Fellow biographies

I graduated from Dundee University  and started as an apprentice with Stuart & Stuart Cairns & Co in 1976 and qualified in 1979 becoming a partner in about 1982. At that time the firm was at 49 Queen Street, Edinburgh but changed it's name to Stuart & Stuart and moved to 23 Rutland Street, Edinburgh in about 1983. The firm's main areas of practice were private client and conveyancing both of which I was involved with and kept me busy during my career until the Firm merged with Thorntons in 2022 when I became a Consultant and retired in November 2023.

I studied law at the University of Aberdeen before undertaking my traineeship with Shepherd and Wedderburn. I was admitted as a solicitor in 1996. After a couple of years in practice with Steedman Ramage and Shepherd and Wedderburn doing litigation and family law work, I joined the Government Legal Service for Scotland. In the following 25 years I undertook a wide variety of advisory, legislative and litigation work in fields as diverse as sea fisheries, food standards, prisons, public and mental health and wildlife and the natural environment. In 2020 I led the small team that drafted the initial sets of coronavirus lockdown regulations. In pursuance of a long-held ambition to retire early, I left practice at the beginning of 2023. Since then, I have been following a range of interests including finishing the Munros and (finally) learning to drive. I am also volunteering with Scotways – the Scottish Rights of Way Society.

Glasgow University graduate. Qualified as a solicitor September 1980. Apprentice and Qualified Assistant at Brechin Robb before becoming a Partner there in February 1984. Subsequently became a Partner (on amalgamation) in Brechin Tindal Oatts, now BTO Solicitors LLP. Following an initial short career in general practice I specialised in litigation and from 1997 in professional negligence acting, in particular, on behalf of the Master Policy Insurers in the defence of claim against members of the profession. Retired end of March 2017. Currently a member of each of the Practicing Certificate, Insurance and Professional Practice Committees of the Society. Married with two sons (non solicitors!) and two grandchildren.

Edinburgh graduate 1976. One of the last of the law apprentices at then Morton Fraser & Milligan, in 1980-82. Partner in the then Thornton Oliver WS, later Thorntons, 1986-2012. Partner Gillespie Macandrew 2012-2024. Accredited Specialist in Agricultural Law since 1997. Hon Sheriff 2004. Wrote inter alia the ‘Agricultural Leases’ part of SULI ‘Leases’ textbook with the late Prof Robert Rennie and others 2015. Adopted the expression ‘Land and Rural Business’ in 2008 to describe this sector of the profession [other formulations exist] . Advised the Tenant Farming Commissioner 2017-24.  Started the new ‘Commercial Uses of Rural Land’ honours course at Edinburgh University Law School in 2024 to teach the wide range of law that applies to rural commercial activity of all types.

After graduating in English law at Cambridge in 1967 I spent six years in the world of journalism before taking up an apprenticeship at Ballantyne & Copland, Motherwell, in October 1973, while simultaneously sitting all the Law Society professional examinations. My enrolment as a solicitor took place in November 1975, and after a period as a qualified assistant I became a partner in January 1977, remaining in that capacity with Ballantyne & Copland until 1993, followed by a two-year period as a consultant, until 1995. A subsequent two-year period as a sports law consultant at Harper Macleod, Glasgow, ended when I embarked on a “sabbatical” as General Manager, Football, at Celtic Football Club, which ended late in 1998. That role involved significant work in the world of contract. A six-year period as a sole practitioner trading as Winton Brown, Solicitors, Hamilton, followed, until 2005, when I joined Bishops Solicitors LLP, Glasgow, as a partner. One year later a merger took place with Brodies LLP, where I served as a Corporate and Commercial partner until 2010, then consultant until 2016, retiring at the age of 70.

A careers evening at my school had suggested a career in law which I had never previously considered. It was a representative from The Law Society of Scotland, a Stirling solicitor, who encouraged me to become a solicitor. I studied law at the University of Edinburgh and graduated in 1974. That was followed by a two year legal apprenticeship, which was also a WS apprenticeship, with Dundas & Wilson in Edinburgh. I also had a part-time job as a tutor in Scots Law at the Faculty of Law of Edinburgh University in order to supplement my meagre apprentice income which started at £680 per annum. I became active in campaigning for more realistic remuneration for those training as solicitors and was elected as President of the newly formed Scottish Young Lawyers Association.

