From Ascension Island to the Judicial Institute - Meet Lady Drummond

Lady Drummond has been appointed as the new Chair of the Judicial Institute, replacing Lord Beckett who stood down following his appointment as Lord Justice Clerk.

Vice-Chair since 2023, Lady Drummond brings a wealth of experience to the role and will now oversee the education and training of Scotland's judges.

I had no hesitation in appointing her as Chair and wish her every success in the role

As head of the Scottish judiciary, Lord Pentland - who assumed the role of Lord President earlier this year - delegates responsibility for judicial training to the Board. Operational work is carried out by the Institute's director, Sheriff Pino Di Emidio and deputy direction Sheriff Adrian Cottam.

Lorna Allison Drummond, Lady Drummond, KC, was installed as a Senator of the College of Justice in May 2022 after serving as an Appeal Sheriff and a Temporary High Court Judge since 2020.

She is a former crown counsel of the remote Ascension Island, advising the government on matters both criminal and civil, and continues to be a Justice of Appeal in the Court of Appeal in the Territories of St Helena, Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha.

Educated at Glasgow and Cambridge Universities, Lady Drummond was appointed assistant parliamentary counsel before calling to the Bar in 1998. She became a QC in 2011 after acting as standing junior to the Advocate General and Scottish Ministers. She sat as a part-time Sheriff from 2009 and took up the role as resident Sheriff in Dundee in 2014 and commercial sheriff in 2017. She is Honorary Professor of St Andrews University and Justice of the St Helena Court of Appeal.

During her time on Ascension in the South Atlantic, she was the working qualified lawyer and organised a 'Faculty of Advocates' MiniTrial.

She said: "As an advocate, I practised mainly in civil law, specialising in public and administrative law. After nine years at the Bar, I was appointed crown counsel of Ascension Island in the South Atlantic where I advised the government on criminal and civil matters.

"That provided me with an entirely different legal perspective: the Island has a small community and operates an almost exclusively lay justice system with lay magistrates, lay advocates and lay prosecutors. As the only lawyer on Island, part of my role involved working with and training the court users.

"The experience made me appreciate the significance that judicial decision-making has within a small community as well as the importance of the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary."

Lady Drummond joined Axiom Advocates in 2013 with a focus on public law. She also sat for three months as a part-time sheriff in Peterhead.

The experience made me appreciate the significance that judicial decision-making has within a small community

“I would like to pay tribute to the work undertaken in the last few years by the Lord Justice Clerk as he stands down as Chair of the Judicial Institute. In particular the implementation of Lady Dorrian’s Review Group aimed at improving the court experience of those who have experienced trauma. The work done on the Jury Manual in relation to a plain English rewrite of the sexual offences chapters and new directions on rape myths and stereotypes was also very important.

"Lady Drummond as Vice Chair worked closely with Lord Beckett on implementing these changes and others and I had no hesitation in appointing her as Chair and wish her every success in the role. As the work of judges continues to evolve, the Judicial Institute has never been more important or relevant in preparing the judiciary to adapt in a rapidly changing society.” 

In addition to face to face and online courses, the Institute develops and publishes resources for practising judges including a number of benchmark texts such as the Jury Manual, Civil and Criminal Bench Books and the Equal Treatment Bench Book.