NEWS

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon made her recommendation for appointment on the basis of a report by the Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland.  

Gerard Bonnar qualified as a solicitor in 1993. He was a partner in a high street firm for 6 years before joining South Lanarkshire Council Legal Services in 2002. In 2005 he joined the Scottish Government Legal Department. He held advisory, policy and litigation posts including secondments to Criminal Justice Policy, the Office of the Advocate General and, latterly, Transport Scotland. He has been a resident summary sheriff in Glasgow since his appointment in 2017.

A graduate of the University of Strathclyde, Brian Cameron currently sits as a Summary Sheriff at Glasgow Sheriff Court, having been appointed in 2016. He served as a part time sheriff from 2011 to 2016. As a solicitor in private practice he was a partner in the commercial litigation teams at Macdonalds from 1992 to 2013 and latterly at Morton Fraser. He is a past Dean of the Royal Faculty of Procurators in Glasgow. 

Gerard Considine is a graduate of the University of Strathclyde obtaining an LLB Honours Degree in 1987 and a Diploma in Legal Practice in 1988. Mr Considine is a solicitor advocate who spent his entire legal career at Fitzpatrick & Co, having started his traineeship there in 1988 and he was assumed as a partner in 1993. He is a former President of the Glasgow Bar Association and a member of the Law Society of Scotland’s Criminal Law Committee.

Robert Frazer is a graduate of Edinburgh University. He is a former partner of Keegan Walker SSC, Livingston, and Drummond Miller LLP, Edinburgh, where he was latterly head of Sheriff Court litigation. He served as a Council member for the Law Society of Scotland from 2001 to 2011. He became a Solicitor Advocate in 2004 and was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 2012. He has since worked as a legal adviser to a number of professional regulators and was appointed an ad hoc Advocate Depute in 2015.

Gordon Lamont was educated at Dunoon Grammar, Lenzie Academy and Glasgow University. He qualified as a solicitor in 1992 and practiced litigation for six years. He was appointed Legal Assistant to the Lord President (Lord Rodger) in 1998. Thereafter, he was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in in 1999. His practice specialised in aviation, reparation (fatal accidents) and Public Inquiries. He served as an Advocate Depute (2017 – 2019) including as Health and Safety Advocate Depute (2018 – 2019).

Kenneth Campbell is a law graduate from Glasgow University before gaining a Masters degree at the University of London in 1988. He was a civil litigation solicitor before joining the Bar in 1996. He practised in a number of areas of civil law, and appeared in courts and tribunals at all levels across Scotland as well as before the UK Supreme Court. He served as an ad hoc Advocate Depute, prosecuting criminal trials in the High Court of Justiciary. He is currently a part-time member of the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Tax Chamber) and the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland.

Douglas Keir is a law graduate of the University of Edinburgh. He trained with W&J Burness and qualified as a solicitor in 1998. He then joined Anderson Strathern where he specialised in litigation work. He became a partner in 2003 and also qualified as a Solicitor Advocate in 2006. He joined Weightmans in 2014 to set up their Scottish litigation practice. He has been an accredited specialist in personal injury law since 2008.

Tony McGlennan obtained a bachelor of laws from the University of Strathclyde in 1990, and the Diploma in Legal Practice from the University of Edinburgh in 1991. He thereafter trained and qualified as a solicitor with Messrs Livingstone Brown in Glasgow, before joining the firm of Penmans in 1996. He practised in the area of criminal law with Penmans and was assumed as a partner in 1998. In 2008, he was awarded rights of audience (criminal). Tony was appointed as the Compliance Officer for the Scottish FA 2014, a role he served for 4 years. In 2018 he returned to private practice with Addleshaw Goddard LLP as a legal director in their Global Investigations team.

Linda Nicolson is a law graduate of the University of Strathclyde, later gaining a Diploma in Legal Practice in 1987. She practised as a solicitor, starting her career in 1987 as a trainee and then assistant with Livingstone Brown before becoming a principal in private practice with Nicolson & Co. in 1993. When her children were younger, she worked part time for some years before returning to full time practice in 2013. Ms Nicolson became a summary sheriff in 2017. 

Alison McKay obtained a bachelor of laws from the University of Aberdeen in 1988, and the Diploma in Legal Practice from Strathclyde University in 1989. She started her career at Simpson Boath & Co/Campbell Boath & Co as a trainee in 1989, then Assistant Solicitor before moving to Blackadder Reid Johnston. In 1993, she became a partner with A C Miller & Mackay before becoming a floating summary sheriff in 2017.

Keith Peter O’Mahony is a law graduate of Glasgow University and studied at Haarlem Business School in the Netherlands gaining a Diploma in European Law. He started his career with Jackson Hetherington Solicitors in 1997. He went on to work as a solicitor with Scottish Borders Council, East Lothian Council and McKay and Norwell Solicitors. In 2001, Mr O’Mahony joined the COPFS where he ultimately held the post of Senior Procurator Fiscal Depute. In 2015, he became a Solicitor Advocate and was appointed an Advocate Depute in the same year before becoming a summary sheriff in 2018.

The Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland is an independent advisory public body with the role of recommending individuals for appointment to judicial offices within the Board’s remit including judge of the Court of Session, chair of the Scottish Land Court, sheriff principal, sheriff, and summary sheriff.

The First Minister has statutory responsibility for making recommendations to Her Majesty the Queen and is required by statute to consult the Lord President of the Court of Session before making her recommendation.

The salary of a sheriff is £143,095 per annum.

Summary Sheriffs Appointed