Once I qualified as a solicitor, I remained with Dundas & Wilson and in 1979 I became a Partner in the firm at the age of 24 – the youngest partner they had apparently ever had in their very long history. After a total of 23 years with Dundas & Wilson, mostly specialising in a broad range of private client work, charities and heritage, I was the joint founder of a new law firm Turcan Connell with offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow, London and Guernsey. I retired as Senior Partner of Turcan Connell in 2015 and acted as a Consultant for the next two years. As part of Turcan Connell, we established a financial services and investment management business TCAM of which I was Chairman. TCAM built up over £1 billion of funds under management. The business was sold in 2018.

During my career, I was Chairman of various arts, cultural and heritage bodies including the Edinburgh International Book Festival, Museums Galleries Scotland, The Prince’s Foundation and the Lottery Committee of the Scottish Arts Council. I acted as a Board member and Trustee of numerous organisations including the Scottish Arts Council, the Edinburgh International Festival, the University of St Andrews, the University of Edinburgh, the Historic Scotland Foundation and the Historic Houses Association. After retiring as a solicitor, we decided to open a new chapter and moved to a small village in Hampshire where we spent a happy six years during which I served as a Parish Councillor, a Trustee of Hampshire Cultural Trust and continued with several non-executive directorships. We recently moved to Weybridge in Surrey to be closer to members of our family.

I was educated at Robert Gordon's College and Aberdeen University (LLB 1971; PhD 1974) and was admitted as a solicitor in 1974. I was in general private practice for the following 34 years, latterly specialising in Private Client work as a Consultant to Messrs Campbell Connon, Solicitors, Aberdeen. I retired from practice in September 2008.

I was a part-time Tutor in Taxation Law at Aberdeen University in the 1980s. For over 20 years I was a Director, and for 18 years Chairman, of Aberdeen Solicitors' Property Centre. This covered a period of unprecedented development of the Centre in response to the property boom in the north-east. I retired from the Centre in 1999.

In the late 1990s I became involved in dealing with complaints against solicitors. I was a Law Society Complaints Reporter and subsequently a member of one of the Client Relations Committees. This led to me being appointed to the Scottish Solicitors' Discipline Tribunal in 2004. I became Vice Chairman the following year and served on the Tribunal until 2010 when I retired in accordance with the normal principle that solicitors who have retired from practice should also retire from the Tribunal.

I am generally known as Teddy Davidson. I was apprenticed to Anderson Fyfe Littlejohn & Co when I entered the Law Faculty at Glasgow University, having previously graduated MA. In 1970 I became a partner at AFL and within a few years became responsible for the Firm’s Corporate and Commercial work. I developed a Shipping practice acting for several Scottish Shipowners and this involved much international travel. Highlights included the design, procurement and construction in Finland of MSV Stadive and its operation in the North Sea, the construction of two AHT/Supply Ships at Ferguson Brothers, Port Glasgow (built on time and to budget!) and the House of Lords case “The Sandrina”. I was one of the Law Society’s early “Trouble-shooters”.

In 1988 I moved to Dorman Jeffrey & Co where I added Renewable Energy to Shipping and general Corporate work; highlights included the sale of the Seaforth fleet to Norwegian interests and the development of Scotland’s first, and only, chicken litter fueled Power Station. DJ later joined what became the Andersen Legal network and when Dundas & Wilson also joined I became a partner there and survived the collapse of Andersen and the rebirth of D & W as an independent firm. I was a partner until 2002 when I became a Consultant finally leaving D & W and private practice in 2009. At D & W my practice eventually focussed on windfarm acquisitions and financings and advising the public sector. Among the most interesting projects were advising West of Scotland Water on the Greater Glasgow Solution and advising the Scottish Government on the re-tendering of Northlink and the tendering of Clyde & Hebridean Ferry Services; shipping gets into the blood.

After D & W I was part-time general counsel for a Renewable Energy company for a few years and provided, and still provide, consultancy services to a challenger Scotch Whisky group.

A demanding practice and fulfilling personal life left little time for outside commitments.

I graduated in Law from Glasgow University in 1976, and joined Joseph Mellick, solicitors, in Glasgow for my two-year apprenticeship. On qualifying in 1978 I joined Strathclyde Regional Council in Hamilton, gaining general experience and in particular civil court experience. At that time, I studied for the ACIS (company secretary) qualification.

In 1984 I joined the Weir Group as Group Solicitor, gaining general plc corporate experience. In 1988 I was appointed as Head of Legal in North of Scotland Hydro Electric Board, primarily being involved in electricity privatisation. I was then appointed Company Secretary of Scottish Hydro-Electric plc in 1993. Following the merger in 1998 of Scottish Hydro-Electric and Southern Electric to form SSE plc I was appointed Company Secretary, a post which I held until my retirement from SSE in December 2014.

