Commissioners and Staff
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Commissioners
Hon. Lord Drummond Young (James Edward Drummond Young), Chairman
Lord Drummond Young was appointed Chairman of the Scottish Law Commission on 1 January 2007. The appointment is made on a part time basis, with 60 per cent of Lord Drummond Young's time being spent on Commission business, and the remainder of his time devoted to his judicial functions. He has been a Senator of the College of Justice since 2001. He is a graduate of the University of Cambridge (B.A., Sidney Sussex College), Harvard University (LL.M., Joseph Hodges Choate Memorial Fellow) and the University of Edinburgh (LL.B.). He was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1976 and was Standing Junior Counsel to the Department of Industry from 1984 to 1986 and to the Inland Revenue from 1986 to 1988. Lord Drummond Young was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1988. He served as Advocate Depute from 1999 to 2001. Publications include "The Law of Corporate Insolvency in Scotland" (with J.B. St. Clair, 3rd ed. 2004) and Stair Encyclopaedia of Scots Law (1989).
Professor Gerry Maher QC
Professor Gerry Maher QC was appointed as a full-time Commissioner in February 2000.
He studied law at Glasgow University until 1974 and obtained a B.Litt. at Oxford University in 1976. He held academic posts at Edinburgh and Glasgow Universities and was Professor of Law at Strathclyde University Law School from 1992 until 2000. He currently holds a Chair as Professor of Criminal Law at Edinburgh University.
Professor Maher was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1987 and was a practising Advocate from 1989 to 1991. He was appointed Queen's Counsel in 2003.
His main research interests are criminal justice, international private law, legal process and diligence (execution of judgments).
Professor Joseph Thomson
Professor Joseph Thomson was appointed as a full-time Commissioner in February 2000.
He studied law at Edinburgh University from where he graduated in 1970. He was a lecturer at Birmingham University and King's College, London. He then became Professor of Law at the University of Strathclyde from 1984 to 1991. He was Regius Professor of Law at the University of Glasgow from 1991 to January 2005.
Professor Thomson is the author of text books on Family Law, Delict and Contract. His main research interest is in the field of Scots private law.
Mr Colin Tyre QC
Mr Colin Tyre QC was appointed as a part-time Commissioner in October 2003. He has practised as an advocate at the Scottish Bar since 1987, and was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1998. He was previously a lecturer in law at Edinburgh University, and has written and contributed to a number of books on tax law. He is president of the Council of the Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE), having previously been Head of the UK Delegation.
Professor George Gretton
Professor George Gretton was appointed as Commissioner in May 2006. He is a qualified solicitor, a Writer to the Signet and a Notary Public. He holds the Lord President Reid Chair of Law at the University of Edinburgh. His main interests lie in the fields of commercial law, property law, trusts, insolvency law, comparative law and legal history and he has published widely in all of these areas.
Chief Executive
Malcolm McMillan
Malcolm McMillan was appointed Chief Executive in April 2008. He is a practising solicitor, and is on secondment from the Government Legal Service for Scotland. He has held various legal posts within government since 1982. From 1999 to 2003 he was the Deputy Legal Secretary to the Lord Advocate, and prior to his appointment to the Commission he was the Divisional Solicitor for the Rural Affairs Division in the Scottish Government Legal Directorate.
Staff
Legal staff
Parliamentary Counsel
Mr Gregor Clark* CB
Government Legal Service for Scotland
Mr Graham Crombie (Legal Trainee)
Mr John Dods
Mr Charles Garland
Miss Susan Robb
Mr Alastair Smith
Mrs Susan Sutherland
Mrs Gillian Swanson
Legal Assistants
Miss Lyndsey Foggarty
Miss Cara Jardine
Mr Ross Sanderson
Mrs Maria Theodossiou
Non-legal staff
Library and Information Services
Mr Nick Brotchie
General office & IT services
Ms Lesley Young (Office Manager)
Mr Gordon Speirs
Miss Kanwal Tehseen
Mr Iain Ritchie
Secretarial Services
Miss Joan Melville
Mrs Heather Ryan
* Part-Time
Page last updated: 31 July 2008