For the last few years a group of leading Advocates have organised Conferences at various locations in Scotland on topical areas of Banking Law.  They proceed under the banner of “Trouble at Bank“.  Invariably a complete sellout, these events have greatly contributed to the National dialog on Banking woes.

The latest, Trouble at Bank – the Sequel, breaks new ground by focusing on the increasingly concerning legal problems currently unfolding in the retail banking sector.  Many observers now consider these may have an even greater impact than the 2008 Banking Crisis itself.

What is special about this event is that Jeremy Rose who chairs Bully-Banks, an organisation whose 2,000 members claim to have been mis-sold financial products is coming to Edinburgh to join in discussions with well known members of the legal profession about the extent of the problem.  Also, new lending sources such as Peer-to-Peer Lending which may ultimately come to dominate Corporate Finance in the UK are described and discussed by Asset Match, one of the best known operators in the sector.  Asset Match operate a transparent facility which enables regulated interaction to take place between buyers and sellers of unlisted securities at reasonable cost.

This conference covers key areas of immediate concern to the commercial world in Scotland.  The well known legal figures taking part are Iain G Mitchell QC, Michael Howlin QC and Richard Aird Advocate, all who have had a long involvement in this area.  The topics include:

  • Interest rate miss selling
  • Banks misrepresenting their lending intentions
  • New angles to defending actions brought by Banks
  • Defences to Personal Guarantees

Trouble at Bank – The Sequel is being held on Thursday 19th November 2015 from 2.00pm at the Faculty of Advocates Conference centre, The Mackenzie Building, 172 High Street, Edinburgh.  Admission is Free and CPD accredited.  The past events have booked out quickly.  For further details contact Angela Bath at angela.bath@advocates.org.uk or 0141 553 4892.

APRIL 25th 2015 – CPD (5 Hours) Seminar on different aspects of criminal court practice – various speakers from the Stable – Dundee

MAY 14th 2015 – CPD (2 Hours) Seminar – Forensic expert Julian Dunnill of Keith Borer – “Cannabis cultivation – it’s all gone to pot” (1 Hour) followed by Donald Findlay, QC – “Challenges in Forensic Medicine and Science – My Perspective” (1 hour)

JUNE 4th 2015 – CPD (2 Hours) Dr Rhonda Wheate of The Forensic Institute – “The Expert, The Jury, and The Trial: What do we know?”

JUNE 19th 2015 – Mackinnon Advocates Summer Reception – The Slug and Lettuce

SEPTEMBER 3rd 2015 – CPD (2 Hours) Seminar – DNA Legal – “Legal Highs & Designers Drug Testing for Family Courts”

OCTOBER 22nd 2015 – CPD (2 Hours) Seminar sponsored by Mackinnon Advocates for the SYLA.  Speakers are Niall McCluskey, Julian Aitken, Owen Mullan & Wendy Hay.

NOVEMBER 19th 2015 – CPD (2 Hours) Seminar – Principal Forensic Services – “The Integrity of Scientific Evidence: Contamination in the Forensic Process” – Mike Barber, “Interpreting DNA Evidence: How did the DNA get there?” – Jonathan Whitaker, “An Introduction to Blood Patter Analysis” – Gillian Leak

NOVEMBER 19th 2015 – CPD (3.5 Hours) “Trouble at Bank – The Sequel” – banking update for commercial Lawyers & Accountants – presented by Richard Aird with speakers from various Stables – Edinburgh

 

All CPD events will be accredited.

Registration for Glasgow events is 16:30 hours and the CPD event will commence at 17:00 hours. Most events are free.

If you wish to attend any of these events please contact Angela Bath on 0141 553 4892 or email the address shown on the website.

FEBRUARY 27th 2014 – CPD (2 Hours) SLAB talk on issues concerning protocol and issues concerning interpretation of regulations – Glasgow, Corinthian

MARCH 27th 2014 – CPD (2 Hours) Police detention and search, general court practice – 3 speakers from the Stable – Glasgow, Corinthian

APRIL 24th 2014 – CPD (2 Hours) Forensics experts speaking on fingerprinting and RTA incident data recorders – Glasgow, Corinthian

MAY 8th 2014 – CPD (4 Hours) “Trouble at Bank” – banking update for commercial lawyers & accountants – presented by Richard Aird with speakers from various Stables – Edinburgh

