2019 Annual Conference

Immediate Past President, Law Society of Scotland
Alison Atack joined the Society’s Council in May 1998 representing solicitors in Glasgow and Strathkelvin. She is a former member of the Regulatory Committee and the former convener of the Client Protection Sub-Committee.
She retired as a partner at Lindsays in March 2018 and has detailed knowledge and experience of private client work, including succession planning and agricultural property.

Vice President 2019-2020, Law Society of Scotland, Solicitor since November 1998 and joined Law Society of Scotland Council 2010

Amanda is a partner with McCash & Hunter LLP in Perth, specialising in all aspects of mental health and adults with incapacity law. Within the Law Society of Scotland she is the convener of the Professional Practice (Rules and Waivers) Sub-Committee, an observer member of the Mental Health and Disability Sub-Committee and a member of the Board.
Amanda was the first Solicitor in Scotland Accredited by the Law Society of Scotland in the fields of both Mental Health Law and Incapacity and Mental Disability Law and she remains the only Solicitor so accredited outwith Glasgow and Edinburgh. She is a member of the expert advisory group of the Centre for Mental Health and Incapacity Law Rights and Policy at Edinburgh Napier University. Amanda was the first non-executive Chair of Changing the Chemistry (SCIO) and stepped down from that post in September 2019. Their vision statement is “Changing the Chemistry in the boardroom so people and boards embrace diversity of thought”.

Partner, Austin Lafferty Solicitors
Austin is a solicitor, broadcaster, journalist and artist, who has worked in general practice since 1981 and currently runs his own multi-branch firm around Glasgow.

He was elected vice president of the Law Society in May 2011 and took over the presidency in May 2012, and is now a past president of the Society.

Austin has also worked in a variety of media roles, having been a radio and television presenter on numerous programmes. Austin is a newspaper columnist who has written extensively on legal matters. He has also authored It’s The Law!, which is a handbook on Scots Law for citizens, published in 2004. For leisure he is a 4th dan karate black belt, has run marathons, and is a portrait artist (people and pets mainly).

David Lee is an event host, conference organiser, writer, editor and PR consultant. He worked for daily newspapers for 21 years, latterly as Senior Assistant Editor at The Scotsman before establishing his own business in 2009.

Client Executive, Master Policy Practice Management, Lockton Companies LLP
For the majority of her career Gail  has been involved with Professional Indemnity insurance. She has over 30 years underwriting experience, evaluating the risks and exposures created by professional firms and prior to joining Lockton she held the role of UK Head of Financial Lines for Zurich Insurance plc.

President 2019-2020, Law Society of Scotland

John Mulholland is a criminal law consultant at Falkirk-based Marshall Wilson Law Group and joined the Law Society of Scotland council in 2012, representing constituents in Alloa, Falkirk, Linlithgow and Stirling.
John is Chair of the Board and sits on the Appeals and Reviews Sub committee. He is the former convener of both the Nominations committee and the Finance Committee and is the former Treasurer.

Director of Law Reform, Law Society of Scotland

Michael graduated from the University of Glasgow in 1979 taking an LLB degree and in 1985 taking an LLM degree. In 1987 he graduated LLB (Hons) from the University of London. He is a solicitor and Notary Public. After qualification as a solicitor in private practice he attained a partnership with the Glasgow firm of Franchi Wright & Co. He resigned this partnership in 1988 to become a Deputy Secretary of the Law Society of Scotland. He is Director of Law Reform at the Society and has published widely on a range of legal topics. He is Chairman of the International Bar Association Credentials Committee, and is Secretary of the United Kingdom and Ireland Notarial Forum. Mr. Clancy was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Jubilee Birthday Honours List in June 2002.

Journalist and Broadcaster
Pennie Taylor is an award-winning journalist and broadcaster who specialises in health, care and social issues. BBC Scotland’s first Health Correspondent, she has also worked on the newsdesks of a number of national newspapers. A former Head of Communications for a large NHS Trust, Pennie has inside knowledge of how public services work, giving her an informed perspective from which to approach and stimulate debate.

Law Society Council Member: Dingwall, Dornoch, Elgin, Inverness, Kirkwall, Lerwick, Lochmaddy, Portree, Stornoway, Tain & Wick and Co-Convener, In-house Lawyers’ Committee
Sheekha is an in-house Solicitor with Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, based in their Stornoway Office. She specialises in Social Work law. She serves on the Legal Group of the Adoption & Fostering Alliance for Scotland; as an elected Member of the Law Society of Scotland Council representing Solicitors across the communities of the Highlands & Islands; and was recently elected as co-Convener (along with Vlad Valiente) of the Society’s In-house Lawyers’ Committee. Sheekha is also one of the five founding members of the Scottish Ethnic Minority Lawyers’ Association (SEMLA) working with the Society, the Faculty of Advocates, Scottish Government and others to improve equality of opportunity in access to and career progression within the Legal professions.

