Faculty says thank you for services in 2014

A seasonal thank you has been offered by the Faculty of Advocates to its members and staff who have performed good deeds over the past year to help individuals or charities in the wider community.

First to be recognised is the Free Legal Services Unit, which provides advice and representation to those who otherwise would have been denied access to justice.

Member successes while acting through the FLSU include Julie McKinlay, who won £11,339 for a husband and wife in an unfair dismissal claim, Tim Young, who obtained an award for a woman who had not been paid the minimum wage, Janys Scott QC, who secured an additional £41,000 in a wife's appeal in a divorce case, Russell Bradley, who secured £2,000 compensation for a disabled couple and an acknowledgment that they had been wrongly refused entry to a nightclub, Dorothy Bain QC, who managed to reinstate a woman's unfair dismissal claim that had been dismissed, and Martin Crawford, who helped a tenant withstand an appeal by a landlord who had been ordered to pay him £1,005.

Links between the FLSU and the charity Avocats Sans Frontieres also led to John Hamilton QC visiting Uganda to help train local lawyers.

Two members of Faculty, Mungo Bovey QC and Paul Davies, were part of a pro bono legal service for athletes and coaches at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, while Margaret Barron became a "Clydesider" volunteer at the Games.

The Faculty held MiniTrials in Ayr and Edinburgh to help school pupils to learn about the justice system; and on Doors Open Day, a total of 273 visitors were given tours of the Advocates Library, the Law Room and the Laigh Hall.

In charity events, Peter Gray QC raised more than £3,000 running the London Marathon in aid of Young Epilepsy; and Cheryl Stevens, assistant practice manager, took part in the Edinburgh Moonwalk and made £1,250 in aid of breast cancer charity; and Edith Forrest raised £845 for Alzheimer's Society by completing the Tough Mudder 12-mile obstacle course. Deputy clerk Kiera Johnston managed the 10k Edinburgh Road Block Race and made £675 for Chest, Heart & Stroke Scotland.

The Faculty choir's Christmas Concert added to the tens of thousands of pounds it has raised over many years for Edinburgh City Mission, a charity for the homeless. Other cultural events included Anna Poole QC, writing and performing in "Robert Louis Stevenson: The Story of His Life in Word and Song", staged in the Laigh Hall with proceeds going to the Abbotsford Trust. The event also featured Alexander McCall Smith, James Mure QC, and a cameo appearance by Lord Carloway, while the visuals were by Jane Condie.

A cake bake arranged by the HR department raised £288 for respite centre Leuchie House, East Lothian; Ampersand stable held a lunch and fashion show which raised £15,000 for Wellbeing of Women; and Compass Chambers took donations at conferences and made more than £2,000 for Wobbly Williams/Funding Neuro.

Members of Faculty were generous in their support of Friends of Petra School, a charity chaired by Janys Scott QC, which aims to advance the education of children and young adults from Zimbabwe and other developing countries, in particular the pupils and former pupils of Petra School in Bulawayo.

Morag Jack served on the board of the Scottish Child Law Centre, and Julian Aitken is currently a board member.

Jacob Cohen, of Clerk Support, spent lunchtimes helping the homeless around Edinburgh city centre and handing out food which he had bought for them.