MAY 10th 2014 – CPD (6 Hours) Different aspects of criminal court practice & handwriting forensics – various speakers – Hotel Broughty Ferry, Dundee

MAY 14th 2014 – CPD (2 Hours) Seminar from Mackinnon Family Law Group on 2011 Act & permanence orders – Livingston

JUNE 7th 2014 – CPD (3 Hours) Seminar from Mackinnon Family Law Group on various aspects of family law – Inverness

JUNE 13th 2014 – Mackinnon Advocates Summer Reception – Corinthian, Glasgow

SEPTEMBER 6th 2014 – CPD (5 Hours) Seminar on different aspects of civil court practice – various speakers from the Stable – Dundee

OCTOBER 16th 2014 – CPD (2 Hours) 1st hour on Forensics, Technical Precognitions/DNA. 2nd hour presentation by Derek Ogg, QC re Cross Examination of Expert Witnesses – Glasgow

OCTOBER 25th 2014 – CPD (4 Hours) Seminar on different aspects of criminal & civil court practice – various speakers from the Stable – Aberdeen

NOVEMBER 15th 2014 – CPD (5 Hours) Seminar – on different aspects of criminal court practice – various speakers from the Stable – Inverness

All CPD events will be accredited.

Registration  for Glasgow events is 16:30 hours and the CPD event will comence at 17:00 hours. Most events are free.

If you wish to attend any of these events please contact Banny Mackinnon or Angela Bath on 0141 553 4890 or email the address shown on the website.

For the last few years a group of leading Advocates have organised Legal Conferences at various locations in Scotland on topical areas of Banking Law. They proceed under the banner of “Trouble at Bank”.

The latest Trouble at Bank event breaks new ground by focusing on the increasingly concerning legal problems which are unfolding in the retail banking sector. Many observers consider these will have an even greater impact than the 2008 Banking Crisis itself.

Also, for the first time the new lending sources such as Crowd Funding and Peer- to- Peer Lending which may ultimately come to dominate Corporate Finance in UK are described and discussed by one of the best known operators in the sector, Andrew Holgate Managing Director of Assetz SME Capital Ltd.

This conference covers key areas of immediate concern to the commercial world in Scotland. In addition to Andrew Holgate the other speakers are well known legal figures such as Iain G Mitchell QC, Michael Howlin QC and Richard Aird Advocate, all who have had a long involvement in this area. The topics include:

. Interest rate mis-selling

. Banks misrepresenting their lending intentions

. Defending actions brought by Banks on the basis of Collateral Contracts

. Defence to Enforcement of Security Instruments and guarantees

. Crowd Funding and P2P lending

Trouble at Bank is being held on Thursday 8th May2014 from 2.00 at The Faculty of Advocates Conference centre, The Mackenzie Building in Edinburgh. Admission is free and CPD accredited. The past events have booked out quickly so for applications. For further details contact Alannah Sloss at alannah.sloss@mackinnonadvocates.co.uk

14th March – CPD Seminar by Dr Gill Saunderson of The Echo Psychology Centre regarding Forensic Psychology.

25th April – CPD Seminar by Alan Henderson, Forensic Scientist at Keith Borer Consultants regarding footwear marks and glass fibre etc. (with hospitality)

16th May – CPD Seminar on Health Safety Legislation with Donald Findlay QC at the offices of HBM Sayers, 13 Bath Street, Glasgow.

23rd May – CPD Seminar in conjunction with the GBA on S.275 Applications and the current law on Expert evidence presented by Edward Targowski, QC and Mark Moir, Advocate.

7th June – MacKinnon Advocates Annual Summer Reception – Drinks at The Corinthian, Ingram Street, Glasgow.

7th September – CPD Seminar in association with the Dundee Bar Association – various speakers from the Stable.

26th September – CPD Seminar chaired by Derek Ogg QC with Junior counsel, Owen Mullan and Lynsey Rodger – for the SYLA.

17th October – CPD Seminar on Forensics, computer examinations/audio/video – phone examinations/cell site analysis.

8th November – MacKinnon Advocates Winter Reception – Grand Buffet and Drinks at The Living Room. St. Vincent Street, Glasgow.

16th November – CPD Seminar in Inverness – speakers are Ed Targowski, QC (expert evidence) and Bill Adam, Advocate (presentation on the new test re fitness for trial).

All CPD events will be accredited.