Scottish Fire & Rescue and convener, Law Society In-house lawyers committee
Vlad has worked as an in-house lawyer since 2007. Vlad has worked for 3 local authorities (Midlothian, Moray and Aberdeenshire Councils) in various roles from Solicitor to Principal Solicitor. He is currently the Legal Services Manager and Data Protection Officer for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

Vlad is the Vice President of the Society of Local Authority Lawyers and Administrators in Scotland (SOLAR) and is a Co-Convenor of the In-house Lawyers Committee of the Law Society. He Tutors at Glasgow and Strathclyde Universities and is a Chartered Manager (Chartered Management Institute).

Vlad has experience of providing legal assistance and decision making at high level within the above mentioned Councils, SOLAR and as a Director of a Refugee Charity (Refugee Survival Trust). These include advising a number of executive and non-executive Boards and Committees. He has also significant experience of building in-house legal teams.

Professor of Public Law and Human Rights, University of Durham
Aileen McHarg has been Professor of Public Law and Human Rights at Durham Law School since September 2019, having previously worked at the Universities of Strathclyde, Glasgow and Bristol.  She teaches, and has published widely on, UK and Scottish constitutional and administrative law, and also has expertise on energy law and regulation.  Inter alia, she is a member of the Law Society of Scotland’s Constitutional Law Sub-Committee, a member of the executive committee of the UK Constitutional Law Association, and co-chair of the British-Irish Chapter of the International Society of Public Law.  In 2018, she was appointed to the Scottish Government’s Expert Panel on Environmental Charges and Other Measures.

Managing Director, Stuart & Co
Alan Stuart is a projects lawyer based in Edinburgh with over 25 years’ experience in assisting clients to achieve their goals. Alan is managing director of Stuart & Co which is a boutique Technology Law Firm.
​Alan specialises in technology projects, commercial contracts and related intellectual property matters. He acts for major retailers, life sciences companies, software companies and space sciences organisations.
​Alan is a member of the Society for Computers and Law, the International Bar Association Space Law Committee and is a Member of the International Institute of Space Law; he is also a Writer to Her Majesty's Signet.
Alan lectures in International and IT contracts and is a consultant/adviser to other law firms.

Clyde and Co
Anne who is ranked in band 1 for professional negligence in Chambers 2016, is a talented and well regarded lawyer and has built up a formidable reputation in the professional indemnity market. Anne handles a number of complex claims on behalf of the Law Society of Scotland Master Policy insurers as well as for other legal professionals and their insurers and has also represented construction professionals, accountants, financial advisers and educational institutions.

In addition to claims, Anne represents legal professionals in conduct and services complaints and has a proven track record in this area.

Anne is the Scottish representative on FOIL's Professional Indemnity Sector Focus Group.

CEO, GC, Board Chair and Director; and past President, Law Society of Scotland
For the last 20 years Bruce has operated as a CEO, GC or Board Chair or Director, often at times of significant change.  He has amassed a very broad range of legal and organisational experience both strategic and operational. He is big on collaboration and passionate about supporting career development, and for more than a decade has facilitated at LBC Wise Counsel’s unique and transformational in-house talent development programme.
Some career highlights are: Lord President’s Legal Secretary; Deputy Keeper of RoS; Head of part of Rural Affairs in Scottish Government; Chair of thinkWhere Ltd, Office Bearer in the WS Society, CEO of BSAS and most recently CEO of Storas Uibhist in the Outer Hebrides - and of course President of the Law Society of Scotland.”

Associate, Digby Brown; Trustee, SAMH
Catriona graduated with an LLB (honours) from the University of Glasgow in 2006 and completed the diploma in legal practice at the Glasgow Graduate School of Law the following year. She qualified as a solicitor in 2009 and joined Digby Brown the same year.
Catriona is an Associate solicitor in the Edinburgh office. She specialises in personal injury cases involving road traffic accidents, accidents at work and general accident claims in the Court of Session and Sheriff Court. She has extensive experience of advocacy in the Sheriff Court.
Catriona is a Trustee of SAMH, Scotland's leadling mental health charity and was President of the Scottish Young Lawyers’ Association from 2010-2012. She is also a member of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL).

Legal Counsel in the Outsourcing, Technology & IP Legal team, RBS
Craig is a Senior Legal Counsel in RBS’s Outsourcing, Technology & IP Legal team and provides legal advice across the bank’s full suite of technology, services and commercial contracts. Craig regularly advises on all areas of Fintech (including digitisation, AI, block chain, Open Banking and other new technologies); material outsourcings relating to major technology infrastructure; intellectual property; entrepreneurship; and restructuring/regulatory projects. Craig was previously Corporate Counsel at a worldwide provider of information technology services, where he provided legal and commercial advice on all aspects of IT infrastructure and business process outsourcing services.

