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Opening of the Legal Year 2024-25
Sep 23, 2024
The Lord President, Lord Carloway, introduced the Opening of the Legal Year today at a ceremony in Court 1 at Parliament House.
Although the courts now run throughout the year, the traditional ceremony continues and today included speeches from the Lord President, Roddy Dunlop KC, the Dean of Faculty of Advocates and Susan Murray, President of the Law Society of Scotland.
The Lord President welcomed the 18 new King’s Counsel who have been appointed by His Majesty The King on the recommendation of First Minister John Swinney:
Desmond Cheyne, Advocate; Marie Clark, Advocate; Colin Edward, Advocate; Edith Forrest, Advocate; William Frain-Bell, Advocate; Scott McAlpine, Advocate; Ross McClelland, Advocate; James McConnell, Advocate; David Moggach, Advocate; Craig Murray, Advocate; David Nicolson, Advocate; Lili Prais, Advocate; Gillian Ross, Advocate; Usman Tariq, Advocate; Laura Thomson, Advocate; Angela Gray, Solicitor Advocate; Kathleen Harper, Solicitor Advocate; and Iain Paterson, Solicitor Advocate.
The Lord President also introduced the five new Honorary King’s Counsel appointees: Sheriff Principal Aisha Anwar; Professor James Chalmers; Professor Alan Paterson; Professor Stephen Tierney; and Judge Susan Walker.
In his final Opening of the Legal Year ceremony before retiring, the Lord President made reference to the impact of technology within the courts during his time in office and the importance of embracing change.
He also commented on recent successes, such as the Summary Case Management pilot and opening of the Dundee Justice Hub, which have occurred at a time when increasing number of trials are calling at court.
This year’s ceremony was the first to be livestreamed and can be viewed on the SCTS website.
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