Since 2014 I have had various short term roles: in 2015 I took up an interim position with KCA Deutag in Aberdeen to review corporate governance, the company secretarial function, and carry out a rights issue; in 2016 I was consultant to Solar Century, a photo voltaic company, in London, again to review and implement best practice in governance, board matters, and the company secretarial function generally; and in 2018 I was asked by the chairman of Thames Water ( the former SSE CEO) to carry out a full review of governance, the Board performance, and shareholder arrangements ahead of their regulatory price review.
I decided to do something completely different for 2019 and walked the Camino de Santiago de Compostela!

Bill joined Brodies in 1980 as an apprentice, practised in property law acting for a wide range of clients in development, finance, investment and land-ownership, and was elected/re-elected as Managing Partner seven times over a twenty years period until his retirement as a partner in 2018. By that time Brodies had increased headcount under his leadership by around 500 to c. 650 and was home to the largest legal resource in the country. It also was the largest firm by revenue and profit, driven by a clear strategy, strong balance sheet, top-tier rankings in all practice areas relevant to the Scottish economy and offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Brussels. In Bill’s tenure Brodies won multiple Scottish and UK awards for legal and business excellence and, when the firm won the UK Regional firm of the year at The Lawyer awards in 2017, one judge’s comment was that “Brodies has strong values and has pushed itself further than any other firm in Scotland”.

On a personal basis, Bill was named UK Management Partner of the Year at the 2013 Legal Business Awards, Managing Partner of the Year at the Scottish Legal Awards 2014 and won the Outstanding Contribution Award at 2018 Law Awards of Scotland. He has contributed to numerous conferences – both for the Law Society and internationally. His contribution to business in Scotland was recognised as a winner at the EY Scotland Entrepreneur of the Year Awards in 2014. He was elected Chair of the Scottish Council for Development & Industry in 2013 and made a Fellow of SCDI in 2015. From 2016 Bill also served as a Director of the UK-wide PRIME initiative, which aims to encourage diversity in the legal profession, Brodies having been a founding member since 2011. Bill was appointed a Fellow of The Law Society of Scotland in 2019.

After leaving Edinburgh University in 1973 I was not convinced law was for me. I did various managerial jobs before spending a summer working with young people supported by Craigmillar Festival Society. Some of them had never left Craigmillar. I decided during that period that I wished to be a legal aid lawyer. I spent 1978 doing my practicing subjects at Edinburgh University.

Once qualified I joined Sinclairs Solicitors managing the firms Craigmillar Branch Office. I did Civil and Criminal court work, almost all legally aided. I took up cases referred to me by the Citizens Rights Office and organisations linked to the Craigmillar Festival Society. Kenneth MacAskill was doing similar work at that time. We set up Erskine MacAskill & Co which then ran for twenty-five years. Again, this was nearly all legal aid work.

Many of my cases involved the welfare of vulnerable children. As a result of my experience with this I used to be ordered to do Bar Reports to assist the Court with background and decisions to be taken by the Court concerning these children.

I worked closely with Shakti Women’s Aid from its inception. I became knowledgeable about legal and other issues important in many cultural minority groups in Scotland. I specialised in an area of Family Law work which included international child abduction cases. Some of these cases were Commonwealth, European and North American and a number were based in countries such as Pakistan, Libya, and Kurdistan.

Latterly I joined MHD Law LLP as a partner and continued my Family Law practice until I retired.

In 1986 I joined the Society of Solicitors in the Supreme Courts, SSC. I am currently President of this organisation. Recently we have developed links with other such organisations such as the Faculty of Procurators in Glasgow and the Society of Advocates in Aberdeen. Together with the Association of Scottish Young Lawyers we have started evening events at which we invite speakers such as Lord Glennie who spoke at a recent event and Alex Prentice KC. We have a social event afterwards. Over the last few years, we have decided as a Society to do what we can to promote the interest of young lawyers in all possible ways.

After graduating from Glasgow University in 1970, I started my apprenticeship, as it was then called, with a private firm in Greenock. On its completion I began my career as a local government solicitor in the conveyancing section of the town clerk's department of Glasgow Corporation. As I was keen to gain some court experience as well, I took the opportunity given by local government reorganisation to move in 1975 to the new Strathclyde Regional Council at its Paisley offices which covered the Renfrewshire, Ayrshire, Dunbartonshire and Argyll areas. My conveyancing duties covered such areas as acquisitions, sales, leases, commercial transactions, CPOs, servitudes, opinions on various matters etc. My court duties covered sheriff and district courts for all local government functions as well as actions on behalf of the Chief Constable and, for a short time, the Reporter to the Childrens' Panel. I also gained experience in planning inquiries and fatal accident inquiries.