Vice President, Law Society of England and Wales
David qualified in 1980, becoming a partner at Edwin Coe in 1984.  He became Senior Partner of the Firm in 2011.  David is a litigator.  He is a claimants’ practitioner and has specialised in Group claims of all natures for over 25 years in the UK and the USA.  Although in that context David undertakes some personal injury work his main focus is on commercial claims including competition claims and claims on behalf of shareholders.  He is Head of both the Litigation & Dispute Resolution Group and the Group Action Litigation department.
David is well known for his work on Brexit.  He acted for one of the two claimants in the Article 50 litigation.  He also chairs the Law Society Task Force on Brexit.  As such he has written and lectured in the UK and Europe on the issues that arise in relation to Brexit and civil justice.  He has also provided evidence to the Commons and Lords on those issues.

Wilson Defence and Convener, Criminal Law Committee, Law Society of Scotland

Glasgow born and Dunoon raised Debbie Wilson (McCuish), a law graduate of Aberdeen University, spent a few years in private practice (Dundee and Aberdeen) before joining the local authority. There her remit was primarily legal work in support of Roads Dept, Water Services and Social Work committees for over a dozen years. While there she handled the  ‘private prosecutions’ of the Education Department’s Truancy Sub-Committee which took her to joining COPFS (then called the Procurator Fiscal Service).

By the end of some 5 years with the prosecution she had worked in Dundee, Aberdeen, Shetlands, Fort William, Campbeltown, Paisley, Peterhead, Stornoway and many courts in between, ending her Procurator Fiscal service as the Procurator Fiscal at Peterhead. From there she jumped ship to the ‘other side’ and practiced initially in Macduff before opening her sole practitioner firm in Banff nearly 15 years ago.

She says her ‘tour of Scotland’ on both prosecution and defence roles had been, and continues to be, rewarding. Her two children having flown the nest leaves her a little time to pick-up the fiddle again. She adds that being a Law Society council member and being able to focus on and participate in the valuable work of the Criminal Law Committee is her way of being able to put at least some of all that experience back into the profession.

Procurator Fiscal Depute
Deborah joined Crown Office and the Procurator Fiscal Service as a trainee solicitor.
She spent 8 years at the Kilmarnock Procurator Fiscal’s Office as a Legal Assistant and thereafter as a Senior Legal Assistant. In 2001 she was promoted into the first of a number of legal management roles which have included operational delivery, policy development, training and project management.
She currently leads the Economic Crime Team in Glasgow which specialises in the preparation and prosecution of fraud and embezzlement cases.  With responsibilities for operational delivery, Deborah has assisted with the development of COPFS policy and has designed and delivered training, both internally and to external organisations, in this area.

Head of Early Talent, Pinsent Masons
Deborah graduated from the University of Glasgow’s Law School in 1994. After a year travelling and working in the United States, Australia and South East Asia, including a placement with The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty in Washington D.C., Deborah completed her Diploma in Legal Practice at Glasgow University, going on to qualify as a Solicitor, specialising in Corporate law, in 1998. Working in Scotland, London and Europe, Deborah moved from legal practice to help build the Learning & Development and Early Talent functions at the law firm McGrigors. When McGrigors merged with Pinsent Masons in 2012, Deborah took on the Early Talent remit and now supports the global business with recruitment & development strategy for all emerging talent, including apprentices and graduates. A large part of the Early Talent remit focuses on diversity & inclusion. Having been an active member and then Chair of the Institute of Student Employers Scotland & the North Steering Group, Deborah joined the ISE Board in late 2017 and was appointed Chair in early 2019. Debs lives just outside of Glasgow, is married to Alan and mum to Iona (13) and Finlay (11). When she’s not on a plane to London with work(!), she likes to spend time with family and friends, gin & tonic with a good book and is training (unsuccessfully) for her first ever 10km to raise money for MIND.

Legal Director at EO specialist Baxendale Advisory
The consultancy, which itself is employee-owned, has helped over 100 businesses to become employee owned.

Ewan advises clients on commercial and corporate projects, specialising in transition, governance and ownership structures for employee-owned organisations and social enterprises, and in supporting employee-owned organisations post-transition. He has been advising on employee ownership since 2003 and has worked with dozens of employee-owned organisations. Ewan began as a corporate solicitor with the firm Wright Johnston & Mackenzie LLP, where he ultimately became a partner and head of the corporate group. He holds a number of trustee / trustee director posts with employee- owned organisations and is regularly asked to speak at employee ownership events across the UK.

Head of Scholarship and Learning, The Robertson Trust

Gordon Hunt joined the Robertson Trust as Head of Scholarship and Learning in 2017 after a career spent mainly in higher education as a librarian, strategic planner and community engagement manager.

He is a former Chair of the Scottish Library and Information Council, Vice Chair of the Ayrshire College Foundation and Chair of Audit and Governance at Stow College. He is currently Vice Chair of the Fair Access Framework Governance Group.

He is responsible for expanding and developing the Trust’s work in widening access to education and for developing the Journey to Success programme (a bursary and career development programme for university students from disadvantaged backgrounds). He also has responsibility for the Trust’s learning and communications team.

Black Chambers
Since admission to the Faculty in June 1985, Frances has practised almost exclusively in criminal law.
In addition to her work as defence counsel, mostly in the High Court, her highly regarded experience has led, over the years, to a number of appointments. Since 1991, she has been a visiting lecturer at The Scottish Police College. She was a Temporary Sheriff from 1991 until her appointment as an Advocate Depute in 1997. From then until 2000, she prosecuted High Court trials and represented the Crown in the Appeal Court. Thereafter she returned to establish a very busy practise in the High Court as Senior Counsel for the defence, having taken silk in 1998. In 2009 she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Strathclyde University. In 2010 she was appointed to be a member of the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission until 2018. In 2014, Lord Bonomy invited her to be one of his expert group to assist with his Post Corroboration Review, published in April 2015 and she receives many invitations to lecture on various aspects of criminal law and practise. She is the senior woman practising at the Scottish Bar.

Head of Legal, STV
Helen is responsible for the legal and regulatory work across STV’s core businesses – Broadcast, Digital and Productions - and the operations of the STV Appeal and the Scottish Children’s Lottery (operated by an STV subsidiary as external lottery manager).
With a focus on intellectual property law, the technology revolution and evolving media regulation, Helen has supported STV’s transformation from a commercial public service broadcaster to a multi-platform digital publisher.
Diversity and change have characterised Helen’s STV years where the job has included legalling the scripts for Taggart; complying the seminal observational documentary Club Reps; and supporting STV’s news output as it has navigated shifting constitutional times. Before her law degree at Strathclyde, Helen completed an MA in German and French at Edinburgh University and worked with the BBC in London and Glasgow, principally in Bush House with the German Language Service. Helen sits on the Law Society’s Privacy Committee, and the BCAP Committee (regulating advertising practices).

Human rights activist and author of ‘Constitution Street’

Jemma Neville has a professional background in human rights law. She is Director of arts charity, Voluntary Arts Scotland, and was the inaugural Community Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Studies in Humanities, University of Edinburgh. Jemma has written for a range of print and broadcast media and was shortlisted for the Guardian International Development Journalism Award.

You can find her on twitter: @jemma_tweets

OfGem
Jennifer is a solicitor qualified in Scotland with 11 years post qualification experience.  She is currently an in-house legal adviser in the consumer and markets team at Ofgem and provides legal advice to internal clients on a diverse range of matters.  Prior to that role, she worked for a number of years in private practice, having completed her traineeship at DLA Piper and then working as a solicitor and senior associate in their Litigation and Regulatory team. Jennifer also worked for the Legal Services Agency and Just Right Scotland LLP as the Project Solicitor for the Scottish Women’s Rights Centre, providing legal information and advice to women affected by gender based violence and continues to work with the centre as a volunteer on its legal helpline.

Economist and Honorary Professor of Public Policy, Glasgow University
Jo’s career spans senior positions in the private, public and third sectors.
As a business economist Jo worked in central government providing advice to Ministers on housing, water and the budgeting process.  In financial services, she was responsible for risk management and financial analysis underpinning financing of large infrastructure projects world-wide.
Jo is active as a non-executive in various organisations.  She chairs Ofgem’s Expert Panel on network innovation and is a Member of the Water Industry Commission for Scotland.  She is also a Non-executive Director of the Wheatley Housing Group and is the Independent Chair of the West of Scotland HUB.
Jo was a Director of Fiscal Affairs Scotland, researching and reporting on Scotland’s public policy and fiscal issues. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Directors and holds degrees in Economics.

Chairman, Novograf
John joined Novograf in September 1992 as Operations Director, moving on to successfully fill the role of Managing Director and finally Chairman. He led Novograf through the transition from a manufacturing company to a service focused brand realization business delivering specialist surfaces, graphics and the ‘look & feel’ for major retail brands across the UK.
Established in 1986, Novograf is a private company based in East Kilbride with over 70 employees generating approximately £10m in turnover. In December 2016, John managed the company’s transition to employee ownership by transferring 100% ownership to an Employee Ownership Trust. 
He joined the Scotland for EO Steering Group early in 2017 to help drive the creation and launch of Scotland for EO, the Industry Leadership Group for Employee Ownership in Scotland.

Solicitor Advocate
Award winning lawyer from an award winning firm.
Silk of the Year - The Law Awards of Scotland, November 2018.
The Firm Magazine’s Criminal Lawyer of the Year in 2009, 2010, 2011 and once again in 2013 (there was no award in this category in 2012 and it has not been awarded since 2013). No other lawyer has received this award on 4 consecutive occasions.

