Morag Barbara Wise, Lady Wise, (born 22 January 1963) is the

President of the Scottish Tribunals The President of the Scottish Tribunals is a senior judge in Scotland who presides over the Scottish tribunal system. They are appointed by the Lord President of the Court of Session, who delegates his function as head of the Scottish tribu ...

and a

Senator of the College of Justice The senators of the College of Justice in Scotland 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 ...

, a judge of the

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

's Supreme Courts.

Early life and education

Wise was born on 11 January 1963 to Barbara (née Gillies) and Leslie James Wise. She studied law at 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 in 1985 with an

LLB A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

with first class honours, followed in 1986 with a

Diploma in Legal Practice A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offi ...

. In 1995, she received her

LL.M. A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

from

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Legal career

Wise became a

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

in 1989 and joined Morton Fraser LLP. In 1993, she was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

, joining Westwater Advocates, and specialised in

family law Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations. Overview Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include: * Marriag ...

. Wise became a

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 2005, and 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 2008. On 6 February 2013, she was appointed a

, taking the judicial title Lady Wise. In 2005, Wise became a member of the Disciplinary Committee 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 const ...

She became chair of the Advocates' Family Law Association in 2007, having served as vice chair since 2000. On 7 December 2021, it was announced that Wise had been appointed 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 ...

of the Court of Session with effect from 5 January 2022. She was sworn of Her Majesty's Privy Council on 12 April 2022 allowing her the honorific The Right Honourable. On 5 April 2023, she was appointed President of Scottish Tribunals, succeeding Lord Woolman.

Publications and honours

Wise has contributed to several editions of the legal works ''The Law of Scotland by Gloag and Henderson'' and ''A Practical Guide to Human Rights Law in Scotland edited by Lord Reed.'' In 2015, Wise received an Honorary LLD from the University of Aberdeen.

Personal life

In 1994, Wise married Alastair McEwan with whom she has two daughters and one son.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wise, Morag Living people Alumni of the University of Aberdeen McGill University Faculty of Law alumni Scottish King's Counsel Wise Scottish women judges 21st-century King's Counsel Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the Faculty of Advocates Scottish solicitors 1963 births