In due course I was appointed head of conveyancing and in this position worked at the Council HQ at Charing Cross, Glasgow from 1990 until the next local government reorganisation in the mid 1990s.

It was then I moved to the new Glasgow District Council as head of the property conveyancing section and later became the assistant head of legal services with responsibility for both the property conveyancing and court sections. I retired early at the end of 2003.

A few months after retiring, I accepted an offer to work for Capita from home giving legal advice over the telephone to enquiries from the public on all areas except employment law. I only did this for a couple of years although I did enjoy it.

In addition to the above I also did voluntary work as a Childrens' Panel member from 1990 until 2012.

I studied law on the accelerated course at Edinburgh University, with an Erasmus year at Paris XI (1992-92). After my traineeship at Shepherd and Wedderburn and a short period after qualification in the corporate department, I joined what was then the Scottish Office in June 1997. Through various changes of name and the constitutional re-organisation necessitated by devolution, I remained there until July 2024.

In the first decade I worked in teams advising clients including the Scottish Prison Service (for legislation, general advice, and litigation on slopping out claims, segregation, etc), the Roads Department (for planning inquiries) and the Insolvency Service (for directors’ disqualification). I also spent 18 months in the Legal Secretariat to the Advocate General in the early days of that office.

From 2007 I worked at the Scottish Law Commission, save for a 2 year period when I was at the Scottish Parliament and on a 6 month career break. At the Commission I was project manager for the reports on sexual offences, succession, contract, trusts, commercial leases, and automated vehicles. From 2021 until 2024 I was the interim Chief Executive at the SLC.

I left the Government Legal Service for Scotland in 2024 in order to run a farm in Easter Ross. The farmland is largely tenanted, so my main interest is in areas which include: enhancing biodiversity, introducing renewable energy sources, managing the woodland, encouraging responsible access, and preserving the agricultural buildings. At the time of writing (Oct 2024) it is early days and I am trying to upskill myself as much as I can.

I started my career as a litigation lawyer and spent 20 years working for the NHS Central Legal Office in Edinburgh. I became a Litigation Team Leader, and also headed up the Employment Team. I then worked as a Senior Associate at McGrigors for a number of years, before moving to London. This gave me the chance to work in-house again, and I took on an international role working for a large US insurance company, heading up the employment law function across a wide number of European and Middle East jurisdictions.

I am now retired and mostly based back in Edinburgh, but involved in various voluntary activities. As someone with a keen interest in music, I have been a trustee for some years with a national charity, Music in Hospitals & Care which brings the joy of live music to healthcare settings, and I have recently taken on the role of Chair of our Board of Trustees.

I came into law late (in my 30s), after a career in social work, community work and adult education and immediately after a period studying for the priesthood. I qualified by doing the Law Society Examinations (by way of the graduate route) and then the Diploma in Legal Practice. After qualifying, I became a partner in MacKay WS and then a partner in (what was) Archibald Campbell & Harley WS. I set up my own practice (Ian Kennedy WS) in 1996, and later formed the Kennedy Moffat law Partnership (with Stan Moffat). My principal area of practice was in employment law. I was appointed Vice-President of the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland in 2005. Immediately prior to retirement, I was the Lead Adjudicator in the Parking & Bus Lane Tribunal for Scotland.

I obtained a Law Degree at Durham University in 1975,sat and passed the English Bar exams in 1976, but then commenced an apprenticeship at Simpson & Marwick WS, at the same time sitting the LSS exams, and was admitted as a solicitor in Scotland in 1978. I became a partner in S&M in 1980, and remained so until 2015 when we merged with Clyde & Co LLP, where I was a partner till 2020, and subsequently a consultant until I retired in April 2022. I was Managing Partner at S&M from 2010 until 2015, and a member of the UK Board of Clydes from 2015-2017.

I sat on the LSS Civil Justice committee for about 20 years up until 2022. I am convenor of the Personal Injury Accreditation Committee. I sat on the Court of Session Personal Injury User Group, as well as the Scottish Civil Justice Personal Injury Committee. I was Scottish Regional Representative of Forum of Insurance Lawyers. I was a member of the Review Group to Sheriff Principal Taylor’s Review of Expenses in Civil Litigation in 2013.

I graduated in 1985 and carried out my traineeship with Levy & McRae in Bath Street.
The experience that I gained was invaluable and I worked with and for some great legal
minds in the late Len Murray, Sheriff Tom Scott, and Peter Watson. I described it once as
“sink or swim” traineeship and found myself once inadvertently representing the first
Accused in a three accused Jury Trial and managed to persuade the jury to acquit!

