The Hon Lord Burns (David Burns)

Lord Burns was appointed as a judge of the Supreme Courts in July 2012.

He was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1977 and appointed as a Queen's Counsel in 1991. Prior to his admission he worked as a legal assistant in Rochester, New York and San Francisco, California, USA.

From 1977 to 1989 he was a junior counsel involved in family law, personal injury and planning.

From 1989 to 1991 he was an advocate depute, and on return to private practice, he resumed his involvement in planning, personal injury and criminal law. He acted as defence counsel in the Lockerbie case from 2000 until 2002.

In 1998 he was appointed Deputy Commissioner of Social Security and served as a temporary judge from 2002 to 2005. He became a part-time sheriff in 2007.