A fresh chapter commences

The 2024-25 Scottish legal year opened with Lord Carloway’s final address. The event, livestreamed for the first time, saw 18 new King’s Counsel welcomed.

The historic Opening of the Legal Year was livestreamed for the first time from the Court of Session, having taken place on Monday 23^rd September. The ceremony marks the beginning of the 2024-25 term and was available to watch as it happened on the Scottish Courts and Tribunals website.

As is tradition, the Lord President, Lord Carloway began proceedings by laying out the aims and ambitions of the Judiciary for the year ahead.

As we all know, the courts now run throughout the year, but this traditional ceremony continues and the day included speeches from Lord Carloway, Dean of Faculty Roddy Dunlop KC and Susan Murray, President of the Law Society of Scotland.

During the speech, The Lord President welcomed the 18 new King’s Counsel who have been appointed by His Majesty The King on the recommendation of First Minister John Swinney. They are: Desmond Cheyne, Marie Clark, Colin Edward, Edith Forrest, William Frain-Bell, Scott McAlpine, Ross McClelland, James McConnell, David Moggach, Craig Murray, David Nicolson, Lili Prais, Gillian Ross, Usman Tariq, Laura Thomson, Angela Gray (solicitor), Kathleen Harper (solicitor) and Iain Paterson (solicitor).

Lord Carloway also introduced the five new Honorary King’s Counsel appointees: Sheriff Principal Aisha Anwar; Professor James Chalmers; Professor Alan Paterson; Professor Stephen Tierney; and Judge Susan Walker.

It is important to note that this was Lord Carloway’s final opening of the legal year ceremony before retiring, making reference to his and Lady Dorrian’s retirement in February next year alongside recruitment plans.

Lord Carloway made reference to the significant impact of technology within the courts during his time in office and the importance of embracing change.

He also commented on recent successes, such as the Summary Case Management pilot and opening of the Dundee Justice Hub, which have occurred at a time when an increasing number of trials are calling at court.

You can watch the recording and hear the speeches using this link.