Chair of the Board of Director, Page/Park
Karen joined Page\Park in 1992, having graduated with a diploma in architecture from The Glasgow School of Art and a Degree from Newcastle University. Karen is a driving force in the delivery of the P\P extensive portfolio of higher education buildings and Healthcare buildings. She holds RIAS accreditation in both Conservation and Sustainable Design. 
She is the chair of the P\P board of directors, and a board member for both Women in Property Scotland and Scotland for EO. Her standing in architectural and business communities is recognised by her continued roles as an assessor for the Civic Trust Awards, and as a business contributor to the Scottish Government Economy and Fair Work Committee.

Partner, Employment and Incentives, Addleshaw Goddard
Kim acts for clients in the logistics, transport and aviation, oil and gas, private equity and regulatory sectors. She specialises in advising on restructuring and reorganisations, Mergers & Acquisitions work, TUPE transfers (acting for Transferors and Transferees), Occupational Health law, troubleshooting relationship issues and resolving disputes either via employment tribunal cases or helping clients find alternative ways of resolving issues through mediation.
Kim provides specialist support and employment law training for all levels of management and is a highly regarded speaker on employment law.
She is committed to delivering her clients’ commercial objectives within an employment law framework. Most recently, Kim led the team acting in the largest equal pay employment tribunal litigation in Scotland involving approximately 8,500 claimants.  In an 18 month period, her team settled £20 million of claims and 2,000 settlement agreements were concluded.

Chief Executive, Law Society of Scotland

Lorna has been Chief Executive at the Law Society since January 2009.  Since joining she has led the Society’s staff team in delivering a program of modernisation, which has included improvements in the Society’s transparency, governance arrangements, outreach to members and stakeholders and business efficiencies. Her current focus is on aligning the Society’s resources against its strategy Leading Legal Excellence.
Prior to joining the Law Society, Lorna was based in the United States, as President Americas for Scottish Development International, the Scottish Government's trade and investment arm. Previously, Lorna was Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise Forth Valley, one of 12 local enterprise companies covering Scotland. A chartered accountant by profession, and a graduate of Aberdeen University.
Lorna is also chair of Highlands and Islands Airports Limited as well as a Trustee and Treasurer of the McConnell International Foundation.  She is also an independent member of the court of University of Aberdeen.

Chairman and Head of Public Sector, Morton Fraser LLP
Maggie is Chairman of Morton Fraser and a partner in the firm's litigation division. She has specialised in commercial litigation, debt recovery and insolvency matters since qualifying as a solicitor in 1993.  
In addition, Maggie leads our public sector team which, with over 80 public sector specialists, is one of the largest in Scotland. Morton Fraser acts for over 100 public sector clients including the Scottish Government, the UK Government and The City of Edinburgh Council.
On her appointment as Chair of the firm, Maggie introduced agile working as part of a wider focus on employee wellbeing and organisational flexibility.  The policy was introduced in early 2018 and has helped retain and attract top talent.
Maggie is named in The Lawyer 2019 Hot 100 as one of the twelve lawyers within the list’s Leaders section.

Client Director and Claims Director, Lockton Companies LLP
Mark has a dual role at Lockton as a Client Director and Claims Director.  He has unsurpassed experience in all aspects of claims handling and management, having worked for RSA's Master Policy claims team prior to taking up a claims director role for a major broker. Mark's responsibilities include day to day client management and broking and resolution of contentious and high value claims for professions clients.

Legal Director, Competition and Markets Authority

Morven Hadden joined the Competition Commission as a Legal Director in 2007 and was appointed as a Legal Director in the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in 2014. She was previously a senior associate in the EU, Competition & Regulatory department of City law firm Simmons & Simmons specializing in EU and competition law, working in the firm’s London and Brussels offices. Morven has worked for Government departments as a competition policy and legal adviser on the media merger provisions and on the proposals that led to the reform of the UK competition law landscape in 2013. At the CMA she oversees the legal advice on phase 1 mergers as well as advising on phase 2 mergers, market investigations, regulatory appeals, cartel cases, antitrust enforcement and related litigation.

Special Envoy of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions and a roster member of the Crisis Response Unit of UNDP. Alan is also currently serving as Chair of the First Minister of Scotland’s Advisory Group on Human Rights Leadership. Previously he held elected positions of Chair of the Scottish Human Rights Commission and Chair of the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions. As a former practising lawyer he is a past President of the Glasgow Bar Association and he also continues to teach on the LLM at the University of Strathclyde where he is a member of the Centre for the Study of Human Rights Law.

