Two Edinburgh Law School graduates appointed as Senators to the College of Justice
Wed 18 December 2013
The appointments were made Her Majesty the Queen on the recommendation of the First Minister, who nominated them on the basis of a report by the Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland.
Sheriff Rita Rae, QC, an LLB graduate of the 1972 class, was admitted as a solicitor in 1974. Between 1974 and 1977 she worked as an assistant at Balfour & Manson, Biggart Baillie & Gifford and Ross Harper & Murphy eventually becoming partner at Ross Harper & Murphy, until 1981. She was junior counsel at the Faculty of Advocates from 1982-1992 and was appointed QC in 1992. From 2003 to 2006 she was a member of the Sentencing Commission for Scotland and since 2010 has been a member of Glasgow University “Legal 40”, mentoring diploma students. Sheriff Rae served as a temporary sheriff from 1987-1997, a sheriff at Glasgow since 1997 and a temporary judge at the Court of Session since 2004. From 2001-2007 she was a member (and vice-chair from 2005) of the Parole Board for Scotland. Since 2003 she has been the Glasgow Branch Chair of the Scottish Association for the Study of Offending.
Mrs Sarah P.L. Wolffe QC of the 1989 LLB class, qualified as a solicitor in 1992 and worked at the Bank of Scotland legal department from 1992 to 1993. She was called to the bar in 1994 and until 2008 practised as a junior counsel, mainly in commercial and public law. From 1996 until 2008 she was standing junior counsel to the Department of Trade and Industry and its successor departments. Since 2007 she has been an ad hoc advocate depute and was appointed QC in 2008. Her practice as senior counsel has mainly been in commercial and public law. She was a member of the Disciplinary Tribunal of the Faculty of Advocates 2005-2008 and has been a member of the Police Appeals Tribunal since 2013.
The two judges join seven other women to bring the number of female Senators in the College to nine.