Ms Katy Macfarlane
Senior Lecturer in Child and Family Law
LL.B Dip LP Solicitor (non-practising)
Tuesday 14:00-15:00
Tel: +44 (0)131 651 4526
Email: katy.macfarlane@ed.ac.uk
Katy Macfarlane started off her career as a secondary school teacher of Economics and Accounting. She then graduated in law from Edinburgh University. From 1999 to 2007, Katy headed up the Scottish Child Law Centre. In 2008, Katy joined the academic staff at Edinburgh Law School. She is currently a Senior Lecturer in Child and Family Law where she teaches courses at all levels of study. Katy is a qualified solicitor, a Safeguarder for the Children’s Hearings System, a Child Welfare Reporter in family actions in Edinburgh Sheriff Court, and an experienced mediator.
Katy’s areas of interest are Scots Child and Family Law and Mental Health Law. Her publications include: the Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 Annotations (W Green, 2018), and Thomson’s Family Law in Scotland (9th edition, Bloomsbury, 2026). Katy is also co-editor of Family Law Bulletin (W Green).
Katy is regularly invited to speak at conferences on child and family matters. She is a member of the Scottish Government’s Cross Party Group on Children and Young People, and is a former member of the Board of Trustees of the Scottish Child Law Centre and Together (Scottish Alliance for Children’s Rights).
Katy welcomes PhD enquiries that relate generally to her areas of interest. She is particularly interested in supervising research into all aspects of child and family law including in a comparative context, both European and global.