The majority of events will take place in The Corinthian, Ingram Street, Glasgow. Registration is 17:00 Hours and the CPD event will comence at 17:30 hours. There will be room for around 50 solicitors and most events are Free.

The event on 23rd May with the GBA will take place at The Lighthouse, Mitchell Street, Glasgow.

If you wish to attend any of these events please contact Banny MacKinnon or Angela Bath on 0141 553 4890 or email the address shown on the website.

Our 2012 personalised Stable Calendars were dispatched at the start of the year.  These Calendars appear to be very popular, so for that reason we will be producing them again for 2013.  If you are interested in receiving one please let us know and we will put you on our mailing list.

All of us in the Stable were very sad to hear that Jock Thomson QC passed away on 30 September 2013 after a prolonged period of illness.

Jock was a much loved and respected member of our Stable and will be sorely missed, not just by our own members but by many others in the legal world and beyond who were fortunate enough to have had the privilege of his acquaintance.

15th March – CPD Seminar by Keith Borer “Fire Investigation from a Criminal Perspective.”

26th April – CPD Seminar by the Criminal Accounts Department of The Scottish Legal Aid Board. This event was followed by Hospitality – Wine, Canapés, etc.

24th May – CPD Seminar by Dr Gill Saunderson of The Echo Psychology Centre regarding Forensic Psychology – CANCELLED – Rescheduled to take place on 14th March 2013.

15th June – MacKinnon Advocates Annual Summer Reception.

18th October – CPD Seminar by Forensic Access Ltd on Forensic Support for criminal defence (on DNA).

22nd November – CPD Seminar by Ann Kiernan, Firearms Expert of Keith Borer Consultants regarding Firearms and Ballistics  – followed by Hospitality.

28th November – CPD Seminar by The Scottish Legal Aid Board regarding new forthcoming changes in Legislation.

All CPD events accredited with 2 hours CPD.

All CPD events took place in The Corinthian, Ingram Street, Glasgow. Registration is 17:00 Hours and the CPD event will comence at 17:30 hours. There was room for around 50 solicitors and all events were Free.

Paul McBride QC who was a member of our stable for only four and a half months sadly passed away suddenly on 4th March 2012.

He is very sadly missed by all his colleagues here who were fortunate enough to have known and worked with him. He was very highly regarded not just in the legal profession but in all other areas in which he became prominent and because of that, his loss is one which affects not only those he knew and those he worked with, but society in general throughout the country.

Mackinnon Advocates regularly sponsor and present seminars and events throughout the year for the benefit of the profession in Glasgow.

In 2011 we ran a number of CPD events, some to the exclusive benefit of our group and a number of others to which solicitors were invited.

On 29th January 2011 we organised an internal CPD seminar for our stable members only – the topic of the presentation being Fatal Accident Inquiries.

We followed this on 19th March and 2nd April with another internal event, a two part CPD seminar on Computer Crime presented to us by a representative of a firm called Evidential systems Ltd.

On 19th May we organised and sponsored a CPD seminar presented by a Director of a firm by the name of First Forensic Solutions based in Northern Ireland. The topic presented was on Digital Evidence for Legal Professionals, concentrating particularly on mobile phone evidence and cell site analysis. This was followed up on the evening with a wine and canapés hospitality reception. The whole event to which solicitors were invited was very well received and attended.

On 17th June we had what has become our annual summer hospitality drinks reception to which some two hundred invitations went out to firms of solicitors we regularly do business with. This event is always well attended, with in the region of over 200 people attending this year.

In August our senior member, Donald R Findlay QC co-hosted a CPD seminar on Court Practice and Cross Examination at the High Court in Glasgow which was opened up to solicitors as well as advocates.

On 7th September we hosted and sponsored a CPD event presented by the companies Grant Thornton and MMG (Mendip Media Group) on the subject of Transcription and Legal Services. This was also opened up to solicitors allowing them some opportunity to gain CPD points. There was wine reception afterwards, allowing the attendees to meet with each other and the course presenters for an informal chat.

On 3rd November we once again invited solicitors to a CPD event being presented by Donald Findlay QC in central Glasgow. This time the subject being discussed was Shaken Baby Cases. The seminar was well attended by solicitors involved in this type of work whether in the context of allegations of crime or in the context of children’s referrals.

That was the last of the events we were hosting that year, but please be aware we are already planning for this year and have arrangements with different forensic experts to present seminars which will be of interest to the legal profession in Glasgow and beyond.