Leeona June Dorrian, Lady Dorrian PC, KC (born 16 June 1957) is a Scottish

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. List of country legal systems, Different countries and legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a ba ...

and

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

who served as the

Lord Justice Clerk The Lord Justice Clerk is the second most senior judge in Scotland, after the Lord President of the Court of Session. The current Lord Justice Clerk is Lord Beckett, who was appointed to the position on 4 February 2025, succeeding Lady Dorr ...

from 2016 until her retirement from judicial office on 3 February 2025. She was the first woman to hold the position of Lord Justice Clerk. She was a Senator of the College of Justice from 2005 until her retirement in 2025, having served as a temporary judge for three years prior.

Early life

Dorrian was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

and educated at Cranley Girls' School in the city. She studied at the School of Law of the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...

, graduating LL.B. in 1977, and was admitted to 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 const ...

in 1981.

Early career

Dorrian served as Standing Junior Counsel to the

Health and Safety Executive The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is a British public body responsible for the encouragement, regulation and enforcement of workplace health, safety and welfare. It has additionally adopted a research role into occupational risks in Great B ...

and

Commission In-Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anot ...

between 1987 and 1994,

Advocate Depute The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service () is the independent public prosecutor, prosecution service for Scotland, and is a Ministerial Department of the Scottish Government. The department is headed by Charles III of the United Kingd ...

between 1988 and 1991, and as Standing Junior to the Department of Energy between 1991 and 1994. She was appointed

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

in 1994, and called to the English Bar in 1991, at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

. Between 1997 and 2001 she was a member of the

Criminal Injuries Compensation Board The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) is an executive agency of the UK Government. The Authority, established in 1996 and based in Glasgow, administers a compensation scheme for injuries caused to victims of violent crime in Engla ...

College of Justice

Dorrian was appointed a Temporary Judge of the

Court of Session The Court of Session is the highest national court of Scotland in relation to Civil law (common law), civil cases. The court was established in 1532 to take on the judicial functions of the royal council. Its jurisdiction overlapped with othe ...

in 2002, and in 2005 became a full-time Senator of the College of Justice, taking the judicial title, Lady Dorrian. She was promoted to the

Inner House The Inner House is the senior part of the Court of Session, the supreme civil court in Scotland; the Outer House forms the junior part of the Court of Session. It is a court of appeal and a court of first instance. The chief justice is th ...

in 2012. Lady Dorrian became a member of The Management Board of The Aberdeen Law Project in 2010. She was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) 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 establis ...

in 2022.

Lord Justice Clerk

In April 2016, Lady Dorrian was appointed as

, succeeding Lord Carloway who had been promoted to

Lord President of the Court of Session The Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General () is the most senior judge in Scotland, the head of the judiciary, and the presiding judge of the College of Justice, the Court of Session, and the High Court of Justiciary. ...

. She is the first woman to serve as Lord Justice Clerk, and at the time of her appointment was one of 9 women out of 31 judges in Scotland. Lady Dorrian has been involved in the trial of former First Minister, Alex Salmond for sexual misconduct for which he was acquitted. She also permitted the application for a ban on publication of the names of the complainers in that trial and a ban on the publication of any material that could identify any complainer. Blogger and former British ambassador to Uzbekistan, Craig Murray, has since been jailed for eight months for providing information in his blog that may allow readers to identify some of the complainers by "jigsaw identification". This incarceration, wherein Lady Dorrian delivered the "Opinion of the Court", has caused some media attention.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dorrian, Leeona 1957 births Living people Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Members of the Faculty of Advocates Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Lawyers from Edinburgh 20th-century King's Counsel 21st-century King's Counsel Scottish King's Counsel Senators of the College of Justice Scottish women judges People educated at St Margaret's School, Edinburgh Lords Justice Clerk 20th-century Scottish women lawyers Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 20th-century British women judges

Early life

Early career

College of Justice

Lord Justice Clerk

See also

References