Dr Jonathan Brown

Scotify! was an event organised by Strathclyde Law School academic Dr Jonathan Brown and hosted in September 2025, with support from Engage with Strathclyde.

The experimental workshop saw lawyers consider the facts of a case decided from furth of Scotland, with a view to determining how aspects of the case might differ if Scots law were applied to those facts. 

Academics from universities across Scotland convened to consider matters as diverse as consent to childhood vaccinations, abortion law, constructive trusts and contractual interpretation (amongst other things).

The special issue of the Juridical Review was edited by Dr Brown, who also contributed a comment “Scotifying” the UK Supreme Court case of URS Corp Ltd. v BDW Trading Ltd. 

Since Scotify! had a readily repeatable process, plans are in motion to repeat the exercise and to invite practitioners and academics to consider further cases from beyond the borders of Scotland, asking how Scots law would resolve these novel and interesting matters. 

A call for papers will be issued in due course, with it being envisaged that the second workshop should take place in the first half of 2027.

Jonathan Brown said: “Scotland is a unique jurisdiction, so it’s always worth our lawyers asking how fact-patterns that have been litigated in other jurisdictions would play out if decided in accordance with the principles of Scots law. 

“I am grateful that the Juridical Review provided us with a forum to showcase the contributions to the first Scotify! workshop, and I look forward to seeing what comes of the next iteration of the event.”