Valerie Elizabeth Stacey, Lady Stacey is a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

lawyer, and a

Senator of the College of Justice The senators of the College of Justice are judges of the College of Justice, a set of legal institutions involved in the administration of justice in Scotland. There are three types of senator: Lords of Session (judges of the Court of Session); ...

, a judge of the country's

Supreme Courts A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

. She was the first woman ever elected Vice-Dean of the

Faculty of Advocates The Faculty of Advocates is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary. The Faculty of Advocates is a constitu ...

Early life

Born Valerie Thom, she was educated at Elgin Academy and studied 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 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 ...

. She worked as a solicitor from 1978 to 1986, and was admitted to the

in 1987. She married Andrew Stacey in 1981.

Legal career

Stacey was appointed

Advocate Depute The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is the independent public prosecution service for Scotland, and is a Ministerial Department of the Scottish Government. The department is headed by His Majesty's Lord Advocate, who under the S ...

in 1993, and Standing Junior Counsel to the Home Office in 1996. In 1997, while still at the Home Office, she was appointed a Temporary Sheriff. She demitted both these offices in 1999, and was appointed

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

, returning to private practice. She was appointed a Special Advocate, having been vetted to work on certain cases. In 2004, she was elected Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Advocates, the first woman ever elected to this post. She stood in the election for Dean of the Faculty in 2007, but was defeated by

Richard Keen Richard Sanderson Keen, Baron Keen of Elie (born 29 March 1954) is a British lawyer and Conservative Party politician. He was Advocate General for Scotland from May 2015 until his resignation on 16 September 2020. Early life Keen was educate ...

QC. She was a member of the Sentencing Commission from 2003 to 2006, and of the

Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland The Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland is an advisory non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government responsible for making recommendations on appointments to certain offices of the judiciary of Scotland. It was established in J ...

from 2005 to 2007. On 5 November 2008, it was announced she would be appointed to the Bench of the

High Court of Justiciary The High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court in Scotland. The High Court is both a trial court and a court of appeal. As a trial court, the High Court sits on circuit at Parliament House or in the adjacent former Sheriff Cou ...

and

Court of Session The Court of Session is the supreme civil court of Scotland and constitutes part of the College of Justice; the supreme criminal court of Scotland is the High Court of Justiciary. The Court of Session sits in Parliament House in Edinburgh ...

, Scotland's

, in succession to Lord McEwan, who retired. She took the judicial title, Lady Stacey.

Personal life

Thom married Andrew Stacey in 1981; the couple have two sons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stacey, Valerie Living people 1954 births Alumni of the University of Edinburgh 20th-century King's Counsel Stacey Members of the Faculty of Advocates People from Moray People educated at Elgin Academy, Moray Scottish women judges Scottish King's Counsel Scottish solicitors

Early life

Legal career

Personal life

See also

References