Professor of Human Rights Law, London School of Economics
Conor Gearty was born in Ireland and graduated in law from University College Dublin before moving to Wolfson College, Cambridge in 1980 to study for a Master’s and then a PhD. He became a fellow of Emmanuel College Cambridge in 1983 and in 1990 moved to King’s College London where he was first a senior lecturer, then a reader and (from 1995) a professor. He was Director of the Centre for the Study of Human Rights (2002-2009) and is Professor of human rights law in the LSE Law Department. Conor is also a barrister and was a founder member of Matrix chambers from where he continues to practise. He has appeared in human rights cases in the House of Lords, the Court of Appeal and the High Court. In 2012 he became Director of LSE’s Institute of Public Affairs and in this capacity was responsible for a crowd-sourced UK Constitution.

Head of Economics and Director of the Fraser of Allander Institute
Graeme re-joined Strathclyde in 2016 after 8 ½ years in the Scottish Government – where he was formerly a Senior Economic Adviser and head of the First Minister’s Policy Unit.
Graeme leads on the external engagement work of the department and the knowledge exchange activities of the Fraser of Allander Institute (FAI).
He is a member of the Scottish Business Taskforce, an ex-adviser to the Scottish Parliament’s Economy, Jobs and Fair Work Committee, Chair of the Economic Impact and Price Evaluation Advisory Group for Min Unit Pricing (Health Scotland) and a member of the Expert Payment Panel for Legal Aid in Scotland.
Graeme also leads on the Economic Futures Initiative for Applied Economics in Scotland.

Professor of Feminist and Queer Legal Studies, University of Edinburgh
Sharon Cowan is the Professor of Feminist and Queer Legal Studies and the Deputy Head of School at the University of Edinburgh School of Law. Her research focuses on issues relating to sex/gender and sexuality across the fields of criminal law, asylum and refugee law, legal theory, and legal pedagogy.

Professor of Law, University of Warwick
Vanessa is also a graduate, and former recipient of the Young Alumnus of the Year Award, from the University of Glasgow. She has published extensively on law and policy responses to gender-based violence, and on feminist legal and political theory more broadly.

Head of Legal Modernisation, The Scottish Government
Rachael heads up the Legal Modernisation Unit, and is Interim Head of Business and Strategy, in the Scottish Government Legal Directorate (SGLD).
After starting her career at McGrigors in commercial litigation, Rachael joined the Government Legal Service for Scotland in 2008. Her work has involved advising policy colleagues and Ministers in areas including children and education, food safety and employment. She has worked on the team representing the Scottish Government at the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry and spent two years as a legal adviser at the Scottish Parliament.
She is currently leading an ambitious programme to drive forward business critical improvement and modernisation work within SGLD. The aim is to make changes which support lawyers to deliver their work more efficiently and effectively in a way that protects their personal wellbeing.

Founder, InsideOut
Rob Stephenson is a mental health influencer, campaigner, Board advisor and public speaker with the mission of inspiring the creation of mentally healthier workplaces. He experiences bipolar disorder personally.
Rob is the founder of Inside-Out.org which publishes the InsideOut LeaderBoard, smashing the stigma of mental ill-health by showcasing senior leader role models with lived experience.
Rob is also behind the InsideOut Mental Health Awards and the Leadership Charter and is the Chief Catalyst of BetterSpace.

ACII – Trading Underwriter, RSA Insurance plc
Rona has been with RSA for 33 years and is responsible for underwriting large professional indemnity and financial lines business connections.  Rona has been involved in the day to day underwriting of the Law Society of Scotland account since 1995 dealing with many of the more technical queries raised by  both the solicitors and the brokers. She is also a member of the team of underwriters who handle the renewal discussions and negotiations for the Master Policy each year.

Vice President, Law Society of Northern Ireland
Born in Belfast in 1953, Rowan grew up in Helen’s Bay, County Down and was educated at Sullivan Upper School, Holywood, Campbell College, Belfast and Cambridge University. He graduated with an honours degree in law in 1974 and returned to Belfast to take up an apprenticeship with Crawford & Lockhart, Martin H. Turnbull & Co. He remained with that firm after he was admitted to the Roll of Solicitors in Northern Ireland in 1977 but moved to its affiliated practice in Ballymena, J.& A. Caruth & Bamber, in January 1979.
Rowan returned to Belfast in September 1983 to join Norman Wilson & Co, becoming a partner in 1985. Although that firm had by then been in existence for more than eighty years, he was, remarkably, only its third principal in all that time. He was instrumental in its merger with leading Irish law firm Arthur Cox in 1996.
Rowan was a partner in Arthur Cox’s Belfast practice from 1996 until April 2018, when he took up a consultancy role. His practice covers all areas of commercial property, including acquisitions, disposals and leases for local, national and international clients, as well as property development and finance and corporate support work. Over the years, he has been involved in many of the biggest and most complex property transactions in Northern Ireland.
Rowan has been active in a number of professional bodies over the course of his career. He was Chairman of Antrim & Ballymena Solicitors’ Association in 1983 and of The Belfast Solicitors’ Association in 1991/92. He was a founder member and the first Chair of The Northern Ireland Commercial Property Lawyers’ Association when it was established in 2006.
Elected to the Council of the Law Society of Northern Ireland in November 2015, Rowan has chaired its Client Complaints, Education and Home Charter Committees, as well as serving on numerous other committees and sub-committees. He also serves as a nominee of the Society on the Council of Legal Education.
Rowan has three grown-up children, the second of whom, David, is a corporate lawyer in the Belfast office of Arthur Cox. Rowan and his wife Florence enjoy travelling, history and walking.

Former First Minister of Scotland
Rt Hon Henry McLeish began his political career as an elected member in local government in 1974, and was leader of Fife Regional Council for five years. In 1987 he was elected as a member of the UK Parliament and acted as Minister for Devolution and Home Affairs in the Labour government from 1997 to 1999. In the first Scottish Parliament he was Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning from 1999, and in 2000 he became First Minister of Scotland until 2001. Retiring from politics in 2003, he is now an adviser, consultant, writer author and broadcaster and lectures in the USA and elsewhere on the European Union and politics. He chaired the Scottish Prisons Commission, which produced a report into sentencing and the criminal justice system entitled ‘Scotland’s Choice’. In 2010 he conducted a major report on the state of football in Scotland, which had been commissioned by the Scottish Football Association, and chaired a commission into sport requested by the Scottish government. He is now an honorary professor at Edinburgh University.

CEO, STOP THE TRAFFIK Global
Ruth became CEO for STOP THE TRAFFIK (STT) in May 2008 following participating in its formation in 2005. With a law degree and background in education, she inspires and enables people to transform the world around them. Utilising the power of people and technology, STT are working to prevent human trafficking globally through its innovative intelligence-led approach. By collecting, analysing and sharing data on human trafficking trends, hotspots and routes, we can predict and prevent traffickers from exploiting the vulnerable. Since 2016, STT’s geo-targeted campaigns have reached over 6 million, guiding people to make better, more informed choices, and to signpost those who need help to safe places for support. Ruth was honored with the award of an OBE in the 2014 British New Year Honours.

Innovation Manager, Burness Paull and Law Society of Scotland Accredited Legal Technologist
Sam is Innovation Manager at Burness Paull, having previously practiced there as a construction solicitor and a legal technologist. Sam’s original background was is computer science, before coming to the legal progression as a graduate. Sam’s role involves the assessment of new technology for increasing efficiency across the firm, assisting clients with particular technology challenges, and ensuring that the firm has the most up-to-date knowledge possible of the quickly changing legal technology landscape. Outside of his core duties at Burness Paull, Sam is an advisory board member of Lawscot Tech, and teaches the Diploma course ‘Introduction to Legal Innovation and Technology’ at the University of Glasgow School of Law.

Partner, Herbert Smith Freehills
Sam has extensive experience in the growing pensions buy out field and in the associated areas of benefit design and liability management, as well as on the pensions aspects of corporate activity. A member of our pensions litigation group, Sam also has particular expertise advising both claimants and defendants on High Court disputes and declaratory proceedings and on matters before the Pensions Ombudsman. Sam is listed in Chambers as one to watch in her field.

Director of IT, Thorntons LLP
Sarah Blair has over 15 years’ experience in IT and has spent much of her time leading and transforming the firm’s IT capabilities.
Sarah specialises in developing and implementing IT strategies while delivering value to the firm through its investment in the latest legal technologies. She has a passion for business-led innovation, encouraging understanding, adoption and exploration of new technologies, but always with a focus on the problem that needs to be solved.
During her time at Thorntons Sarah has has spearheaded a number of major change management campaigns to encourage adoption of new technology - Seeing IT as an enabler and only bringing value when it enables people to work better.
Sarah is a member of the firm’s Operational Board, Information Steering Committee and Research & Development Group, working with fellow Directors to meet the firms strategic objectives and to drive forward business plans, as well as being the firm’s Information Security Manager.
Sarah is also a member of LITIG group and the LawScotTech advisory board.
When not at work or taxiing children around she can be found sailing keel boats off the East Neuk of Fife.

Managing Director, Barbri International and Chair IBA Diversity and Inclusivity Council
Sarah qualified as a solicitor in England & Wales and practiced as a commercial lawyer in London before specialising in professional legal education. 
In 2015, she joined BARBRI as Managing Director, International. BARBRI meets the legal education needs of law students and attorneys throughout their careers. BARBRI’s Bar Review has helped more than 1.3 million lawyers around the world pass a U.S. bar exam.
Sarah is Chair of the Section of Public and Professional Interest in the International Bar Association and a member of the IBA’s management board.  She also chairs the IBA’s Diversity and Inclusivity Council. Sarah was the Co-chair of the IBA’s Academic and Professional Development committee 2012-2016, and she has previously chaired the International Committee of the Law Society of England & Wales.