After I completed my traineeship, I was offered a job as a court assistant at Nelson & Gibb
In High Blantyre. I loved going to court whether it be for criminal or civil cases. 6 years after
Joining the Firm and having been made a salaried Partner I was offered the opportunity to
Buy the Firm from Karen Gibb (Derick Nelson having already resigned). I borrowed £10k from
My Dad and became the owner. I paid him back over the next couple of years!..

5 years later Karen Gibb returned to help me with the conveyancing side of the business.
In 2007 we purchased a semidetached house on Burnbank Road In Hamilton and converted
This into an Office. We had accumulated the Funds from a successful buy to let property company
That we had set up in about 2002. At that stage we were carrying out private client working only and
Then the property crash hit. Domestic conveyancing at that time was our principal revenue stream,
So, this had a hugely detrimental impact on our business.

It was then that I was approached by a colleague to ascertain whether I would be interested in
Investing in a new business that would act for consumers who had been mis sold payment
Protection insurance .I invested all of what little cash I had as he provided proof of concept.
Both our Firms increased our staff from 6 to over 30 and the Claims Company recruited over
30 staff. I sold my practice in 2012 to concentrate on the financial reclaims business which we
Expanded to include other products. Between 2015 and 2024, I also worked as a Consultant for
The Firm Austin Lafferty & Co mainly as a result of my long-term friendship with Austin.

Since August 2023 I have been collaborating with a major Scottish litigation Law Firm on a new financial reclaims project which will Focus on a number of sectors including against some major Financial Institutions and against the PCP Lending markets. This project commenced 4 months ago and my remit as Co-Founder will be to lend my knowledge and experience to this business.

Gillian Carmichael Lemaire qualified as a solicitor in 1984 and is a member of the Paris Bar, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and an Accredited Mediator registered with the Civil Mediation Council and Scottish Mediation. Gillian started out as a litigator in Glasgow and moved into the international arbitration field in Paris in 1986. Much of her career, including positions as partner, was spent in international law firms in Paris, where she lived and worked for 30 years, latterly founding her own firm. Gillian has worked on international disputes worldwide in the environmental, construction, property, infrastructure, manufacturing, distribution and general commercial sectors, with particular experience in disputes arising out of projects involving States/State-owned entities and private parties, frequently in the Middle East and Africa.

She is currently based in London and serves as an international mediator and arbitrator and as a volunteer community mediator. Gillian is a Director of the Scottish Arbitration Centre, a member of the Advisory Council to the Board of ArbitralWomen and teaches international arbitration as a visiting lecturer at the University of Aberdeen. She is a Past Vice Chair of the London Branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and is bilingual English/French.

I spent almost all of my career with MacRoberts LLP. I started in 1982 and left in 2022. During that time I was Partner for 34 years and Managing Partner for 12 years in two separate stints. I was a general Litigator in the early days of pen and ink, then specialised to Employment Litigation, in conjunction with Raymond Williamson who was the best of mentors. It was for me the perfect place to work.

Before that I had a short stint for two years at a firm my father was involved in called J&J Sturrock and Co in Kilmarnock and did my Apprenticeship before that at Bird Semple and Crawford Herron in Glasgow. Both firms are now amalgamated into other firms. I am a Dundee graduate where for the last three winters I have been back Diploma tutoring. 

Married with 3 children and 2 grandchildren. LL.B. (Hons) from Edinburgh University 1978. Apprenticeship with MacRobert Son & Hutchison, Glasgow 1978-1980. Enrolled in 1980 and joined Holmes Mackillop in the same year. Became a Partner in 1983 and a Director on incorporation in 2014.

Main focus was on Corporate and Commercial Law with a considerable interest in Charity Law (as well as being a Trustee of quite a number of Charities which will continue after retirement).
Retired on 30th September, 2020 after 40 years with Holmes Mackillop in their Glasgow office.

