NEWS

His Majesty has appointed Lesley Johnston, Laura Mundell, Garry Sutherland and Paul Ralph to the office of sheriff, on the recommendation of the First Minister.

First Minister John Swinney made his recommendation for appointment on the basis of a report by the Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland.

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 His Majesty the King and is required by statute to consult the Lord President of the Court of Session before making his recommendation.

The salary of a sheriff is £167,167 per annum.

Lesley Johnston is a graduate of the University of Aberdeen (LLB (Hons) in 2007); the University of Edinburgh (Diploma in Legal Practice in 2008); and the University of Glasgow (LLM (By Research) in 2014). She qualified as a solicitor with Anderson Strathern in 2010, where she was latterly an Associate in the litigation department. Between 2013 and 2015 she was the Law Clerk to the Lord President, returning to Anderson Strathern on completion of her post. In 2016 she qualified as a Solicitor Advocate and in the same year joined Kennedys, where she was latterly a Senior Associate. Between 2017 and 2021 she also sat as a Legal Member of the First-tier Tribunal (Housing and Property Chamber). In 2021 she was appointed as a Summary Sheriff resident in Aberdeen Sheriff Court.

Laura Mundell (formerly Laura McPherson) graduated from the University of Glasgow in 1997 with a First Class Honours LLB degree. She joined the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in 1998, going on to hold a number of senior posts as a District Procurator Fiscal in a variety of locations across Scotland. In 2016, she took up the post of Sheriffdom Procurator Fiscal for North Strathclyde. In 2019 she was appointed Head of the Scottish Fatalities Investigation Unit, and Deputy Procurator Fiscal for the national Specialist Casework division. She was appointed as a Summary Sheriff in North Strathclyde based at Paisley in October 2021, and since December 2022 she has been a resident Summary Sheriff at Kilmarnock.

Garry Sutherland graduated from the University of Aberdeen LLB (Hons) in 2000 before completing the Diploma in Legal Practice at the University of Dundee in 2001. He trained with Macnab, Gordon and Douglas, qualifying as solicitor in the litigation department. Between 2004 and 2006 he worked within the Legal Services Division of Perth and Kinross Council before returning to the firm now known as Macnabs LLP as Associate. He became partner of that firm in 2010 and then head of the civil litigation department. He taught civil advocacy on the Diploma in Legal Practice at Dundee University for over a decade. In January 2022 he was appointed part-time summary sheriff and in July of that year qualified as solicitor-advocate (civil). In April 2023 he left private practice to sit exclusively as floating part-time summary sheriff in Tayside Central and Fife.

Paul Ralph studied at Aberdeen University. He graduated with a Bachelor of Laws Honours degree and a Diploma in Legal Practice. He trained in Kilmarnock before moving to work as an assistant solicitor in Edinburgh. In 1995 he became a sole practitioner specialising in criminal law. Since 1997 he has been working in Perth with Ward and Co. In 2014 he became a Criminal Peer Reviewer with the Scottish Legal Aid Board.