Serena Sutherland

Ms Sutherland succeeded Patricia Thom as president at a meeting of the Council of the Law Society in Edinburgh on Friday. She becomes the Law Society’s 63rd president and is the first to be based in the Northern Isles.

She has spent her entire legal career with local firm d and h (previously Drever & Heddle), joining as a secretary in 2003 and rising to become owner in 2016. Her business provides legal services across the north of Scotland, with offices in Kirkwall, Stromness and Thurso and staff working across the north of Scotland including Elgin.

She was elected to the society’s Council in July 2018, representing solicitors in Dingwall, Dornoch, Elgin, Inverness, Kirkwall, Lerwick, Lochmaddy, Portree, Stornoway, Tain and Wick. She also sits on the Society’s Board and has served on the Complaints and Oversights Sub-Committee, the Board and Finance Sub-Committee and the Legal Aid Committee.

Ms Sutherland said: “It is a proud moment as I step into the role of president of the Law Society of Scotland. I am looking forward to continuing Patricia’s hard work as my predecessor, advocating on behalf of all Scottish solicitors and in relation to legal issues that affect the general public.

“There are many opportunities for Scotland’s legal sector that I will be working to promote and harness during my presidency, alongside some challenges. Working together, I am sure the solicitor profession will continue to grow for the benefit of the people, businesses and communities we serve.

“I will be continuing to push for the changes that are needed to put Scotland’s legal aid system back on a sustainable footing and promoting the Society’s wider work supporting its members. The value of effective regulation as we progress reforms and of emerging technologies are also high on my list of priorities.”

She will be supported through her presidency by new vice president, John Mulholland. The former Law Society president for 2019-20 is the first person in the Society’s history to return for a second time to its office bearer team.

He said: “I am looking forward to working with Serena over the coming year, and to working over the coming three years for the benefit of all Law Society members. It is an honour to be able to serve the solicitor profession.”