Tom Marshall is a solicitor advocate who retired from practice on 31 October 2021.  A graduate of Dundee University, Tom trained with Bishop & Company in Glasgow before becoming a partner in the firm, by then called Bishop and Robertson Chalmers, in Edinburgh in 1988.  He qualified as a solicitor advocate in 1994 leaving Morison Bishop to join Thompsons in Glasgow in 2001.  He retired as a partner of Thompsons in 2017 and latterly ran his own solicitor advocacy practice from home in Aberdour.  Tom is a past president of the Society of Solicitor Advocates and also represented solicitor advocates on the Law Society Council.  He remains as convener of the Law Society’s Rights of Audience sub-committee, council member of the WS Society and board member of Fife Law Centre.  Tom recalls “I was definitely not the most diligent of law students, being more interested in student politics, and, following graduation, joined the civil service in London.  Having changed my mind, I started my apprenticeship in 1982 just before I would have been required to take the Diploma.  My training with Eddie MacKechnie at Bishop & Co led me to civil litigation.  When the firm opened its Edinburgh office, I came through to develop practice in the Court of Session.  This in turn led to solicitor advocacy.  The move to Thompsons at the invitation of Frank Maguire allowed me to devote myself to solicitor advocacy.  It has been a great privilege to represent many people affected by asbestos exposure and to play a part not just in conducting individual cases but also in law reform benefitting asbestos victims and claimants in fatal injury cases more widely.”

Graeme studied law at Dundee (LLB) and Strathclyde (DipLP) Universities, trained and practised initially in Glasgow, before joining Standard Life in Edinburgh, where he worked as an in-house lawyer for over 31 years.

He joined the In House Lawyers Group in 2012, the ILG became the Law Society of Scotland’s In-House Lawyers Committee in 2015, and he was ILC convener and co-opted Society Council member from 2016 to 2019. He has been on the judging panel of the Scottish Legal Awards since 2016, chaired the Scotland Working Group of the Scotland Committee of the Access to Justice Committee since 2020, been on the board of Art in Healthcare since 2020 and was a board member of the Friends of the Royal Scottish Academy from 2009 to 2017.

He has a keen interest in IP/IT law, a passion for communication and a creative streak. He is a keen supporter of World IP Day, the Faculty of Advocates' 21st Century Bar Conference and the Edinburgh and Glasgow Legal Walks, and has co-chaired the annual Faculty's World IP Day Conference in Edinburgh since 2008.

I did my Degree and Diploma at Dundee University between 1981 and 1985. I then secured a traineeship with Cooper Laing & Co in Lossiemouth. Inevitably it was a very varied traineeship; an average day would often involve, a trip to court, domestic conveyancing and a bit of will drafting rather than the much more structured approach that seems to be common now of spending a few months in specific departments.

I very quickly realised that I preferred the cut and thrust of court so as my traineeship drew to a close I started looking for a post-qualifying position in a court department somewhere reasonably close to Perth so I wasn’t too far from family. Although I was sorry to leave Lossiemouth, I felt I wanted to do something other than be a High Street solicitor.

I’ll draw a veil over the next 11 months working for a firm somewhere between the Tay and the Dee which will remain nameless and I quickly looked for a move on somewhere else.

Despite being only 11 months qualified, I replied to an advert from what was then TD Young & Co in Glenrothes looking for someone to develop their litigation practice. The then partners must have seen something  they liked as a job offer followed. That was 1988 and the rest is history since I remained with the same business for the next 33 years until I retired in late 2021.

Over those years, what started as very much a general litigation practice typical of a high street firm as time went on the firm was moving more and more into doing strictly commercial legal work. I became an Associate in 1991 [I think], salaried partner in 1995 and equity partner in 1998 when we made the decision to focus almost exclusively on business law.

Since then I very much focussed on a wide range of commercial disputes, contract, construction, IP, shareholder disputes and some more exotic cases. I did a lot of appearance work myself rather than instruct counsel other than for the most complicated Sheriff Court cases and I hope developed a good relationship with both the local bar and the bench in Fife and beyond.

Despite being a fairly modestly sized firm, we managed to attract the sort of business that took me to the Court of Session and many of the Sheriff Courts across Scotland. I’ve also been lucky enough to have to travel to Paris, Oslo and Dubai in connection with business – although the glamour of it seemed to pass me by – something to do with long days in lawyers offices I fear.

I made the decision to retire back in 2019 but wanted to make sure it was a planned and structured withdrawal only slightly accelerated, if indirectly, by the pandemic.

