Three appointed to shrieval bench

The Queen has appointed Summary Sheriff Colm Dempsey, Kevin McCallum QC and senior prosecutor Nicola Patrick as sheriffs in the Sheriffdoms of North Strathclyde, and South Strathclyde, Dumfries & Galloway.

Mr Dempsey qualified as a solicitor in 2006 and became managing partner at Capital Defence Lawyers in 2011. He was granted criminal rights of audience as a solicitor advocate in 2014 and was appointed a summary sheriff in 2019.

Mr McCallum worked as a procurator fiscal depute and a defence solicitor in Glasgow before being called to the bar in 2000, where he has also practised in prosecution and criminal defence. Also a member of the Bar of England & Wales, he was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2020.

Ms Patrick joined the Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service in 1999, became head of Learning and Development in 2005 and obtained a Diploma in Trial Advocacy at Harvard, USA in 2006. She obtained a Masters in Strategic Leadership from Stirling University in 2008 and then held a series of senior posts within COPFS, including Head of Homicide and Major Crime.

The appointments were made following recommendations by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on the basis of a report by the Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland.