Mac & Mac – family law matters
Newly Qualified
We are delighted to announce the qualification of two members of the Macleod & MacCallum Family Law Team, Emily Ross and Aoife Grugan. Emily having finished her law degree at the University of Aberdeen, completed her two-year traineeship with Macleod & MacCallum. Spending the last 12 months in the Family Team, Emily has developed excellent advocacy skills.
Aoife is a qualified solicitor in Ireland, having obtained her law degree in Dublin and completing her traineeship there. Aoife has since undertaken the Scottish Qualified Lawyers Assessments and passed with flying colours, whilst also working very hard in the family law team for the last year. Aoife, now a qualified solicitor in Scotland, is able provide clients with highly skilled, technical and pragmatic advice. Both Emily and Aoife are very valued members of the team.
New Skills
At Macleod & MacCallum we pride ourselves in offering specialist and tailored family law advice. Our family law team is always developing its skills, to best serve our clients. This year our Family Law Director Jenna Thomson and our Family Law Associate, Gemma Johnston both completed their Certification in trauma-informed law, with the Law Society of Scotland. The course is designed to assist lawyers recognise the impact of trauma on those they work with and to practice in a way that does no further harm (re-traumatisation) and supports recovery. To complete the certification course, Jenna and Gemma attended five weeks of online training, followed by a written assignment to assess their knowledge and understanding.
New Posts
Finally, we are pleased to confirm that our Senior Associate Laura McCarthy, an accredited Specialist in Family Law, has recently been appointed by the Sheriff Principal as a child welfare reporter for the Sheriffdom of
Grampian, Highlands and Islands. Joining our Director’s Fiona Campbell and Jenna Thomson in this role, Laura shall be assisting courts across the North of Scotland in child law cases. The role of a child welfare reporter is to gather information, including the child’s views and to provide a report to the court, focusing on what is in the child’s best interests. This report helps the court make decisions about contact, welfare matters and assists in the expeditious resolution of the case.