woman, having practised since 1985.She said: “There are some of us still in practice today, on the bench and at the bar, who remember only too well the difficulties faced by women in the workplace, including in the legal profession, simply by reason of their gender.“Those days are long since gone, particularly in the law and even more particularly in the Faculty of Advocates, thanks to the many inspirational women whose abilities, drive and commitment paved the way for the rest of us to be able to enjoy fulfilling and rewarding careers of our choice.”

Gordon Jackson QC, Dean of Faculty, said: “The idea of a Scottish legal system without women playing a vital part, as happened in the past, is now unthinkable. I look forward to the number of women continuing to rise in the years ahead, both within the Faculty and in the wider profession.”

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