From 2015 until the pandemic interrupted in 2020, one of the most active charitable endeavours in the Scottish legal world was the Tumbling Lassie appeal, led by a committee of advocates.

Through events including seminars, Festival appearances, charity balls and musical performances, with coverage in the national press and on radio and TV, the appeal has raised well over £80,000 for charities fighting slavery and people trafficking in Scotland and overseas. How has a little-known case report, more than 330 years old, led to these efforts to combat an ongoing scourge that was supposed to have been dealt with by abolitionism in the nineteenth century? What can we learn about our own legal system and history from it? What are the modern resonances of the case, and how can it inspire us to continue the fight for today’s victims of slavery and trafficking?

Please join us for an evening with Alan McLean KC, chair of the Tumbling Lassie Committee, to hear more about the case, Scotland’s ongoing relationship with slavery, and plans for the Tumbling Lassie Ball, which returns to Prestonfield on Saturday 28 October 2023, and to which all SYLA members are warmly invited (further information on how to secure tickets to the ball will be provided at the event).

Refreshments and nibbles will be provided, together with an opportunity to meet members of Faculty currently serving on the committee and hear how all young lawyers in Scotland can help to support the appeal.