Lawyers for Children Certification Course
The first session on 13 March is in-person only at:
Brodies LLP Edinburgh Office,
58 Morrison Street
Edinburgh,
EH3 8BP
The remaining sessions are all online
You'll have the option to attend this CPD training in person
Join this CPD training online at the specified time
15 hours verifiable CPD
This course is designed for all solicitors interested in developing a child-centred practice, no matter their legal practice area, and is suitable for all levels of expertise. This course will support solicitors who are interested in understanding the practical implications of the UNCRC incorporation into Scots’ Law, as more children will seek to claim their rights.
Clan Childlaw have developed expertise in this area since 2008, and this course will share their learning with the wider legal community. Children and young people need the lawyers they work with to do things differently. They need us to use our legal skills to make sure that children and young people are always kept at the heart of every decision made about them.
Clan Childlaw’s vision is for Scotland’s children to have access to lawyers that are experts in working with children, as well as experts in the different areas of law that affect their lives.
In taking this course, you will learn how you can become a part of the lawyers for children movement with practical tools and strategies to develop your own child-centred legal practice. On completion, you will also receive a year’s free access to Clan Childlaw’s Lawyers for Children membership. By joining Lawyers for Children, you can access a whole host of exclusive resources that enable you to feel confident representing children, ensuring their rights are respected.
Completing this course will help you to:
- Understand why children need lawyers and specialised legal representation
- Gain knowledge of the framework of children’s rights in international and domestic law and how the UNCRC has impacted this in Scotland
- Learn to recognise the impact of trauma and child development and how this influences your practice when representing children
- Learn effective strategies for adapting your communication style when representing children
- Learn how to develop your own child-centred practice
1. Sign up for the certified course Lawyers for Children
2. Attend five live online seminars facilitated by Clan Childlaw (10 hours verifiable CPD)
3. Complete the assignment
4. Certification as a Lawyer for Children, with use of our marque alongside obtaining a certificate
Speakers
Live Seminar Dates
Date |
Location |
Seminar |
|---|---|---|
Thursday 13 March 2025 - 10am to 3.30pm |
In-person: Brodies LLP, Edinburgh |
Lawyers for Children & Children’s Rights and the UNCRC |
Thursday 20 March 2025 - 10am to 12noon |
Online |
Trauma and Child Development |
Thursday 27 March 2025 - 10am to 12noon |
Online |
Communicating with Children |
Thursday 3 April 2025 - 10am to 12noon |
Online |
Practical Tools for Child-Centred Practice |
Course components
Please note these sessions are in-person:
Session one: Led by Alison Reid.
- Background of the lawyers for children movement
- Why children need lawyers
- Balancing a child’s voice with their best interests
Session two: Led by Katy Nisbet.
- Development of children’s rights over time
- The UNCRC framework and its implementation in Scotland
- Core principles of children’s rights
- Rights in the family
- Extra protections for looked after children
- Understanding childhood trauma
- How trauma impacts the developing brain
- Attachment – the foundation of connection
- Trauma informed – in practice
- Connecting and communicating with children
- Repairing ruptures and empathetic boundaries
- Practical strategies to help us communicate
Led by Vicki Straiton.
- Balancing professional obligations and child-centred practice
- Capacity to instruct
- Navigating legal aid for a child client
- Child Protection
The assignment for this certification course is a personal reflective piece, designed to help you engage deeply with the material and apply it to your own experiences. Details of the assignment will be provided during the course.
What participants have said about this certification course
An excellent course for any lawyer interested in working with children and trauma-informed practice.
Please note there are just 20 spaces on the course.
If you’re not a member, please contact our CPD team to book: CPD@lawscot.org.uk