SYLA to hold Scottish Parliament election hustings

The Scottish Young Lawyers' Association has organsed a hustings event ahead of the Scottish Parliament elections in May.

Taking place on Monday 4 April, the open debate meeting will be held at the Roxburghe Hotel, Charlotte Square, Edinburgh, at 6 for 6.30pm.

It is hoped to have candidates from each of the five main parties present. To date, Ben Macpherson (Scottish National Party), Catriona Headley (Scottish Labour Party, and a former SYLA president), and Sheila Mechan (Conservative Party) have confirmed their attendance. All the candidates have an interest in or connection with the legal profession and the wider justice agenda in Scotland.

Following opening speeches, each candidate will have the opportunity to respond to questions from the floor, in a similar format to the SYLA debate prior to the independence referendum in 2014.

In advance of the debate, SYLA are seeking members of the profession to submit questions for the candidates to consider and answer. These should be emailed to events@syla.co.uk by 29 March 2016.

Tickets to this event, which is also supported by Scott + Co, are free in return for a £5 donation to Child Brain Injury Trust. Click here to book a place.

• The SYLA Spring Ball, held earlier this month, raised more than £2,300 for the charity Breast Cancer Now. Lucy Thornton, a solicitor at Digby Brown and one of the organisers of the event, said: “Breast Cancer Now are undertaking an enormous amount of research as they strive to end breast cancer deaths by 2050 and it is crucial we continue to support such vital research. We would like to thank all of our members for donating so generously and we look forward to seeing you all at the ball next year.”