Edinburgh - School of Law.
Edinburgh has been a world renowned centre for education and culture for hundreds of years. The city was one of the major centers of the European Enlightenment and is famous for serving as the focal point of the Scottish Enlightenment throughout the 18th century. It was during this era that Edinburgh earned its nickname Athens of the North.
Founded in 1582, the University of Edinburgh is over 400 years old and one of the four ancient (medieval) universities of Scotland. The University of Edinburgh School of Law was created in 1707 by Queen Anne when she established the Chair of Public Law and the Law of Nature and Nations. Today, the University of Edinburgh School of Law is still strongly associated with traditional Scots law and Roman Law, but has also turned into a research and teaching centre for intellectual property law, medical ethics, European law, international law, comparative law, criminology, labour law, and human rights law. The university is home to no less than six different research centers: The Centre for Law and Society, AHRC Centre for Studies in Intellectual Property and Technology Law, The Europa Institute, The Scottish Centre for International Law, The Joseph Bell Centre for Forensic Statistics and Legal Reasoning, and The Edinburgh Study of Youth Transitions and Crime.
The University of Edinburgh School of Law carries out extensive legal research in many different fields and the education is renowned for its excellence. Edinburgh has accordingly established it self as a city where you can find a rich profusion of highly skilled solicitors, barristers and other legal professionals. The University of Edinburgh School of Law is for instance famous for its education and research in the field of Intellectual Property, and Edinburgh is by many considered the place to look if you need to find a law firm or legal professional specializing in copyright law, patent law, trademark, law, trade secrets, music law, computer law or communications law. Edinburgh has always been a traditional centre for brewing and publishing – two endeavors tightly connected to intellectual property issues – and perhaps it is these olden roots that has caused so many Edinburgh educated lawyers to focus their attention on IP.
In addition to education, the economy of Edinburgh is largely based on health, finance, banking, and business services and this naturally effects the specialization of many law firms in the area. The Bank of Scotland was established by the Scottish Parliament in 1695 and banking, accompanied by the various legal issues that automatically follow it, has been a natural part of the city’s economic life since then. After London, Edinburgh has the strongest economy of any city in the United Kingdom and the GDP per capita reached £27,614 in 2004. This has caused Edinburgh and the surrounding region to become one of the fastest growing city regions in Europe. Edinburgh serves as a power engine for Scotland and has consistently showed an unemployment rate far below the Scottish average.