Lyle, David Angus, MA LLB SSC FCIS, Consultant, Solicitor and Chartered Company Secretary, in private practice, 1993–2010 (retired 2010): b 7.9.40; m (1) (1969), Dorothy Ann Clark (pharmacist) (marr. diss. 2004); 1 s; 3 d; m (2) (2007), Joyce Simpson (nee Walton) (solicitor). Educ. George Watson’s College, Edinburgh; 1958–1963 Edinburgh University; 1964-1965 Advertising Agencies, London; 1966-1968 Indentured, Town Clerk, Edinburgh Corporation:; 1969-1970 Solicitor, Lloyds & Scottish Finance Ltd, Edinburgh; 1970-1974 Depute County Clerk, East Lothian County Council (including responsibility for the local authority case at the planning inquiry for the largest capital project in Scotland: 2 nuclear power stations at Torness – only one was built); 1975-1979 First Director of Administration and Law, Dumfries & Galloway Regional Council (including Returning Officer for local, UK and EU Elections and 2 Referendums); 1979-1991 Agency Secretary, Scottish Development Agency, Glasgow (including Company Secretary, Scottish Exhibition & Conference Centre Ltd and Director of Scottish Development Finance Ltd); 1991-1993 Director/Company Secretary, Scottish Enterprise, Glasgow, after the SDA merged with the Training Agency.

Recreations: travel (have taken in most of Europe and North America plus Bhutan, Burma (now Myanmar), China, India, Nepal, Australia and New Zealand, as well as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru; golf (including 20 years at Kilmacolm Golf Club and 10 years at Grantown-on-Spey Golf Club and winner (2010) of the Strachan Rosebowl competed annually by the company secretaries in Scotland; rambling (was Chairman of Badenoch & Strathspey Ramblers as well as 4 years Chairman of Highlands Area of Ramblers Scotland).

My years from 1998 to 2010 are of particular note as for 3 years I operated in Glasgow for one main client – Atlantic Telecom undertaking the leases of telecoms sites, until the firm went bust in 2001. Thereupon the AT site acquisition team was taken as a unit into Hutchison 3G Ltd (Three) to do their telecoms sites 3G roll-out in Scotland. CMS Cameron McKenna, London, were then the solicitors for Three, so I became an employee of CMS Cameron McKenna, Aberdeen and Edinburgh, with the responsibility to establish CMS Cameron McKenna’s presence in Glasgow within Three’s offices there. The dress code (compulsory) was t-shirt and jeans, so I had to ditch the office suit. No problem. Site leases were not a particularly demanding role, in legal terms, but it was challenging to get the legal firms for the lessors to complete the transactions at the speed required by Three. Some 2 years in that role, CMS Cameron McKenna lost the Three business. So I set up as a Legal Locum and operated for firms in Edinburgh (Ann Budge’s Newall & Budge Ltd), Falkirk, Kilmacolm, Lockerbie, before being taken on as a lawyer for the telecoms company – Thus plc, in Glasgow. In 2006 I moved in retirement to the Cairngorms National Park at Grantown-on-Spey whereupon I was snapped up by Highland Council as the Area Solicitor for Badenoch & Strathspey at Kingussie (3 days a week) and for Nairnshire at Nairn (2 days a week). Running the Planning Committee for one’s home area is a fantastic way to get to know the locality and the people in the community. This led to my being the (unpaid) company secretary of Grantown Development Agency – Grantown Initiative, as well as other volunteer roles as chairman of Strathspey Probus and interest group leader of Grantown U3A.

After graduating LL B (Hons) from Aberdeen University in 1978, David moved to Edinburgh where he has remained since, serving his apprenticeship with Henderson & Jackson WS, almost four years as an Assistant with Aikman, Russell & Dunlop WS, moving to Allan McDougall in 1984 where he was a Partner from 1985 to 2017 then a Consultant until the end of October 2022 when he did not renew his Practising Certificate. He continues to be associated with the Firm while finishing off as (the last) Secretary of the Lothian Valuation Appeal Panel which, along with the other VAPs and Valuation Appeal Committees across Scotland, is set to disappear into history next year on transfer to Scottish Tribunals. Throughout his practising career, David was involved in civil litigation and has continuing interests in reform and developments in the regulation and governance of the Solicitors' Profession, the Court and Tribunal system in Scotland, the provision of Legal Aid, Family Law and other areas where reform is under consideration. 

I obtained my Law Degree from The University of Glasgow in 1972 and qualified in 1974. I have worked in large and small legal firms and was a Local Government solicitor for 7 years before setting up my own law firm in 1986 which I managed until 2012.

I have been a Social Security Appeals Chair (1999-2000), a Member of the Competition Appeal Tribunal (formerly Competition Commission Appeal Tribunals) from 2000 to 2006, a Lay Member of The Scottish Dental Practice Board (2012-2013) and a part-time Immigration and Asylum Judge (1997-2015). I was a Member of the Scottish School Closure Review Panels from 2015 to 2019. I am a Writer to the Signet.

I have served on Law Society of Scotland committees including the Immigration Accreditation Panel and the Appeals and Reviews Regulatory Sub- Committee. I was, for 8 years, a Solicitor Reporter with the Client Relations Office and I have been a Career Mentor.

