In 1984 he was appointed procurator to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland: he was already an elder and Session Clerk of St Giles Kirk. He remained as procurator until 1986 when he was appointed an advocate depute in Crown Office. In 1988 he became the leader of the team of advocates deputes, being appointed Home advocate depute, a post which he occupied until 1990 when he was elevated as a senator of the College of Justice becoming Lord Penrose.

In 1994 he became the first full-time judge of the new Commercial Court having largely, if not exclusively, written the rules for the conduct of the new court. In 2001 he was appointed to the Inner House of the Court of Session and became a privy counsellor.

His mastery of complex financial issues was acknowledged on a UK basis when he was asked to chair the complex Equitable Life Inquiry which ran from 2001-2004.

In 2009 he presided over the “Infected Blood” Inquiry, the Penrose Inquiry which ran until 2014. He also served as chairman of the Financial Services Tribunal and was president of the Scottish proceedings of the Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Arbitration Tribunal from 1977-1983.

In 2005 he formally retired as a senator of the College of Justice.

Lord Penrose had been a member of the Court of Heriot-Watt University from 1996 until 2002 and from 2005 until 2008 he chaired the Heriot Watt University Board of its International Centre for Mathematical Sciences. In 2008 he was then invited to chair the University Court which he did until 2015.

He was awarded honorary doctorates from the Universities of Glasgow, Stirling and Heriot-Watt. In 2010 became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

George married Wendy Cooper on 4 June 1964. Wendy was a native of Langbank, adjacent to his native Port Glasgow. They had met on their regular train journeys between their respective homes and Glasgow. She died in 2013.

They had three children. Susan is a chartered accountant in Vancouver. She is married to Mark and they have two sons, Scott and Matthew. David designs and makes bespoke furniture and lives in London with his partner Juliette. Jane is an office manager in Solihull. She is married to Stewart and they have two daughters, Claire and Kirsty.

In 2017 George married Elizabeth McClelland. The marriage was dissolved in 2023.

As is evident from a review of his outstanding legal career, George Penrose was a gifted lawyer who dealt throughout his career with complex issues. He gave an appearance of being a reserved individual but he was a humorous and entertaining companion with a mischievous sense of humour.

What is not so well known is that in contrast to his expertise in the complex world of commerce and finance, Lord Penrose was also an accomplished artist, sculptor and wood carver. His sketchbook was a constant companion on his travels to exotic locations and his watercolours displayed a remarkable talent and sensitivity. His artistic skills were also obvious in his gardening.

A lover of the outdoors, he spent much time in the hills of Scotland and hiked extensively in the Alps with Wendy. He was also an experienced scuba diver.