RBS solicitor wins In-house Rising Star Award

Leigh Kirkpatrick, a solicitor at the Royal Bank of Scotland in Edinburgh, has been named as the winner of this year’s Law Society of Scotland In-house Lawyers’ Group Rising Star Award.

The award was presented at the Society’s Law in Scotland Conference reception which followed Friday's conference.

Runners up were Emma Blundell of City of Edinburgh Council and Martin Campbell of the Scottish Social Services Council, based in Dundee.

This is the third year of the Rising Star Award, which was launched to support and promote new lawyers working as part of in-house legal teams, a group that now makes up 30% of Scottish solicitors.

Lynda Towers, chair of the In-house Lawyers’ Group said: “All the nominations this year were of an exceptional standard, and we had a very difficult task in making our final decision, with every nominee being a potential candidate for top spot.

“I’d like to congratulate Leigh, our very deserving winner, and also our two runners-up, Emma and Martin. Not only have these three exceptionally talented solicitors shown a fantastic commitment to providing the best possible legal services within their respective organisations, but they have also contributed to the wider community through volunteering their personal time and expertise.”

Christine McLintock, President of the Society, presented the Rising Star trophy and the runners-up prizes.

At the reception the Society also made a presentation to the Scottish Law Commission to mark its 50th anniversary.