Director of Judicial Institute for Scotland

Sheriff Duff was admitted as a solicitor in 1977. He worked as a procurator fiscal depute between 1977 and 1981 in Lanark, Hamilton, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Crown Office.

From 1981 until July 2004 he was in private practice in Edinburgh as a solicitor specialising exclusively in the area of criminal defence. He qualified as a solicitor advocate with criminal rights of audience in 1993 and subsequently conducted cases before the High Court of Justiciary. He was appointed as a resident sheriff in the sheriff court at Dundee in July 2004. In September 2011 he was appointed Deputy Director of the then Judicial Studies Committee for Scotland, which became the Judicial Institute for Scotland on 1 January 2013. He was appointed Director of the Judicial Institute for Scotland on 1 September 2014.

He has formerly been a member of the following bodies: -

• Law Society Council
• SSC Council
• McInnes Committee on Summary Justice Reform
• McLeish Prisons Commission

Law Society representative for Scottish solicitors outside Great Britain and Associate, Covington
Siobhan Kahmann is a senior competition and tech lawyer working at a major US firm in Brussels. She is very active within the Law Society of Scotland, holding the position of Council member representing international members, and is a member of the Tech Committee, Competition Committee and Trade Working Group. Siobhan is qualified in Scotland, England and Wales, Ireland and recently became an A-list Advocaat with the Flemish Bar in Brussels.
Siobhan has written about and spoken frequently on many aspects of Brexit: including analysis of how competition law will be affected, the various different Brexit models and their legal implications, and of course of the potential effects on practising rights - for which she has been positively involved in various discussions, to try to safeguard Scots lawyers' practising rights post Brexit in different jurisdictions.

Director of Legal Services at Scottish Enterprise, Scotland’s national economic development agency and a non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government.  To achieve a lasting, positive impact on Scotland’s economy, Scottish Enterprise works with partners in the private and public sectors to identify and exploit the best opportunities for quality jobs, business growth and international success.
Stuart is privileged to lead a legal team of 14 and panel of 4 law firms in such a dynamic and multi-dimensional political and economic environment, with a key focus on outcomes and the power of collaboration.
After joining Scottish Enterprise in 2005 and coming up within the ranks, Stuart came into post at the start of 2016.  Before moving in-house, Stuart worked for eight years as a corporate lawyer supporting mainly the Scottish M&A market.

Head of the Criminal Litigation & Inquiries PAU Livingstone Brown
'A tremendously hard worker who always thinks outside the box' - Legal 500, 2016
Stuart Munro is the head of the Criminal Litigation & Inquiries PAU. A criminal lawyer of over 25 years’ standing, he also has considerable experience in child protection cases and civil litigation.
Stuart's main interest is in white collar crime.  He acted in a leading perjury case. He has represented clients charged with complex fraud.  His recent work has included acting for a director of a FTSE100 company, an administrator of a football club and a prominent politician.
Stuart is the managing director of Livingstone Brown.  He is a recommended lawyer in the Legal 500 directory. He is a member of the LSS’s Criminal Law Committee.

Director of Representation and Member Services, Law Society of Ireland

Teri is responsible for external communications for the Law Society of Ireland, web and digital communications, and the award-winning Gazette magazine and Gazette.ie. Teri assists members of the profession by providing member and support services including library services and member communications. Teri leads both the Small Practice Support Project and the Professional Wellbeing Project on behalf of the Law Society. Teri has a special interest in equality and diversity and is a member of the Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Task Force.

Originally from Calgary, Canada, Teri studied political science and international relations. She has spent time in the energy, technology and financial services sectors before moving to the legal profession. Teri has lived all over Ireland for more than 15 years, spending periods in Limerick, Galway, Longford, Leitrim and, now, Dublin.

Partner, International White Collar Crime, Investigations  & Compliance, Pinsent Masons
Tom heads Pinsent Masons' White Collar Crime, Investigations & Compliance practice.
Tom is experienced in cases concerning fraud, bribery, money laundering, export controls, economic sanctions, tax offences, criminal cartels, health and safety, and other regulatory offences.
Tom advises companies and individuals in respect of financial crime prevention; the conduct internal investigations; investigations and proceedings by law enforcement bodies (in particular Police Scotland, and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Services (COPFS)); self-reporting and non-prosecutorial resolutions; criminal defence; and public inquiries.  

Tom is ranked in Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners for financial crime and health & safety, and as Scotland's leading expert in fraud (criminal)(Legal 500). Chambers & Partners 2019 notes the following feedback: "one of the best lawyers I have worked with," according to a client, who adds: "He has excellent technical knowledge and is deeply practical and cognisant of commercial demands."