Joseph McGeachy Thomson (6 May 1948 – 12 May 2018) was a Scottish lawyer and academic. He was Regius Professor of Law at the University of Glasgow and a member of the

Scottish Law Commission The Scottish Law Commission is an advisory non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government. It was established in 1965 to keep Scots law under review and recommend necessary reforms to improve, simplify and update the country's legal sy ...

Early life

Thomson was born in Campbeltown and attended the independent

Keil School Keil is a surname, and may refer to: *Alfredo Keil (1850–1907), Portuguese romantic composer and painter *Alphonso Keil (1944–2008) Samoan-born rock & roll musician, founding member of The Zodiacs and The Kavaliers *Birgit Keil (born 1944), Ge ...

in Dumbarton. He then studied at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, where he graduated LLB in 1970 and was awarded the Lord President Cooper Memorial Prize as the outstanding LLB honours graduate.

Career

Following his graduation, Thomson was appointed lecturer at the

University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

, moving in 1974 to

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

. In 1984, he became Professor of Law at the

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal chart ...

, and in 1991 was appointed to the Regius Chair in Law at the

School of Law A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, ...

of the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

. He was elected a fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

in 1996, and was President of the Society of Public Teachers of Law (now the

Society of Legal Scholars The Society of Legal Scholars (SLS) is the learned society for those who teach law in a university or similar institution or who are otherwise engaged in legal scholarship. As of the beginning of 2016 the Society had over 3,000 members consisting ...

) in 2000–2001. He was appointed to a five-year term on the

in 2000, and received a further four-year term in 2005, at which point he resigned from the Glasgow Chair. He was formerly editor of the ''Juridical Review'', the oldest Scottish legal journal.

Publications

*''Family Law in Scotland'', 1987, 6th ed. 2011 *''Delictual Liability'', 1994, 4th ed. 2009 *''Contract Law in Scotland'' (with

Hector MacQueen Hector Lewis MacQueen (born 1956) is a Scottish academic, a senior scholar of Scots law and legal history, and a former member of the Scottish Law Commission. He is Professor of Private Law at the University of Edinburgh and a former Dean of i ...

), 2000, 3rd ed. 2012 *''Scots Private Law'', 2006 *''Green's Annotated Acts: Damages (Scotland) Act 2011'', 2012

References

1948 births 2018 deaths People from Dumbarton People educated at Keil School Scottish lawyers Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Academics of the University of Glasgow Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Scots private law Academics of the University of Strathclyde Academics of the University of Birmingham Academics of King's College London {{Scotland-law-bio-stub