At the end of October, Our Paul Keenan recently gave a talk at the Clayton Hotel in Glasgow which was organised by the Glasgow Bar Association. The talk was focussed on the practical changes to the defence approach to section 275 applications in light of Daly and Keir. Counsel charted the development of the precedent pre-Daly and Keir, and then looked at Daly and Keir itself. Counsel also explained the practical consequences of Daly and Keir, and how criminal practioners should now approach sections 274 and 275 now. In addition, Paul spoke about domestic abuse cases with sexual components, and how s274 operates in those circumstances, especially in light of Daly and Keir and specifically looked at section 288C(4) of the 1995 act in that context.

At the beginning of November, our Gillian Simpson was involved in the The Bar Mock Trials. These trials are open to 15 to 18 year olds from non-fee paying schools in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.  Schools initially compete within their own jurisdiction and the winner of each takes part in a cross-border competition held in London.  The competition consists of three mock trials where the students from each school take turns in playing the role of advocate, witness, clerk of court, and macer.  Each school is given the same material which consists of two indictments and associated witness statements and joint minute.  The competition is supported by practicing professionals in each jurisdiction. Gillian provided support by acting as a mentor for a school taking part in the competition.  This means she met with the school, whether virtually or in-person, and helped them understand the purpose of a trial, questioning techniques and aims, and court procedure.  Gillian assists with helping them find their own argument and discusses the strengths and weaknesses of a case; but the heavy lifting and drafting is all them!  The Scottish heat takes place in Glasgow High Court on 14 November 2026 and is often judged by fellow members of faculty.  Said judge marks each performance and the school with the highest mark wins and is off to London!

Also in November and similar to Gillian, our Louis Bendle will be mentoring the pupils of Woodmill High School for the Mock Trial competition which our Rosalyn McTaggart has helped to organise. This will take place on Saturday 14th November at Glasgow High Court. Louis will be going through the two cases with the pupils in advance of the big day to teach them a bit about expert advocacy skills.