I graduated in Law from the University of Strathclyde in 1973 going on to serve my apprenticeship at McGrigor, Donald & Co. On qualifying, I joined Alexander Stone & Co in 1975 as a litigation assistant, subsequently being assumed as a partner in 1979. 

In 1998, the firm merged with Burness. The following year I was appointed head of Dispute Resolution in the firm, a role which I held until 2005 when I became chair. I continued as chair of Burness and then Burness Paull until I left practice in July 2018. 

Throughout my career, I practised as a litigator, latterly specialising in Product Liability as well as Reputation Management.

In addition, I served from 2017 to 2018 as chair of the Senior Lawyers Committee of the IBA.

Gerard Sinclair is a part-time sheriff in Scotland, having been appointed in June 2006. He is also a shrieval convener of the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland. 

In September 2021 he retired as the Chief Executive and Principal Solicitor of the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission, having taken up this public appointment in June 2003. The SCCRC is the statutory body with the responsibility for investigating and reviewing possible miscarriages of justice in Scotland.  

Prior to his work at the Commission, he was a solicitor in private practice for almost 20 years, and a senior partner with a law firm in Glasgow. He is qualified in both Scottish and English Law and in his earlier legal career was involved in conducting a wide variety of criminal, civil and commercial litigation. He has previously served as a member of the Council of the Law Society of Scotland and as a member of the Judicial Council for Scotland.  

His previous public appointments include being a member of Lord Coulsfield`s Reference Group on “The Law and Practice of Disclosure” in 2007 and a member of Lord Carloway`s Review Group on “Criminal Law and Practice” in 2011. 

I obtained my law degree and Diploma at the University of Edinburgh qualifying in 1984.  My traineeship was spent in Leith at GW Tait & Sons substantially in residential conveyancing.  Moving on I was with Bell & Scott before joining the Edinburgh office of McGrigor, Donald & Moncrieffs.

I remained with McGrigors through the period 1985 to 2008,  becoming a partner in the commercial property team in 1995.  At McGrigors I had two spells of working in the Glasgow office.  The workload varied covering Environmental law issues, the fledgling Public Finance Initiative and property regeneration and development.  I also maintained principal responsibility for a major house-building client, dealing with site acquisition work and supervising their plot sales.

In early 2009 I joined Eversheds in their new Edinburgh office.  I helped establish that office for the firm and deliver a foundation for Scottish real estate. 

In 2011 I moved to Aberdeen with Bond Pearce.  The firm was there for Oil & Gas work but wanted to build on a Scottish real estate offering it had begun.  The team grew significantly over six years.  Alongside a wind down from Aberdeen Womble Bond Dickinson opened in Edinburgh in 2017. 

In 2020 I joined TLT working through my time there all in lockdown.  I retired in autumn 2021.  Amongst other interests I presently enjoy a position as a Trustee with the National Trust for Scotland. 

I was indentured as an apprentice to Menzies and Whyte WS in Edinburgh in 1952 and matriculated from Edinburgh University in 1955 with a Bachelor of Law with distinction following a compressed part-time three-year degree. Admitted on 6 September 1955 and I believe I am on record as the youngest person admitted under the current legislation. I retired from practice in 2017.
I came to work for my father and became a partner in Charles Wood & Son in Kirkcaldy in 1956. I was joined at the practice by my brother David in 1961 and youngest brother Angus in 1976.
I was active in courts (both summary and solemn case trials) and tribunals up to 1985 when I was appointed an Honorary Sheriff. I litigated in various sheriff courts and the Court of Session as well as acting for both planning authority and objectors in a number of public enquiries.
From 1971 I withdrew from criminal legal aid work in favour of more chamber practice work.
I chaired industrial tribunals up to 1975. I also served on the ad hoc committee which eventually produced the PQLE. I chaired a rent assessment tribunal for 17 years until taken out by the Nolan review Rules. I was active in the Glasgow Bar Association in the 1950s and 70s. I edited notes on Decided Cases for the Scottish law Gazette from 1952 to 72. I was a reporter on the Law Society Complaints Committee for over 15 years and served on Council for one term.

An interesting sideline in the 1950s/60s, when Kirkcaldy harbour was still busy with shipping, I was acting as Notary, recording shipmasters protests about delays due to weather and other causes including insubordination all duly noted in my protocol book despite frequent language difficulties. I also arrested three ships in various harbours in the Forth – one schedule was nailed to the mast in the traditional way – the other two were secured by tape!