Law Society appoints first female chief executive in 59-year history

Published on Thursday 2 October 2008 22:26

THE Law Society of Scotland is to have a female chief executive for the first time.

Lorna Jack, a chartered accountant, will take on the mantle in January. She will replace Douglas Mill, who has been in the post for 11 years and is now planning to set up his own consultancy business.

She will be just the fifth chief executive of the society since it was founded in 1949.

The graduate of Aberdeen University will return to Scotland after spending six years in Boston as president of the Americas division of Scottish Development International, part of Scottish Enterprise.

"I am delighted to be joining the Law Society to lead an ambitious and innovative organisation through a period of unparalleled change," she said.

Ms Jack, who previously had several leading roles at Scottish Enterprise, described the Law Society as having a "vital role to play in business, political and civic society".

She said: "With the external economic environment as tough as we've seen it, and the legal profession in Scotland set to make some of the most fundamental changes in its history, this is a challenging and exciting time to help lead the society through the next stage of its journey."

Three years ago the 10,000-member society also had its first female president, Caroline Flanagan, who served from 2005 to 2006.

Richard Henderson, who is now president, thinks Ms Jack is the right person to lead the society in the coming years.

He said it would be a period of new focus for the organisation, with the Scottish Government's Legal Profession Bill due to make way for radical changes to how law firms can operate.

"This is a key point in Scotland's legal history and I am more than confident that Lorna will be equal to the challenges ahead," he said.